Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
Registration No. 333-260534
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT NO. 12
(to prospectus dated November 5, 2021)
ALGOMA STEEL GROUP INC.
129,836,439 Common Shares
604,000 Warrants to Purchase Common Shares
24,179,000 Common Shares Underlying Warrants
This prospectus supplement amends and supplements the prospectus dated November 5, 2021, as supplemented or amended from time to time (the Prospectus), which forms a part of our Registration Statement on Form F-1 (Registration Statement No. 333-260534). This prospectus supplement is being filed to update and supplement the information included or incorporated by reference in the Prospectus with the information contained in our Annual Report on Form 20-F, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 17, 2022 (the Annual Report). Accordingly, we have attached the Annual Report to this prospectus supplement.
This prospectus supplement updates and supplements the information in the Prospectus and is not complete without, and may not be delivered or utilized except in combination with, the Prospectus, including any amendments or supplements thereto. This prospectus supplement should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus and if there is any inconsistency between the information in the Prospectus and this prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information in this prospectus supplement.
Our Common Shares and Warrants are listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq) under the symbols ASTL and ASTLW, respectively, and on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the TSX) under the symbols ASTL and ASTL.WT, respectively. On June 16, 2022, the last reported sales prices of the Common Shares on Nasdaq and the TSX were $9.19 and C$11.93, respectively, and the last reported sales prices of the Warrants were $2.06 and C$2.67, respectively.
We are a foreign private issuer as defined in the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), and are exempt from certain rules under the Exchange Act that impose certain disclosure obligations and procedural requirements for proxy solicitations under Section 14 of the Exchange Act. In addition, our officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions under Section 16 of the Exchange Act. Moreover, we are not required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act. Additionally, Nasdaq rules allow foreign private issuers to follow home country practices in lieu of certain of Nasdaqs corporate governance rules. As a result, our shareholders may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all Nasdaq corporate governance requirements.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should review carefully the risks and uncertainties described under the heading Risk Factors beginning on page 7 of the Prospectus, and under similar headings in any amendment or supplements to the Prospectus.
None of the Securities and Exchange Commission, any state securities commission or the securities commission of any Canadian province or territory has approved or disapproved of the securities offered by this prospectus supplement or the Prospectus or determined if the Prospectus or this prospectus supplement is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus supplement is June 17, 2022.
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 20-F
(Mark One)
☐ | REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR (g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
OR
☒ | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022
OR
☐ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from to
OR
☐ | SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
Date of event requiring this shell company report
Commission file number 001-40924
ALGOMA STEEL GROUP INC.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
N/A
(Translation of Registrants name into English)
British Columbia
(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
105 West Street
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
P6A 7B4, Canada
(Address of principal executive offices)
John Naccarato
Algoma Steel Group Inc.
105 West Street
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
P6A 7B4, Canada
Tel: (705) 945-2351
(Name, telephone, email and/or facsimile number and address of Company contact person)
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class |
Trading Symbol(s) |
Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
Common Shares, without par value | ASTL | The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC | ||
Warrants to purchase Common Shares | ASTLW | The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC |
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:
None
Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuers classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the Annual Report: At March 31, 2022, 147,957,787 common shares, without par value, were issued and outstanding.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. ☐ Yes ☒ No
If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. ☐ Yes ☒ No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ☒ Yes ☐ No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). ☒ Yes ☐ No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of large accelerated filer, accelerated filer, and emerging growth company in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large Accelerated Filer | ☐ | Accelerated Filer | ☐ | |||||
Non-Accelerated Filer | ☒ | Emerging growth company | ☐ |
If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its managements assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:
U.S. GAAP ☐ | International Financial Reporting Standards as issued | Other ☐ | ||||||
by the International Accounting Standards Board | ☒ |
If Other has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow. ☐ Item 17 ☐ Item 18
If this is an Annual Report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). ☐ Yes ☒ No
(APPLICABLE ONLY TO ISSUERS INVOLVED IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Sections 12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court. ☐ Yes ☐ No
Auditor Firm ID: 1208 | Auditor Name: Deloitte LLP | Auditor Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Algoma Steel Group Inc.
1 | ||||
1 | ||||
4 | ||||
ITEM 1. IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS |
4 | |||
4 | ||||
4 | ||||
41 | ||||
60 | ||||
61 | ||||
99 | ||||
120 | ||||
124 | ||||
124 | ||||
125 | ||||
ITEM 11. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK |
152 | |||
ITEM 12. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES OTHER THAN EQUITY SECURITIES |
152 | |||
153 | ||||
153 | ||||
ITEM 14. MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF SECURITY HOLDERS AND USE OF PROCEEDS |
153 | |||
153 | ||||
153 | ||||
153 | ||||
154 | ||||
ITEM 16D. EXEMPTIONS FROM THE LISTING STANDARDS FOR AUDIT COMMITTEES |
154 | |||
ITEM 16E. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE ISSUER AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS |
154 | |||
154 | ||||
155 | ||||
155 | ||||
156 | ||||
156 | ||||
156 | ||||
157 | ||||
157 | ||||
160 | ||||
F-1 |
Unless otherwise indicated, all references in this Annual Report on Form 20-F (Annual Report) to Algoma, we, our, us, the Company or similar terms refer to Algoma Steel Group Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.
We publish our consolidated financial statements in Canadian dollars. In this Annual Report, unless otherwise specified, all monetary amounts are in Canadian dollars, all references to C$, mean Canadian dollars and all references to $ or US$ and mean U.S. dollars.
This Annual Report on Form 20-F contains our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes for the years ended March 31, 2022, March 31, 2021 and March 31, 2020 (Annual Financial Statements). Our Annual Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.
Unless otherwise indicated in this Annual Report, all references to: fiscal 2022 are to the 12-month period ended March 31, 2022; fiscal 2021 are to the 12-month period ended March 31, 2021; and fiscal 2020 are to the 12-month period ended March 31, 2020.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and forward-looking information under applicable Canadian securities legislation (collectively, forward looking statements), that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results of our business, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, plans and strategic objectives, Algomas expectation to pay a quarterly dividend, launch the SIB (as defined below), the expected timing of the EAF (as defined below) transformation and the resulting increase in raw steel production capacity and reduction in carbon emissions. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the words believe, project, expect, anticipate, estimate, intend, strategy, future, opportunity, plan, pipeline, may, should, will, would, will be, will continue, will likely result or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, intentions, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent managements expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events or circumstances. The statements we make regarding the following matters are forward-looking by their nature:
| future financial performance; |
| future cash flow and liquidity; |
| future capital investment; |
| our ability to operate our business, remain in compliance with debt covenants and make payments on our indebtedness, with a substantial amount of indebtedness; |
| significant domestic and international competition; |
| macroeconomic pressures in the markets in which we operate; |
| increased use of competitive products; |
| a protracted fall in steel prices resulting in impairment of assets; |
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| excess capacity, resulting in part from expanded production in China and other developing economies; |
| low-priced steel imports and decreased trade regulation, tariffs and other trade barriers; |
| protracted declines in steel consumption caused by poor economic conditions in North America or by the deterioration of the financial position of our key customers; |
| increases in annual funding obligations resulting from our under-funded pension plans; |
| supply and cost of raw materials and energy; |
| impact of a downgrade in credit rating and its impact on access to sources of liquidity; |
| currency fluctuations, including an increase in the value of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar; |
| environmental compliance and remediation; |
| unexpected equipment failures and other business interruptions; |
| a protracted global recession or depression; |
| changes in or interpretation of royalty, tax, environmental, greenhouse gas, carbon, accounting and other laws or regulations, including potential environmental liabilities that are not covered by an effective indemnity or insurance; |
| risks associated with existing and potential lawsuits and regulatory actions made against us; |
| impact of disputes arising with our partners; |
| the ability of Algoma to implement and realize its business plans, including Algomas ability to complete its transition to electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking on time and at its anticipated cost; |
| Algomas ability to operate the EAF; |
| the risks that higher cost of internally generated power and market pricing for electricity sourced from Algomas current grid in Northern Ontario could have an adverse impact on our production and financial performance; |
| access to an adequate supply of the various grades of steel scrap at competitive prices; |
| the risks associated with the steel industry generally; |
| economic, social and political conditions in North America and certain international markets; |
| changes in general economic conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; or the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that commenced in February 2022; |
| risks associated with inflation rates; |
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| risks inherent in the Corporations corporate guidance; |
| failure to achieve cost and efficiency initiatives; |
| risks inherent in marketing operations; |
| risks associated with technology, including electronic, cyber and physical security breaches; |
| projected increases in capacity liquid steel as a result of the transformation to EAF steelmaking; |
| projected cost savings associated with the transformation to EAF steelmaking; |
| projected reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with the transformation to EAF steelmaking, including with respect to the impact of such reductions on the Green Steel Funding and carbon taxes payable; |
| construction projects are subject to risks, including delays and cost overruns; |
| our ability to enter into contracts to source scrap and the availability of scrap; |
| the availability of alternative metallic supply; |
| the Companys to launch and complete the SIB; |
| the Companys expectation to declare and pay a quarterly dividend; and |
| business interruption or unexpected technical difficulties, including impact of weather; counterparty and credit risk; labor interruptions and difficulties |
The preceding list is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all of our forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations of future performance, taking into account the information currently available to us. These statements are only predictions based upon our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In particular, you should consider the risks provided under Risk Factors in this Annual Report.
You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee that future results, levels of activity, performance and events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or will occur. Despite a careful process to prepare and review the forward-looking information, there can be no assurance that the underlying assumptions will prove to be correct. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this Annual Report, to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations.
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ITEM 1. | IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS |
Not applicable.
ITEM 2. | OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE |
Not applicable.
ITEM 3. | KEY INFORMATION |
B. Capitalization and Indebtedness
Not applicable.
C. Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds
Not applicable.
D. Risk Factors
Risks Related to our Business
Market and industry volatility could have a material adverse effect on our results. A protracted fall in steel prices, or any significant and sustained increase in the price of raw materials in the absence of corresponding steel price increases, would have a material adverse effect on our results.
The steel market is a cyclical commodity business with significant volatility in prices in response to various factors, including market demand, supply chain inventory levels, and imports. Factors specific to our business include a prolonged cyclical downturn in the steel industry, macroeconomic trends such as global or regional recessions and trends in credit and capital markets more generally. Market price volatility results in a high level of cash flow volatility with prolonged periods of negative cash flow. Steel prices are volatile and the global steel industry has historically been cyclical. During 2015, hot rolled coil prices fell sharply by approximately $200/ton to $354/ton in the North American market, as a result of a significant increase in imports, driven primarily by the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against other currencies. In 2018, hot rolled coil prices rose to over $900/ton over a short period then fell to under $500/ton in the fall of 2019. Hot rolled coil prices recovered slightly, but fell to under $500/ton once again as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related global economic slowdown. Since that low in 2020, hot rolled coil prices rose to an all-time high of $1,958/ton by the end of 2021. Subsequently prices fell to below $1,000/ton by March 2022. Thereafter prices increased and have settled around $1,200/ton so far in calendar 2022. (CRU U.S. Midwest Hot-Rolled Coil). These significant market price fluctuations also affect the cost of our raw material inputs and thus affect our bottom line. Any miscorrelation between finished product pricing and raw material inputs can have a material affect on our profitability. Protracted pricing or volume declines in the future would adversely affect our cash flow and ability to pay for our fixed costs, capital expenditures and other funding obligations.
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Steel production also requires the use of large volumes of bulk raw materials and energy, in particular iron ore and coal, as well as energy, alloys, scrap, oxygen, natural gas, electricity and other inputs, the prices of which can be subject to significant fluctuation. The prices of iron ore and coal can vary greatly from period to period and our results have historically been impacted by movements in coal and iron ore prices. Iron ore and coal prices have been volatile in recent years. In addition, to the extent that we have quoted prices to our customers and accepted customer orders for our products prior to purchasing necessary raw materials, we may be unable to raise the price of our products to cover all or part of the increased cost of the raw materials. Alternatively, we may be faced with having agreed to purchase raw materials and energy at prices that are above the then current market price or in greater volumes than required. The availability and prices of raw materials may also be negatively affected by new laws and regulations, allocation by suppliers, interruptions in production (including mining stoppages), accidents or natural disasters, changes in exchange rates, price fluctuations, the rate of inflation and the availability and cost of transportation. There can be no assurance that adequate supplies of electricity, natural gas, coal, iron ore, alloys, scrap and other inputs will be available in the future or that future increases in the cost of such materials will not adversely affect our financial performance.
Our largest input cost in the steel-making process is iron ore, which we purchase under our supply contracts with Cliffs Natural Resources (Cliffs) and United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel). We believe that our long-term agreements with Cliffs and U.S. Steel provide for the supply of iron ore pellets through to the close of the 2024 shipping season, but there can be no assurances that they will meet our needs or that we will be able to retain such long term contracts.
We face significant domestic and international competition, and there is a possibility that increased use of competitive products could cause our sales to decline.
We compete with numerous foreign and domestic steel producers. Significant global steel capacity growth through new and expanded production in recent years has caused and may continue to cause capacity to exceed global demand, which has resulted and may result in lower prices and steel shipments. Some of our competitors have greater financial and capital resources than we do and continue to invest heavily to achieve increased production efficiencies and improved product quality. We primarily compete with other steel producers based on the delivered price of finished products to our customers. Our costs are generally higher than many foreign producers; however, freight costs for steel can often make it uneconomical for distant steel producers to compete with us. Foreign producers may be able to successfully compete if their higher shipping costs are offset by lower cost of sales.
Although we are continually striving to improve our operating costs, we may not be successful in achieving cost improvements or gaining operating efficiencies that may be necessary to remain competitive on a global scale.
The North American steel industry has, in the past, experienced lengthy periods of difficult markets due to increased foreign imports. Due to unfavorable foreign economic conditions, excess foreign capacity and a stronger U.S. dollar compared to global currencies, imports of steel products to U.S. and Canadian markets have occasionally reached high levels.
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In addition, in the case of certain product applications, steel competes with a number of other materials such as plastic, aluminum, and composite materials. Improvements in the technology, production, pricing or acceptance of these competitive materials relative to steel or other changes in the industries for these competitive materials could cause our net sales to decline. There is ongoing research and technological developments with respect to the various processes associated with steel production which have the potential to reduce costs and improve quality and operational efficiency. Such research and technological developments could substantially impair our competitive position if other companies implement new technology that we elect not to implement or are unable to implement.
A number of steel producers have completed successful restructurings, through which they have made production improvements, achieved lower operating costs and been relieved of legacy obligations, including environmental and pension and retiree obligations. As a result, these entities may be able to operate with lower costs and cause us to face increased competition.
There has been a significant increase in new EAF steelmaking capacity commissioned in North America. EAF producers typically require lower capital expenditures for construction and maintenance of facilities, and may have lower total employment costs. In addition, the market pricing for our hot rolled steel is more correlated to scrap steel as the main material for EAF producers. While our transformation to EAF steelmaking is currently in process, the EAF transformation may never be completed or may only be completed after significant delays or at a substantially greater cost than anticipated. Failure to complete, or delays and/or cost overruns in completing the EAF transformation could adversely affect our results of operations and ability to compete in our industry.
Macroeconomic pressures in the markets in which we operate, including, but not limited to, the effects of inflation, and COVID-19 may adversely affect consumer spending and our financial results.
To varying degrees, our products are sensitive to changes in macroeconomic conditions that impact pricing for consumer products and consumer spending. As a result, consumers may be affected in many different ways, including for example:
| Whether or not they make a purchase; |
| Their choice of brand, model or price-point; and |
| How frequently they upgrade or replace their products containing steel, such as appliances and automobiles. |
Real GDP growth, consumer confidence, the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, employment levels, oil prices, interest rates, tax rates, housing market conditions, foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, costs for items such as fuel and food and other macroeconomic trends can adversely affect consumer demand for the products that we offer. Geopolitical issues around the world and how our markets are positioned can also impact the macroeconomic conditions and could have a material adverse impact on our financial results.
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Economic, social and political conditions in North America and certain international markets could adversely affect demand for the products we sell.
Sales of our products involve discretionary spending by consumers as well as our customers. Unfavorable economic conditions due to economic, social and political conditions in North America and certain international markets could result in less discretionary purchases by consumers, and discretionary project spending by our customers. Consumer spending may be affected by many economic and other factors outside of the Companys control. Some of these factors include consumer disposable income levels, consumer confidence in current and future economic conditions, levels of employment, consumer credit availability, consumer debt levels, inflation, political conditions and the effect of weather, natural disasters, public health crises, including the recent outbreak of COVID-19 and the related reduced consumer demand, decreased sales and widespread temporary closures. Adverse economic changes in any of the regions in which we sell our products could reduce consumer confidence and adversely affect our ability to sell our products.
The outbreak of COVID-19 and the downturn in the global economy caused a sharp reduction in worldwide demand for steel. A protracted global recession or depression will have a material adverse effect on the steel industry and therefore our business and operations.
Our activities and financial performance are affected by international, national and regional economic conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic, which began during the first quarter of calendar year 2020, has had a profound impact on economies world-wide, with various levels of governments implementing border closings, travel restrictions, mandatory stay-at-home and work-from-home orders, mandatory business closures, cessation of certain construction activities, public gathering limitations and prolonged quarantines. These efforts and other governmental and individual reactions to the pandemic have led to lower consumer demand for goods and services and general uncertainty regarding the near-term and long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the domestic and international economy and on public health.
The manufacture of steel was deemed to be an essential service by the government of Ontario, and we continued to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic, in part with funds we received from government assistance programs. In spite of our continued operations, as the pandemic spread, slowdowns and disruptions in the operations of our customers led to a reduction in demand that had a negative impact on our business and operations. There is uncertainty regarding the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and operations, or if any other similar epidemic or pandemic, will impact our business and operations in the future. There is no assurance that there will not be a renewed spread of COVID-19, including the spread of new variants, and, in such event, that efforts to contain the virus (including, but not limited to, voluntary and mandatory quarantines, vaccines, restrictions on travel, limiting gatherings of people, and reduced operations and extended closures of many businesses and institutions) will not materially impact our business, financial performance and financial position. Disruptions in our business activities, and costs incurred by us in response to changing conditions and regulations and reduction in demand for the steel products that we manufacture, could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial position. To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic, or any other similar epidemic or pandemic, adversely affects our businesses, it may also have the effect of exacerbating many of the other risks described in this Annual Report, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.
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A significant and prolonged recession or depression in the United States, Canada or Europe, or significantly slower growth or the spread of recessionary conditions in emerging economies that are substantial consumers of steel (such as China, Brazil, Russia and India, as well as emerging Asian markets, the Middle East and the Commonwealth of Independent States) would exact a heavy toll on the steel industry. Financial weakness among substantial consumers of steel products, such as the automotive industry and the construction industry, or the bankruptcy of any large companies in such industries, would have a negative impact in market conditions. Protracted declines in steel consumption caused by poor economic conditions in North America or by the deterioration of the financial position of our key customers would have a material adverse effect on demand for our products and our operational and financial results.
Steel companies have significant fixed costs, which are difficult to reduce in response to reduced demand. However, we could implement a variety of measures in response to a market downturn and a decline in demand for steel products. These measures might include: curtailing the purchase of raw materials; spreading raw material contracts over a longer period of time; reducing capital spending; negotiating reduced pricing for major inputs, reducing headcount through temporary layoffs, limiting overtime and reducing use of contractors; managing fixed costs with changes in production levels; improving operational practices to reduce lead time; and venturing into export markets in order to increase capacity utilization. However, these initiatives may not prove sufficient, in terms of cost reduction or in realigning our production levels with reduced demand, to achieve profitability and maintain cash flow necessary to pay for capital expenditures and other funding needs.
Failure to complete, or delays in completing, our EAF transformation could adversely affect our business and prospects. There are significant risks and uncertainties associated with, and we may fail to realize the anticipated benefits of, the EAF transformation.
The EAF transformation may never be completed or may only be completed after significant delays and/or cost overruns. Failure to complete, or delays in completing, the EAF transformation, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, financial performance or prospects.
In addition, the EAF transformation will require significant capital expenditures and divert the attention of management from our business. The EAF transformation will also require a number of permits, including environmental compliance approvals in respect of sewage works and air/noise, as well as indigenous consultations and the adoption of site specific standards under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), none of which are guaranteed to be granted or adopted. If we are not successful at integrating the EAF and related technology and equipment into our business, our cost of production relative to our competitors may increase and we may cease to be profitable or competitive. The EAF transformation may be more costly than expected to complete and entails additional risks as to whether the EAF and related technology and equipment will reduce our cost of production sufficiently to justify the capital expenditure to obtain them. Additionally, there is no guarantee that the EAF transformation will allow us to achieve our emissions targets. If such risks were to materialize, the anticipated benefits of the EAF transformation may not be fully realized, or realized at all.
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Construction projects are subject to risks, including delays and cost overruns, which could have an adverse impact on our liquidity and results of operations.
As part of our growth strategy with electric arc steelmaking, we must contract for the procurement of technology and construction services. Our construction projects are subject to the risks of delay or cost overruns inherent in any large construction project, including costs or delays resulting from the following:
| Unexpected long delivery times for, or shortages of, key equipment, parts and materials; |
| Shortages of skilled labor and other shipyard personnel necessary to perform the work; |
| Unforeseen increases in the cost of equipment, labor and raw materials, particularly steel; |
| Unforeseen design and engineering problems; |
| Unanticipated actual or purported change orders; |
| Work stoppages; |
| Latent damages or deterioration to equipment and machinery in excess of engineering estimates and assumptions; |
| Failure or delay of third-party service providers and labor disputes; |
| Disputes with fabricators and other suppliers; |
| Delays and unexpected costs of incorporating parts and materials needed for the completion of projects; |
| Financial or other difficulties of suppliers; |
| Adverse weather conditions; and |
| Inability to obtain required permits or approvals. |
If we experience delays and costs overruns in the construction of the EAF furnaces due to certain of the factors listed above, it could also adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our exposure to the higher cost of internally generated power and market pricing for electricity sourced from the current grid in Northern Ontario may have an adverse impact on our production and financial performance if we are able to complete the EAF transformation.
Electricity is a significant input required in EAF steelmaking, and competitor EAF producers typically enter into fixed-price electricity contracts. Our exposure to the higher cost of internally generated of power and market pricing for electricity sourced from the current grid in Northern Ontario may have an adverse impact on our production and financial performance if we are able to complete the EAF transformation. We have limited access to power from the current grid in Northern Ontario. As a result, we are planning to upgrade our internal natural gas power plant in order to supply sufficient power in combination with the available grid power to operate EAF furnaces. Delays in acquiring the specialized power equipment and associated specialty services may impact our timing to complete the EAF transformation. Furthermore, operating an internal power plant subjects us to planned and unplanned outages to maintain and/or repair the equipment, which would result in an associated outage of the steelmaking production.
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The Ontario provincial regulator, Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), plans for the resources needed to meet Ontarios future electricity needs. This includes accounting for Ontarios forecasted electricity requirements, and carrying out integrated resource planning for energy efficiency, generation and transmission infrastructure to meet those requirements. This process is not within our control. We will need to operate our internal natural gas power plant until regional power system upgrades are determined and recommended by the IESO for installation. In the long-term, in order to operate EAF furnaces from grid power alone, we will require regional power system upgrades, with new transmission wires outside the city providing for more power to Sault Ste. Marie. These regional power system upgrades may not be completed until 2029 or later.
Due to our limited access to power from the current grid in Northern Ontario, our plan is to adapt our number 7 blast furnace (Blast Furnace No. 7) to run at a lower rate in order to feed liquid iron into the EAFs to reduce our power requirements and to balance the amount of power expected to be available from internal generation and available grid power. Operating the blast furnace at a reduced rate subjects us to planned and unplanned outages in order to maintain and/or repair the equipment, which would result in associated outages in steelmaking production.
Operating the blast furnace together with EAF steelmaking while using internal power generation from natural gas (Hybrid Mode) presents both an operating risk and a market risk, as we would be running the facilities at suboptimal levels and are subject to outages with internal power generation. Furthermore, the presence of ice and/or snow in steel scrap materials as they are introduced to EAF steelmaking could result in explosions which may result in further unplanned outages and/or health and safety consequences.
We are pursuing a local electricity transmission infrastructure upgrade and technical contingency solution to allow us to access more power sooner from the current grid into Sault Ste. Marie. Delays in designing, approving, and installing these local infrastructure upgrades may result in a delay or inability to access more power from the grid. This may result in a disruption to our steelmaking operations and/or failure to grow our business.
In connection with the EAF transformation, our access to an adequate supply of the various grades of steel scrap at competitive prices may result in a disruption to our operations and/or financial performance.
The principal raw material of our transformation to EAF steelmaking operations will be scrap metal derived from internal operations within our steel mills and industrial scrap generated as a by-product of manufacturing; obsolete scrap recovered from end-of-life manufactured goods such as automobiles, appliances, and machinery; and demolition scrap recovered from obsolete structures, containers and machines. Scrap is a global commodity influenced by economic conditions in a number of industrialized and emerging markets throughout Asia, Europe and North America.
The markets for scrap metals are highly competitive, both in the purchase of raw or unprocessed scrap, and processed scrap. As a result, we will need to compete with other steel mills in attempting to secure scrap supply through direct purchasing from scrap suppliers. Any failure to secure access to an adequate supply of the various grades of steel scrap at competitive prices may result in a disruption to our operations and/or financial performance.
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We will also need to supplement our EAF operations with higher-purity substitutes for ferrous scrap which may be sourced from higher-quality-lower-residual prime scrap, or iron units such as pig iron, pelletized iron, hot briquetted iron, direct reduced iron, and other forms of processed iron. Any failure to secure access to an adequate supply of the substitutes for ferrous scrap at competitive prices may result in a disruption to our operations and/or financial performance. Furthermore, we may not be able to source competitive modes of freight transportation for inbound scrap and other materials.
Many variables can impact ferrous scrap prices, including the level of Canadian steel production, the level of exports of scrap from the United States and Canada, and the amount of obsolete scrap production. Canadian ferrous scrap prices generally have a strong correlation and spread to global pig iron pricing. Generally, as Canadian steel demand increases, so does scrap demand and resulting scrap prices. The reverse is also typically true with scrap prices following steel prices downward when supply exceeds demand, but this is not always the case. When scrap prices greatly accelerate, this can challenge one of the principal elements of an EAF based steel mills traditional lower cost structure the cost of its metallic raw material.
Even if we are able to complete the EAF transformation, we may fail to achieve the anticipated benefits due to reduced product qualities.
Even if we are to complete the EAF transformation, we may fail to achieve the anticipated benefits. For example, as a result of residual chemistry attributes of steel from the EAF processing of scrap, we may be limited in our ability to produce a full range of product types and qualities. This may result in an inferior product or a more limited range of products we are able to produce, either of which could result in reduced sales and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and/or adversely affect our reputation with existing and potential customers.
The recent Russia-Ukraine conflict and the consequent wave of international sanctions against Russia are expected to reduce the supply of steelmaking raw materials and steel products in international markets.
Armed conflict commenced between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022. In response, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, among others, have imposed a wave of sanctions against certain Russian institutions, companies and citizens. As a result of the conflict and related sanctions, energy prices have continually climbed and foreign trade transactions involving Russian and Ukrainian counterparties have been severely affected.
The extent and duration of the conflict, resulting sanctions and resulting future market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be significant. Algomas board of directors is monitoring the potential impacts of the conflict in Ukraine on Algomas business overall and in particular, risks related to cybersecurity, sanctions and market disruptions.
Although we do not have business operations or customers in Russia or Ukraine, sanctions, an increase in cyberattacks and increases in energy costs, among other potential impacts on regional and global economic environment and currencies, may cause demand for our products and services to be volatile, cause abrupt changes in our customers buying patterns, interrupt our ability to obtain raw materials from those regions. In addition, in challenging economic times, our current or potential future customers may experience cash flow problems and as a result may modify, delay or cancel plans to purchase our products.
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Russia has a significant participation in the international trade of steel slabs, iron ore, pig iron, metallurgical coal and pulverized coal for injection and alloys. In addition, Ukraine has a significant participation in the international trade of pig iron, steel slabs and iron ore. The availability and pricing of these inputs in the international markets are expected to be volatile and could result in limitations to our production levels and higher costs, affecting our profitability and results of operations. As a result of the economic sanctions imposed on Russia, we may be required to purchase raw materials at increased prices.
In addition, there may be an increased risk of cyberattacks by state actors due to the current conflict between Russia and the Ukraine. Any increase in such attacks on us or our systems could adversely affect our operations. Although we maintain cybersecurity policies and procedures to manage risk to our information technology systems, continuously adapt our systems and processes to mitigate such threats, and plan to enhance our protections against such attacks, we may not be able to address these cybersecurity threats proactively or implement adequate preventative measures and we may be unable to promptly detect and address any such disruption or security breach, if at all.
We have a recent history of losses and may not return to or sustain profitability in the future.
Although we were profitable in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, we have incurred net losses in recent reporting periods, as recently as for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, when we had a net loss of approximately C$76.1 million. This history of our business incurring significant losses, among other things, led predecessor operators of our business to seek creditor protection and/or to complete corporate restructuring proceedings. See Predecessor operators of our business have sought creditor protection and completed corporate restructurings on a number of occasions. We may not maintain profitability in future periods, our earnings could decline or grow more slowly than we expect and we may incur significant losses in the future for a number of reasons, including the risks described in this Annual Report.
Our cost and operational improvements plan may not continue to be effective.
Our cost and operational improvements strategy has resulted in reduced costs. However, there can be no assurance that we will continue to achieve such savings in the future or that we will realize the estimated future benefits of these plans. Moreover, our continued implementation of these plans may disrupt our operations and performance. Additionally, our estimated cost savings for these plans are based on several assumptions that may prove to be inaccurate and, as a result, there can be no assurance that we will realize these cost savings.
Our utilization rates may decline as a result of increased global steel production and imports.
In addition to economic conditions and prices, the steel industry is affected by other factors such as worldwide production capacity and fluctuations in steel imports/exports and tariffs. Historically, the steel industry has suffered from substantial overcapacity. If demand for steel products was to rapidly decline, it is possible that global production levels will fail to adjust fully. If production increases outstrip demand increases in the market, an extended period of depressed prices and market weakness may result.
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China is now the largest worldwide steel producing country by a significant margin and has significant unused capacity. In the future, any significant excess capacity utilization in China and increased exports by Chinese steel companies would depress steel prices in many markets.
We expect that consolidation in the steel sector in recent years should, as a general matter, help producers to maintain more consistent performance through the down cycles by preventing fewer duplicate investments and increasing producers utilization and therefore efficiency and economies of scale. However, overcapacity in the industry may re-emerge.
Increased imports of low-priced steel products into North America and decreased trade regulation could impact the North American steel market, resulting in a loss of sales volume and decreased pricing that could adversely impact our operating results and financial position.
Imports of flat-rolled steel to the U.S. accounted for approximately 6% of the U.S. market for flat-rolled steel products in 2021. Imports of flat-rolled steel to Canada accounted for approximately 19% of the Canadian market for flat-rolled steel products in 2021 (Statistics Canada, American Iron and Steel Institute, Phoenix SPI). Increases in future levels of imported steel to North America could reduce future market prices and demand levels for steel products produced in those markets and reduce our profitability.
In addition, our business has historically been affected by dumping the selling of steel into Canadian or U.S. markets at prices below cost or below the price prevailing in a foreign companys domestic market. Dumping may result in injury to steel producers in Canada or the U.S. in the form of suppressed prices, lost sales, lower profits and reductions in production, employment levels and the ability to raise capital. Some foreign steel producers are owned, controlled or subsidized by foreign governments. Decisions by these foreign producers to continue production at marginal facilities may be influenced to a greater degree by political and economic policy considerations than by prevailing market conditions and may further contribute to excess global capacity. Although trade legislation to limit dumping has had some success, it may be inadequate to prevent future unfair import pricing practices which individually or collectively could materially adversely affect our business. If Canadian or U.S. trade laws are weakened, an increase in the market share of imports into the U.S. and Canada may occur, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and financial performance.
The Canadian steel industry has worked with the Canadian government to modernize the Canadian trade remedy system to provide the appropriate tools to respond to unfair trade. These changes came into force in 2017, 2019 and again in 2022, through a number of amendments to the Special Import Measures Act and related trade remedy regulations to strengthen the trade remedy system, while remaining aligned with international trade rules. Although the Government of Canada continues to work with industry to respond to unfair trade practices, there can be no assurance that such measures will sufficiently offset any resulting loss caused to us by such unfair practices, and there can be no assurance that the protective measures put in place by the Government of Canada and/or the Canadian International Trade Tribunal will be kept in place and, as a result, such unfair trade practices may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results or operations and cash flow.
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Tariffs and other trade barriers may restrict our ability to compete internationally.
We have a significant number of customers located in the United States. For the year ended March 31, 2022, 63% of our revenue was from customers located in the United States. Our ability to sell to these customers and compete with producers located in the United States could be negatively affected by tariffs and/or trade restrictions imposed on our products.
On April 20, 2017, the United States issued an executive order directing the United States Department of Commerce to investigate whether imports of foreign steel are harming U.S. national security. The directive falls under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allows the U.S. president to restrict trade of a good if such trade is determined to be harmful to U.S. national security. On February 16, 2018, the United States Department of Commerce released its report regarding the Section 232 investigation. The recommendations in that report include options regarding tariffs and/or quotas that are intended to adjust the level of steel imports into the United States as it has been determined that those imports are an impairment to national security. Subsequently, the United States announced tariffs of 25% by presidential proclamation dated March 8, 2018 on steel and aluminum imports. Canada, Mexico and certain other countries were granted temporary exemptions, which expired on May 31, 2018. As a result, Canadian steel producers became subject to 25% tariffs on all steel revenues earned on shipments made to the United States effective as of June 1, 2018. Effective on July 1, 2018, Canada began imposing a series of counter tariffs on certain U.S. goods, including steel products. The Canadian government has also announced various relief measures aimed to helping companies affected by the tariffs and counter tariffs on goods imported from the United States.
The United States lifted these tariffs as they relate to Canadian imports effective May 2019, subject to a mutual understanding with Canada on maintaining certain trade levels into the United States. The Canadian government subsequently lifted counter tariffs on goods imported from the United States. As the trade understanding is between countries, there is no assurance that the Canadian domestic steel industry will maintain adherence to the trade level guidelines set out in the understanding. As a result, there can be no assurance that the United States will not once again levy tariffs on our products shipped to customers in the United States.
All of our operations are currently conducted at one facility using one blast furnace and are subject to unexpected equipment failures and other business interruptions.
Our manufacturing processes are dependent upon critical steelmaking equipment such as furnaces, continuous casters, rolling mills and electrical equipment (such as transformers), and this equipment may incur downtime as a result of unanticipated failures. In particular, as a single blast furnace operation, any unplanned or prolonged outage in the operation of the blast furnace and/or steelmaking facility may have a material adverse effect on our ability to produce steel and satisfy pending and new orders, which will materially impact our revenues, cash flows and profitability. We have insurance coverage for property damage and business interruption losses after a specified minimum damage. Our business interruption insurance, which is subject to specific retentions, provides coverage for loss of gross profit resulting from the interruption of business operations.
Our predecessor, Essar Steel Algoma Inc. (Old Steelco), experienced plant shutdowns or periods of reduced production as a result of such equipment failures.
On January 21, 2011, Blast Furnace No. 7 experienced significant water leakage and this ultimately led to the chilling of the furnace. Production of raw steel was halted for 23 days with production returning to normal after 33 days.
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During fiscal year 2012, a substantial number of stack plate coolers were replaced and a leak detection system was installed at Blast Furnace No. 7. This program has continued into the current fiscal year. The purpose of these measures is to detect and prevent incidents of water into the furnace hearth.
During April 2019, we experienced an unplanned outage that disrupted production in our Blast Furnace No. 7 as a result of an operator error causing a chemistry imbalance of certain materials. The resulting lost production led to a shipping volume reduction during the three-month period ended June 30, 2019, of over 100,000 tons. During April 2019, we recorded a capacity utilization adjustment of C$32.7 million to cost of steel products sold.
On October 18, 2019, there was a rupture of a steam drain line which was located below an electrical room in our cokemaking by-products plant (BP), which resulted in a loss of power to the BP. In accordance with our emergency procedures, the coke oven gas bleeders were lit to flare the coke oven gas. Additionally, the loss of power caused the cokemaking south raw liquor tank and the tar running tanks to overflow. Raw liquor was conveyed to the main water filter plant (MWFP) via a sewer located in the BP. This resulted in effluent exceedances at the MWFP for phenol, ammonia and total cyanide and a toxicity failure for rainbow trout. The incident remains under investigation by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP).
As a single blast furnace operation, our ability to curtail our operating configuration in response to declining market conditions is very limited.
Unexpected interruptions in production capabilities and unexpected failures in our computer systems would adversely affect productivity and financial performance for the affected period. No assurance can be given that a significant shutdown will not occur in the future or that such a shutdown will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position or financial performance.
It is also possible that operations may be disrupted due to other unforeseen circumstances such as power outages, explosions, fires, floods, pandemics, states of emergency declared by governmental agencies, environmental incidents, accidents, severe weather conditions and cyberattacks. To the extent that lost production could not be compensated for at unaffected facilities and depending on the length of the outage, our sales and our unit production costs could be adversely affected.
We could incur significant cash expenses for temporary and potential permanent idling of facilities.
We perform strategic reviews of our business, which may include evaluating each of our plants and operating units to assess their viability and strategic benefits. As part of these reviews, we may idle, whether temporarily or permanently, certain of our existing facilities in order to reduce participation in markets where we determine that our returns are not acceptable. If we decide to permanently idle any facility or assets, we are likely to incur significant cash expenses, including those relating to labor benefit obligations, take-or-pay supply agreements and accelerated environmental remediation costs, as well as substantial non-cash charges for impairment of those assets. If we elect to permanently idle material facilities or assets, it could adversely affect our operations, financial results and cash flows. In the past, certain of our facilities have been idled as a result of poor profitability.
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For any temporarily idled facilities, we may not be able to respond in an efficient manner when restarting these to fully realize the benefits from changing market conditions that are favorable to integrated steel producers. When we restart idled facilities, we incur certain costs to replenish raw material inventories, prepare the previously idled facilities for operation, perform the required repair and maintenance activities and prepare employees to return to work safely and resume production responsibilities. The amount of any such costs can be material, depending on a variety of factors, such as the period of time during which the facilities remained idle, necessary repairs and available employees, and is difficult to project.
The North American steel industry and certain industries we serve, such as the automotive, construction, appliance, machinery and equipment, and transportation industries, are cyclical, and prolonged economic declines would have a material adverse effect on our business.
The North American steel industry is cyclical in nature and sensitive to general economic conditions, including the COVID-19 pandemic. The financial position and financial performance of companies in the steel industry are generally affected by macroeconomic fluctuations in the Canadian, U.S. and global economies. Due mainly to our product mix, we have a higher exposure to spot markets than most of our North American competitors. We are therefore subject to more volatility in selling prices. In addition, steel prices are sensitive to trends in cyclical industries such as the North American automotive, construction, appliance, machinery and equipment, and transportation industries, which are significant markets for our products. Recent economic situations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have negatively impacted our performance.
In addition, many of our customers are also affected by economic downturns, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which may in the future result in defaults in the payment of accounts receivable owing to us and a resulting negative impact on our financial results and cash flows.
There can be no assurance that economic or market conditions will be favorable to the steel industry or any of the end-use industries that we intend to serve in the future. Economic downturns, a stagnant economy or otherwise unfavorable economic or market conditions may adversely affect our business, financial performance and financial position.
The lag between the time an order is placed and when it is fulfilled can have a material impact on our financial results, which could be adverse.
As we have a substantial portion of spot-based sales, orders are priced at current prices, subject to discounts, incentives and other negotiated terms, for production and delivery in the future. Generally, there is a lag of approximately six to eight weeks between when an order is booked and ultimately delivered. At certain times, particularly in rapidly increasing price environments, lead times could grow even longer based on increased customer demand and orders. As a result, our financial performance generally lags changes in market price, both positive and negative. Furthermore, in the circumstances where market prices are falling, our customers may seek to cancel orders or seek to renegotiate more favorable pricing to reflect the changes in market price. Our financial position and financial performance could be materially adversely affected in such circumstances.
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Predecessor operators of our business have sought creditor protection and completed corporate restructurings on a number of occasions.
Old Steelcos predecessor company initiated a bankruptcy proceeding in 1990 and subsequently emerged from bankruptcy protection by way of a C$60 million bridge loan from the Government of Ontario. As a result of business, operational and financial challenges, Old Steelcos predecessor company later filed for protection under the Canadian Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (the CCAA) in April 2001 and emerged from creditor protection in 2002 following the completion of a corporate restructuring.
In 2014, as a result of depressed steel prices, a legacy iron ore supply contract that contained above-market pricing terms, substantial pension funding obligations and a significant amount of debt and related interest expense, all of which negatively impacted Old Steelcos operations, financial position and liquidity, Old Steelco implemented an arrangement under section 192 of the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA). The CBCA proceedings enabled Old Steelco to restructure its unsecured notes, refinance its secured debt and obtain a significant capital infusion. Old Steelco also commenced a recognition proceeding in the United States under Chapter 15 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, in order to recognize and enforce the arrangement in the United States. On September 15, 2014, the Canadian court issued a final order approving the arrangement, which order was recognized by the U.S. court on September 24, 2014. The arrangement was completed in November 2014.
On November 9, 2015, Old Steelco sought and obtained CCAA protection as a result of, among other things, a dispute with a critical supplier of iron ore, a significant decrease in steel prices, an inability to comply with payment and other obligations under its credit agreements, and operational cost issues. Old Steelco carried out a sale and investment solicitation process that ultimately resulted in Opcos (as defined below) acquisition of substantially all of the operating assets of Old Steelco on November 30, 2018 (the Purchase Transaction). The transaction resulted in a significant capital structure deleveraging and negotiated arrangements with a number of labor, pension, and governmental stakeholders. The CCAA proceedings and our acquisition of the business were given effect in the United States pursuant to a recognition proceeding under Chapter 15 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
There can be no assurance that we will not experience serious financial difficulties in the future that would necessitate the commencement of restructuring proceedings, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, financial performance and prospects and the legal and economic entitlements of our stakeholders.
We are reliant on information technology systems, including cyber security systems, and any failure or breach of such systems could disrupt our operations.
We are reliant on the continuous and uninterrupted operation of our Information Technology (IT) systems. User access and security of all sites and corporate IT systems can be critical elements to our operations. Protection against cyber security incidents, cloud security and security of all of our IT systems are critical to our operations. Any IT failure pertaining to availability, access or system security could result in disruption for personnel and could adversely affect our reputation, operations or financial performance.
We may fall victim to successful cyber-attacks and may incur substantial costs and suffer other negative consequences as a result, which may include, but are not limited to, a material disruption in our ability to produce and/or ship steel products, excessive remediation costs that may include liability for stolen assets or information, repairing system damage that may have been caused, and potentially making ransom payments in connection with a cyber-attack. We and our business partners maintain significant amounts of data electronically in locations on and
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off our site. This data relates to all aspects of our business, including current and future products, and also contains certain customer, consumer, supplier, partner and employee data. We maintain systems and processes designed to protect this data, including operating in the Cloud and contracting with third-party system security providers, but notwithstanding such protective measures, there is a risk of intrusion, cyber-attacks or tampering that could compromise the integrity and privacy of this data. In addition, we provide confidential and proprietary information to our third-party business partners in certain cases where doing so is necessary to conduct our business. While we obtain assurances from those parties that they have systems and processes in place to protect such data, and where applicable, that they will take steps to assure the protections of such data by third parties, nonetheless those partners may also be subject to data intrusion or otherwise compromise the protection of such data. Any compromise of the confidential data of our customers, consumers, suppliers, partners, employees or ourselves, or failure to prevent or mitigate the loss of or damage to this data through breach of our information technology systems or other means could substantially disrupt our operations, including production delays or downtimes, harm our customers, consumers, employees and other business partners, damage our reputation, violate applicable laws and regulations, subject us to potentially significant costs and liabilities and result in a loss of business that could be material.
Increased global information technology security requirements, vulnerabilities, threats and a rise in sophisticated and targeted cybercrime pose a risk to the security of our systems, our information networks, and to the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our data, as well as to the functionality of our automated and electronically controlled manufacturing operating systems and data collection and analytics capabilities, which our management believes are important and are expected to contribute to our ability to efficiently operate and compete. Although we have adopted procedures and controls, including operating in the Cloud and contracting with third-party system security providers, to protect our information and operating technology, including sensitive proprietary information and confidential and personal data, there can be no assurance that a system or network failure, or security breach, will not occur. This could lead to system interruption, production delays or downtimes and operational disruptions and/or the disclosure, modification or destruction of proprietary and other key information, which could have an adverse effect on our reputation, financial results and financial performance.
Changes to global data privacy laws and cross-border transfer requirements could adversely affect our business and operations.
Our business depends on the transfer of data between our affiliated entities, to and from our business partners, and with third-party service providers, which may be subject to global data privacy laws and cross-border transfer restrictions. While we take steps to comply with these legal requirements, changes to the applicability of those laws may impact our ability to effectively transfer data across borders in support of our business operations.
Changes in accounting standards and subjective assumptions, estimates and judgments by management related to complex accounting matters could significantly affect our financial results or financial position.
IFRS and related accounting pronouncements, implementation guidelines and interpretations with regard to a wide range of matters that are relevant to our business, including but not limited to revenue recognition, impairment of goodwill and intangible assets, inventory, income taxes and litigation, are highly complex and involve many subjective assumptions, estimates and judgments. Changes in these rules or their interpretation or changes in underlying assumptions, estimates or judgments could significantly change our financial performance or financial position in accordance with IFRS.
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Our products may not benefit from intellectual property protection and we must respect intellectual property rights of others.
Some information about our products including product chemistries and methods and processes of production are publicly known. Thus, other facilities could produce competitive products using such information. As a result, we may not be able to distinguish our products from competitors that use the same publicly known chemistries, methods and processes that we use. Other information related to our products including product chemistries and methods and processes used to make them are proprietary to third parties who hold intellectual property rights such as patents or trade secrets therein. Our commercial success depends on our ability to operate without infringing the patents and other proprietary rights of third parties, and there can be no assurance that our operations, product chemistries and methods and processes of production do not or will not infringe the patents or proprietary rights of others. Further, if our competitors use their own proprietary intellectual property rights in their products that we do not have access to, such competitors may have an advantage over us which could have an adverse effect on our business.
Our operations could be materially affected by labor interruptions and difficulties.
We had 2,734 full-time employees as of March 31, 2022, of which approximately 95% are represented by two locals of the United Steelworkers of Canada (USW) under two collective bargaining agreements. On June 26, 2018, Local 2251 members and Local 2724 members voted to ratify new collective bargaining agreements. These agreements were conditional upon closing of the sale transaction discussed above pursuant to which we acquired substantially all of the operating assets of Old Steelco. The agreements with Local 2251 and Local 2724 expire on July 31, 2022.
Our customers, or companies upon whom we are dependent for raw materials, transportation or other services, could also be affected by labor difficulties. Any such activities, disruptions or difficulties could result in a significant loss of production and sales and could have a material adverse effect on our financial position or financial performance.
Our operations, production levels, sales, financial results and cash flows could be adversely affected by transportation, raw material or energy supply disruptions, or poor quality of raw materials, particularly coal and iron ore.
Due to our location on Lake Superior, we are dependent on seasonally available waterways for the delivery of substantial amounts of raw materials, including coal and iron ore. The waterways close from approximately mid-January to the end of March each year. Extreme cold weather conditions in the United States and Canada impact shipping on the Great Lakes and could disrupt the delivery of iron ore to us and/or increase our costs related to iron ore. Failure to have adequate coal and iron ore on site prior to the closure of the waterways would adversely affect our ability to operate during such closure and could have a material adverse effect on our production levels, business, financial position, financial performance and prospects. For example, during the period from January through April 2014, the upper Great Lakes suffered a severe freeze-over, which resulted in the waterways being generally inaccessible for shipping until early May 2014. As a result, raw material supply was depleted and production was therefore reduced. In addition, extreme weather conditions may limit the availability of railcars or
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otherwise affect our capacity to receive inbound raw materials, and/or ship products to our customers, which may have a material impact on increasing our costs and /or realizing our revenues. Finally, such disruptions or quality issues, whether the result of severe financial hardships or bankruptcies of suppliers, natural or man-made disasters or other adverse weather events, or other unforeseen circumstances or events, could reduce production or increase costs at our plants and potentially adversely affect customers or markets to which we sell our products. Any resulting financial impact could constrain our ability to fund additional capital investments and maintain adequate levels of liquidity and working capital.
Our business requires substantial capital investment, capital commitments and maintenance expenditures, which we may have difficulty in meeting and will cause us to incur operating costs.
Our operations are capital intensive. We expect to make ongoing capital and maintenance expenditures to achieve and maintain competitive levels of capacity, cost, productivity and product quality. We may not generate sufficient future operating cash flow and external financing sources may not be available in an amount sufficient to enable us to make anticipated capital expenditures, service or refinance our indebtedness, or fund other liquidity needs. Failure to make sufficient capital investment, capital commitments and maintenance expenditures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, financial performance and prospects.
Our Blast Furnace No. 7 was last relined in 2007 which resulted in a downtime of 52 days and capital expenditure of C$72 million. Relines generally last for 20 years. We monitor the health of our furnace. We will expect Blast Furnace No. 7 to require a future reline, which we anticipate occurring no sooner than 2024, which will result in downtime and capital expenditure, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, financial performance or prospects.
In addition, our profitability and competitiveness are, in large part, dependent upon our ability to maintain low production costs for products with prices that fluctuate based on factors beyond our control. Through our participation in the Canadian Steel Producers Association, we have committed to pursue the aspirational goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. We continue to evaluate strategies to both meet this goal and maintain our competitiveness, including through the modernization of our existing facilities and/or the adoption of other technologies such as less carbon-intensive iron making or EAF steel-making. Unless we continue to invest in newer technologies and equipment such as modernized plants and information technology systems and are successful at integrating such newer technologies and equipment to make our operations more efficient, our cost of production relative to our competitors may increase and we may cease to be profitable or competitive. However, newer technologies and equipment are expensive and the necessary investments may be substantial. Moreover, such investments entail additional risks as to whether the newer technologies and equipment will reduce our cost of production sufficiently to justify the capital expenditures to obtain them. Any failure to make sufficient or appropriate investments in newer technologies and equipment or in integrating such newer technologies and equipment in our operations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, financial performance or prospects.
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Our ability to generate revenue is dependent on our customer base and certain key customers.
We serve more than 200 customers across multiple sectors in North America. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, our top ten customers accounted for approximately 49% of our revenue, and no single customer represented more than 11% of revenue. The average tenure for our top ten customers is more than 20 years. The composition and concentration of our customer base could change over time.
While we benefit from diverse end market exposure with limited customer concentration, we rely on certain key customers for a material portion of our revenues. These customers may not consistently purchase our products at a particular rate over any subsequent period. The loss of one or more significant customers, or a decline in steel demand for customers operating in particular industries as a result of macroeconomic or industry-specific factors, could have a material adverse effect on our revenues, financial performance and financial position, particularly if we are unable to replace such lost business with new customer orders. In addition, certain of our top customers may be able to exert pricing and other influences on us, requiring us to produce, market, deliver and promote our products in a manner that may be more costly to us.
The closing or relocation of customer facilities could adversely affect us.
Our ability to meet delivery requirements and the overall cost of our products as delivered to customer facilities are important competitive factors. If customers close or move their production facilities further away from our production facility, it could have an adverse effect on our ability to meet competitive conditions, which could result in the loss of sales. Likewise, if customers move their production facilities outside North America, it could result in the loss of potential sales for us.
We depend on third parties to supply sophisticated and complex machinery for our plants and we are exposed to risks relating to the timing or quality of their services, equipment and supplies.
We have purchased in the past, and propose to purchase going forward, equipment, machinery and services from third parties in relation to our plant. Given that we do not have any direct control over these third parties, we rely on them to provide goods and services in a timely manner and in accordance with our specifications. In addition, we require continued and timely support of certain original equipment manufacturers to supply necessary services and parts to maintain our plants at reasonable cost. If we are unable to procure the required services or parts from these manufacturers for any reason (including the closure of operations or bankruptcy of such manufacturers), if the cost of these services or parts exceeds our budget or if the services or parts provided are deficient or sub-standard, there may be an adverse effect on our business, financial position, financial performance, cash flows and prospects.
We depend on third parties for transportation services, and increases in costs or the availability of transportation may adversely affect our business and operations.
Our business depends on the transportation of a large number of products, both domestically and internationally. We rely primarily on third parties (including the Canadian Pacific Railway, Canadian National Railway, McKeil Marine and Purvis Marine to provide freighter, shipping and rail transportation services, as well as dock capacity, for the products we manufacture as well as delivery of our raw materials. Any increase in the cost of the transportation of our raw materials or products, as a result of increases in fuel or labor costs, higher demand for logistics services, consolidation in the transportation industry or otherwise, may adversely affect our financial performance as we may not be able to pass such cost increases on to our customers.
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If any of these providers were to fail to deliver raw materials to us in a timely manner (including due to weather-related problems, strikes, lock-outs or other labor issues, logistical problems or other events), we may be unable to manufacture and deliver our products in response to customer demand in a timely manner or at all. Further, increases in transportation costs, decreased availability of ocean vessels or changes in such costs relative to transportation costs incurred by our competitors, could make our products less competitive, restrict our access to certain markets and have an adverse effect on our production levels, sales, margins and profitability. In addition, if any of these third parties were to cease operations or cease doing business with us, we may be unable to replace them at a reasonable cost.
In addition, such failure or disruption of a third-party transportation provider could harm our reputation, negatively affect our customer relationships and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, financial performance and prospects.
Parties with whom we do business may be subject to insolvency risks or may otherwise become unable or unwilling to perform their obligations to us.
We are a party to business relationships, transactions and contracts with various third parties, pursuant to which such third parties have performance, payment and other obligations to us. If any of these third parties were to become subject to bankruptcy, receivership or similar proceedings, our rights and benefits in relation to our business relationships, contracts and transactions with such third parties could be terminated, modified in a manner adverse to us, or otherwise impaired. We cannot make any assurances that we would be able to arrange for alternate or replacement business relationships, transactions or contracts on terms as favorable as our existing business relationships, transactions or contracts if at all. Any inability on our part to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial performance.
A change in our relationship with counterparties to any of our joint ventures may have an adverse effect on that joint venture.
We have entered into and may, in the future, enter into, develop and operate various joint ventures. We believe an important element in the success of any joint venture is a solid relationship between the members of that joint venture. If there is a change in ownership, a change of control, a change in management or management philosophy, a change in business strategy or another event with respect to a member of a joint venture that adversely impacts the relationship between the joint venture members, it could adversely impact that joint venture, which may have a resulting adverse impact on our business and financial performance. In addition, joint ventures necessarily involve special risks. Whether or not we hold a majority interest or maintain operational control in a joint venture, our counterparties may have economic or business interests or goals that are inconsistent with our interests or goals. For example, such parties may exercise veto rights to block actions that we believe to be in our best interests, may take action contrary to our policies or objectives with respect to our investments, or may be unable or unwilling to fulfill their obligations or commitments to the joint venture.
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We are dependent on the operation of our port facility to receive raw materials and deliver steel shipments.
In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, we received approximately 98% of our raw material inputs and shipped approximately 20% of our total steel shipments and approximately 100% of our by-products through our captive port facility located on-site at our steel plant in Sault Ste. Marie, Canada. Any material or prolonged disruption in our ability to receive or send shipments through the port facility would have a material adverse effect on our business and financial performance.
Any increases in annual funding obligations resulting from our under-funded pension plans could have a material adverse effect on us.
We are the sponsor of Old Steelcos defined benefit pension plan for hourly employees (the Hourly Plan) and its defined benefit pension plan for salaried employees (the Salaried Plan) (collectively, the DB Pension Plans), which we assumed in connection with the Purchase Transaction. The most recent actuarial valuations of these DB Pension Plans are dated March 1, 2021, and indicate that the DB Pension Plans are underfunded on a solvency basis. The most recent actuarial valuations indicate that the Hourly Plan had a solvency ratio of 88% and that the Salaried Plan had a solvency ratio of 85%. Furthermore, the most recent actuarial valuations indicate that both the Hourly Plan and the Salaried Plan have a going concern funding excess at March 1, 2021.
In connection with the Purchase Transaction, Ontario Regulation 484/18: Essar Steel Algoma Inc. Pension Plans for Salaried Employees and Hourly Employees, as filed on November 30, 2018 (the 2018 Pension Regulations) was implemented to provide a funding framework for the DB Pension Plans. Under the 2018 Pension Regulations, among other things, the aggregate going concern and solvency special payments to the DB Pension Plans are capped at C$31 million per annum.
As indicated above, as of March 1, 2021, both DB Pension Plans have obtained an 85% solvency ratio. As a result, the general regulations applicable to all Ontario registered pension plans (the General Regulations) apply, but with some restrictions including a cap of C$31 million on the aggregate of the special payments for the DB Pension Plans. In addition, benefits from the DB Pension Plans are now subject to the Ontario Pension Benefit Guarantee Fund (the PBGF), which requires us to make annual assessment payments to the PBGF determined based on a formula that includes, among other factors, the funding status and number of members of the pension plan. The 2018 Pension Regulations provide that subsection 57(4) of the Ontario Pension Benefits Act (the PBA) does not apply to the DB Pension Plans and that subsection 57(3) of the PBA does not apply to us in respect of contributions due and not paid into the DB Pension Plans before the 2018 Pension Regulations came into force. The C$31 million minimum funding and cap will cease to apply on the earlier of the year in which we elect to have the funding rules in the General Regulations apply or in 2039.
We are also the sponsor of closed defined benefit pension plan for pensioners who retired prior to January 1, 2002 (the Wrap Plan) that provides a pension benefit in excess of the limits provided by the PBGF. We assumed the Wrap Plan in connection with the completion of the Purchase Transaction, subject to transitional provisions pending the implementation of regulatory measures. Ontario Regulation 207/19 was filed on June 20, 2019 (the Wrap Regulations) was implemented to provide a funding framework for the Wrap Plan. The Wrap Regulations require us to make monthly contributions to the Wrap Plan equal to the lesser of C$416,667 and the amount of the prior months benefit payments from the Wrap Plan fund until the Wrap Plans solvency ratio is 100%. This funding requirement supersedes the normal funding requirements under the PBA and the General Regulations. The Wrap Regulations provide that subsection 57(4) of the PBA does not apply to the Wrap Plan and that subsection 57(3) of the PBA does not apply to us in respect of contributions due and not paid into the Wrap Plan before the Wrap Regulations came into force.
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While our near-term funding obligations in respect of the DB Pension Plans and the Wrap Plan are determined in large part based on the 2018 Pension Regulations and the Wrap Regulations, changes to our collective bargaining agreements, the cost of pension benefits paid to plan members, the impact of market outcomes (including interest rates and investment returns), the occurrence of any adverse deviations or changes to governmental regulations affecting the DB Pension Plans or the Wrap Plan, among other things, could affect the funding status of such pension plans and/or the contributions that we are required to make to the pension plans. We could be adversely impacted by any adverse changes to the funding status of the pension plans or increases in our annual funding obligations.
Post-employment benefits owed to our retirees could increase and obligate us to make greater payments.
We provide certain post-employment benefits to our retirees. These benefits include drug, life insurance and hospitalization coverage. We do not pre-fund these obligations. Our obligations for these benefits could increase in the future due to a number of factors including changes in interest rates, changes to collective bargaining agreements, increasing costs for these benefits, particularly drugs, and any transfer of costs currently borne by the Canadian government to us.
Currency fluctuations, including a significant increase in the value of the Canadian dollar, could have a materially adverse effect on our financial performance and financial position.
For the year ended March 31, 2022, 63% of our revenue was from customers located in the United States. Increases in the value of the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar make Canadian steel products less competitive in U.S. markets and also encourage steel imports from the United States into Canada. Our revenue is driven by U.S. dollar-based indices. 65% of our cost is based on U.S. dollar-indices and 35% of our cost is in Canadian dollars, which is impacted by exchange rate fluctuation. The increase in the value of the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar will also have a negative impact on expenditures in Canadian dollars. Therefore, a significant increase in the value of the Canadian dollar could adversely affect our financial performance and financial position.
Limited availability of raw materials and energy may constrain operating levels and reduce profit margins.
We and other steel producers have periodically been faced with problems in obtaining sufficient raw materials and energy in a timely manner due to delays, defaults or force majeure events by suppliers, shortages or transportation problems (such as shortages of barges, vessels, rail cars or trucks, or disruption of rail lines, waterways or natural gas transmission lines), resulting in production curtailments. For example, we faced an increase in the price of natural gas throughout the fourth quarter of our 2014 fiscal year, due to disruptions in supply as a result of extreme weather conditions, including the bursting of the pipeline that supplies the region in which we are located. We may be exposed to additional risks concerning pricing and availability of raw materials from third parties. Any curtailments and escalated costs may further reduce profit margins. Specifically, if demand is such that our blast furnaces are at full production capacity, we may become dependent upon outside purchased coke, especially if some of our existing coke facilities produce at less than capacity.
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Environmental compliance and site remediation obligations could result in substantially increased costs and could materially adversely affect our competitive position.
Steel producers such as Algoma are subject to numerous environmental laws and regulations, including federal and provincial, relating to the protection of the environment. We are required to comply with an evolving body of Canadian federal, provincial and local environmental, health and safety laws concerned with, among other things, greenhouse gas emission (GHG), other emissions into the air, discharges to surface and ground water, the investigation and remediation of contaminated property, noise control, waste management and disposal, mine closure and rehabilitation, and the generation, handling, storage, transportation, discharge, presence and disposal of, or exposure to pollutants, contaminants and hazardous substances. Specifically, the Company can incur regulatory liability as well civil liability for breeches or violations of environmental law, including contamination on-site (soil, groundwater, indoor air), contaminant migration and impacts off-site including in respect of groundwater, rivers, lakes, other waterways, and air emissions. Significant expenditures could be required for compliance with any laws or regulations relating to environmental protection and remediation, which may have an adverse effect on our financial performance and financial position.
We are subject to current and new environmental compliance measures pertaining to the integrated blast furnace coke oven steelmaking operations, including coke oven gas desulfurization and slag granulation, among others. In the event we do not receive exemptions or other accommodations from the relevant regulatory authorities, we may need to invest significant capital in these compliance measures while they remain in operation.
By January 1, 2026, there is a Canadian federal requirement to implement plans and measures to reduce the amount of sulphur dioxide emitted from the combustion of coke oven gas by-product by implementing coke oven gas desulphurization technology. This requirement arises under a notice (the Notice) issued under subsection 56(1) of CEPA which requires prescribed persons to prepare and implement pollution prevention plans in respect of specified toxic substances released from the iron and steel sector. The Notice applies to all steel mills, including ours. Facilities subject to the Notice are required, among other things, to prepare a pollution prevention plan that will achieve prescribed baseline emission targets by the specified date, and submit certain written declarations and progress reports. Algoma will be taking an alternative approach to reduce SO2 through its transition to electric arc steelmaking, which will see the elimination of cokemaking from Algomas operations. Therefore, Algoma will be providing a pollution prevention plan that reflects this alternative approach to reduce SO2 which has been deemed an acceptable approach to comply with CEPA. Similarly, in order to align with new provincial legislation related to SO2, Algoma has applied for a Site-Specific Standard that includes an action plan to reduce SO2 that reflects the progressive facility shutdown.
In the United States and Canada, certain environmental laws and regulations impose joint and several liabilities on certain classes of persons for the costs of investigation, management and remediation of contaminated properties and for the management of emissions into the environment. Liability may attach regardless of fault or the legality of the release or disposal of the substance or waste at the time it occurred. Some of our present and former facilities have been in operation for many years and, over such time, have used substances and disposed of wastes that may require management, investigation, mitigation and remediation. We could be liable for the costs of such investigations and remediation. Costs for any investigation, management, mitigation and remediation of contamination, on or off site, whether known or not yet discovered, or to address other issues relating to pollution and waste disposal, emissions into the air or water, or the storage or handling of materials, could be substantial and could have an adverse effect on our financial performance. In addition, while we are subject to GHG emissions tax liability in Canada, we need to compete alongside foreign competitors in Canada and the United States that may not be similarly subject to such carbon tax liabilities, resulting in our reduced competitiveness in the market which may affect revenues and profitability.
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In connection with the EAF transformation, we may incur higher carbon tax liabilities unless we develop a facility-specific GHG emissions performance standard in connection with operations in the Hybrid Mode. Algoma has received comfort letters from MECP committing to work together on a pathway to address the support sought. Furthermore, the dust generated during the EAF steel scrap melting process may contain a significant amount of zinc, and is considered a hazardous waste, the disposal of which is expensive and regulated.
Our Environmental Department regularly reviews and audits our operating practices to monitor compliance with our environmental policies and legal requirements. Our environmental management system is ISO 14001-2015 registered.
No assurance can be given that unforeseen changes, such as new laws or stricter enforcement policies, including in respect of carbon pricing, or an incident at one of our properties or operations, will not have a material adverse effect on our business, estimated capital or operating costs, financial position, or financial performance. Our operations are required to have governmental permits and approvals. Any of these permits or approvals may be subject to denial, revocation, expiry or modification under various circumstances. Failure to obtain or comply with the conditions and terms of permits or approvals may adversely affect our operations and may subject us to regulatory orders, penalties and fines. In addition, if environmental laws are amended or are interpreted or enforced differently, or if new environmental legislation is enacted, we may be required to obtain additional permits or approvals and incur additional costs. There can be no assurance that we will be able to meet all applicable regulatory requirements. In addition, we may be subject to regulatory orders, penalties, fines or other liabilities arising from our actions imposed under environmental laws, including as a result of actions or other proceedings commenced by third parties, such as neighbors or government regulators, including with respect to an emissions incident at our cokemaking by-products plant.
On June 9, 2022, an oil-based lubricant was released from our hot mill, entrained into our water treatment facility, and some quantity ultimately discharged into the St. Marys River which borders along Ontario and Michigan. Working with the assistance of expert technical advisors, we have been able to ascertain that the estimated amount of oil that was ultimately discharged into the river from our water treatment plant is in the range of 1,000 liters (263 gallons) to 1,250 liters (330 gallons), with the amount not likely exceeding 1,250 liters. This information along with the analysis methodology have been provided to the Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks, whom we continue to work closely with. To date, we have not received any orders or notices of offense pursuant to environmental laws in Canada or the United States, but may in the future be subject to orders, offenses, penalties, fines or other negative consequences as a result of this incident, which may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. The economic impact of this incident remains unknown. We are still assessing, and it is too early to determine, the impact of this incident, but such incident may subject us to the liabilities described above. In connection with this incident and similar incidents that may occur from time to time, we may need to make significant capital and operating expenditures to detect, repair and/or control discharges or to perform certain corrective actions to meet the conditions of the permits issued pursuant to applicable environmental laws.
Increased regulation associated with climate change and greenhouse gas emissions could impose significant additional costs on our operations.
The effects of government policy, legislation or regulation enacted to address climate change may adversely impact our operations as well as those of our suppliers and our customers, and including the transportation of the associated raw materials and products. In addition, government action to address climate change may, among other things, reduce the demand for our products. Although we have made efforts to mitigate the effects of government action related to climate change on our business, there can be no assurance that these efforts will be effective or that the effects of climate change policies will not adversely impact our operations, business and financial results.
On July 3, 2018, Ontario revoked Ontario Regulation 144/16, The Cap and Trade Program under the Climate Change Mitigation and Low-carbon Economy Act, 2016, effectively ceasing Ontarios cap and trade program which had been in effect since May 18, 2016. The revocation regulation also prohibits registered participants in the former cap and trade program from purchasing, selling, trading or otherwise dealing with emission allowances and credits. Without a cap and trade system or carbon tax in place in Ontario that meets minimum federal requirements for GHG emissions, regulated entities in Ontario are subject to the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (generally referred to as the Federal Backstop).
On January 1, 2019, the federal governments Output-Based Pricing System (the OBPS Program) under the Federal Backstop came into effect in Ontario. The OBPS Program includes registration, monitoring, reporting and payment obligations for GHG emitters subject to the Federal Backstop. It is not certain how the OBPS Program will apply to electric arc steelmaking versus blast furnace based steelmaking, as the government of Canada has not fully developed the regulatory regime for steelmakers.
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On July 4, 2019, Ontarios Emissions Performance Program (the EPS Program) under Ontario Regulation 241/19 came into effect. The EPS Program requires all large industrial emitters in the province to comply with capped emission levels tied to their level of output or production and the program may include compliance flexibility mechanisms such as offset credits and/or payment of an amount to achieve compliance. On September 20, 2020, the EPS Program was accepted by the federal government as an alternative to the federal OBPS Program. The federal and Ontario governments are currently in the process of planning the transition from the OBPS Program to the EPS Program for GHG emitters in Ontario. Until that transition is completed, both the OBPS Program and the EPS Program remain in effect in Ontario. The EPS Program is expected to be implemented in stages to give Ontario industries time to meet their obligations thereunder. The EPS Program is part of the Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan (the Provincial Plan) which was released in November 2018. The Provincial Plan also includes the Ontario Carbon Trust, which will use financing techniques and market development tools in partnership with the private sector to speed up the deployment of low-carbon solutions, as well as a commitment by the Ontario government to encourage private investments in clean technologies and green infrastructure projects.
Prior to the federal governments acceptance of the EPS Program, Ontario and a number of other provinces commenced legal challenges to the Federal Backstop. On March 25, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered a decision upholding the constitutionality of the Federal Backstop. While, at this point, we cannot definitively predict the full effect of the EPS Program on us when the federal OBPS Program is phased out, our financial position, operations (including any plans to increase production) and ability to compete with companies in foreign jurisdictions may be materially affected by the new regime. The absence of similar requirements in other jurisdictions could negatively impact our ability (and that of our customers and suppliers) to compete with companies situated in those jurisdictions.
On December 11, 2020, the federal government announced its new climate plan entitled A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy. For the 2020 compliance year, the carbon tax payable under the OPBS Program by large industrial emitters if emissions at their facilities exceed a set level is set at C$30 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) and is scheduled to increase by C$10 per tonne annually until it reaches C$50 per tonne in 2022. The A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy plan, if implemented into law, would increase the carbon tax by C$15 per tonne per year starting in 2023 until the tax becomes C$170 per tonne CO2e in 2030.
Any additional regulatory or other changes that are adopted in the future to address climate change and GHG emissions could negatively impact our ability (and that of our customers and suppliers) to compete with companies situated in areas not subject to such requirements. Taken together, these regulatory changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial performance or financial results.
Pursuant to an Environmental Compliance Approval issued by the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, we are required to install certain equipment in our number 6 blast furnace (Blast Furnace No. 6) to reduce casthouse emissions. The actual cost of the equipment and its installation could vary significantly due to cost escalation, design changes, regulatory policies or other factors. In addition, the tightening of air emissions standards in Ontario for our blast furnace and cokemaking operations could result in significant costs for additional pollution controls or other equipment or operational changes. The foregoing costs would not be incurred until Blast Furnace No. 6, which is currently idled, is restarted. There is no assurance that these costs may not be higher than as currently estimated.
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The U.S. government and various governmental agencies have introduced or are contemplating regulatory changes in response to the potential impact of climate change. International treaties or agreements may also result in increasing regulation of GHG emissions, including the introduction of carbon emissions trading mechanisms. Any such regulation regarding climate change and GHG emissions could impose significant costs on our steelmaking and metals recycling operations and on the operations of our customers and suppliers, including increased energy, capital equipment, environmental monitoring and reporting and other costs in order to comply with current or future laws or regulations and limitations imposed on our operations by virtue of climate change and GHG emissions laws and regulations. The potential costs of allowances, offsets or credits that may be part of potential cap-and-trade programs or similar future regulatory measures are still uncertain. Any adopted future climate change and GHG regulations could negatively impact our ability (and that of our customers and suppliers) to compete with companies situated in areas not subject to such limitations. From a medium and long-term perspective, as a result of these regulatory initiatives, we may see an increase in costs relating to our assets that emit significant amounts of GHGs. These regulatory initiatives will be either voluntary or mandatory and may impact our operations directly or through our suppliers or customers. Until the timing, scope and extent of any future regulation becomes known, we cannot predict the effect on our business, financial performance or financial position, but such effect could be materially adverse to our business, financial performance and financial position.
Our industry could be subject to increased regulatory oversight or changes in government policies that could have adverse effects.
Our industry could be subject to increased regulatory oversight. Changing regulatory policies and other actions by governments and third parties may all have the effect of limiting our revenues and increasing our operating costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and financial performance. Due to regulatory restructuring initiatives at the federal, provincial and state levels, the steel industry has undergone changes over the past several years. Future government initiatives will further change the steel industry. Some of these initiatives may delay or reverse the movement towards competitive markets. We cannot predict the ultimate effect that on-going regulatory changes will have on our business prospects, financial position and financial performance.
Impairment in the carrying value of long-lived assets could negatively affect our operating results and reduce our earnings.
We have a significant amount of long-lived assets on our consolidated balance sheets. Under IFRS, we periodically evaluate long-lived assets for potential impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances have occurred that indicate that impairment may exist, or the carrying amount of the long-lived asset may not be recoverable. An impairment loss is recognized if the carrying amount of a long-lived asset is not recoverable based on its estimated future discounted cash flows. Events and conditions that could result in impairment in the value of our long-lived assets include cash flow or operating losses, other negative events or long-term outlook, cost factors that have negative effect on earnings and cash flows, changes in business conditions or strategy, as well as significantly deteriorating industry, market, and general economic conditions. Impairment in the carrying value of long-lived assets could negatively affect our operating results and reduce our earnings.
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We face increased competition from alternative materials, which could impact the price of steel and adversely affect our profitability and cash flow.
As a result of increasingly stringent regulatory requirements, designers, engineers and industrial manufacturers, especially those in the automotive industry, are increasing their use of lighter weight and alternative materials, such as aluminum, composites, plastics and carbon fiber in their products. Increased government incentives and requirements for the use of such materials to meet regulatory requirements could reduce the demand for steel products, which could potentially reduce our profitability and cash flows.
Pending or threatened litigation or claims could negatively affect our profitability and cash flow in a particular period.
We are subject to litigation arising in the normal course of business and may be involved in legal disputes or matters with other parties, including governments and their agencies, regulators and members of our workforce, which may result in litigation. The causes of potential litigation cannot be known and may arise from, among other things, business activities, employment matters, including compensation issues, or grievances under our collective bargaining agreements, environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, tax matters and securities matters. The timing of resolutions to such matters, should they arise, is uncertain and we may incur expenses in defending them and the possible outcomes or resolutions could include adverse judgments, orders or settlements or require us to implement corrective measures any of which could require substantial payments and adversely affect our reputation and operations, and may also negatively affect our profitability and cash flow in a particular period.
Failure to maintain our current senior management or inability to attract additional senior management could have an adverse effect on our operations.
Our operations and prospects depend, in large part, on the performance of our senior management team. We cannot assure that such individuals will remain as employees. For example, Michael McQuade retired as Chief Executive Officer in June 2022 and our Chief Commercial Officer, Robert Dionisi, retired in May 2022. In addition, we can make no assurance that we would be able to find qualified replacements for any of these individuals if their services were no longer available. The loss of the services of one or more members of senior management or difficulty in attracting, retaining and maintaining additional senior management personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and financial performance.
A failure to maintain adequate insurance could have a materially adverse effect on our operations.
To date, we have been able to obtain liability insurance for the operation of our business. However, there can be no assurance that our existing liability insurance will be adequate, or that it will be able to be maintained, or that all possible claims that may be asserted against us will be covered by insurance. The occurrence of a significant adverse event that causes losses in excess of limits specified under the relevant policy or losses arising from events not covered by insurance policies, could materially adversely affect our business, financial position, financial performance and prospects.
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Our income tax filing positions may be subject to challenge by tax authorities, which could subject us to increased tax liabilities.
We file tax returns that may contain interpretations of tax law and estimates. Positions taken and estimates utilized by us may be challenged by applicable tax authorities. Rulings that alter filed tax returns may have an adverse impact on income. In addition, we are involved in and potentially subject to regular audits from Canadian federal and provincial tax authorities relating to income, capital and commodity taxes and, as a result of these audits, may receive assessments and reassessments. For example, we were notified in June 2021 that the Canada Revenue Agency (the CRA) is currently conducting an audit of Opcos 2018 and 2019 January to December taxation years. The audit is in its preliminary stages and we have not been informed of any issues by the CRA. In the event that the CRA successfully challenges the manner in which we have filed our tax returns and reported income, it could potentially result in additional income taxes, penalties and interest, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We are subject to risks related to shifting steel supplies.
As traditional steel-consuming markets are negatively impacted from reduced demand due to a variety of factors, including COVID-19, or other regulatory changes (such as, for instance, the revocation in January 2021 of the presidential permit necessary to construct and operate the Keystone oil pipeline at the international border of Canada and the United States), suppliers of steel products into these affected sectors will divert their sales efforts to markets where we traditionally participate, thereby creating pressure on lowering pricing in response to increased supply. The oil and gas industry is a significant end market for steel, and has experienced and continues to experience a significant amount of disruption and oversupply at a time of declining demand, resulting in more competition in other sectors of the economy.
Changes in our credit profile may affect our relationships with our suppliers, which could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity.
Changes in our credit profile may affect the way our suppliers view our ability to make payments and may induce them to shorten the payment terms of their invoices or require us to prepay, particularly given our high level of outstanding indebtedness. Given the large dollar amounts and volume of our purchases from suppliers, a change in payment terms may have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and our ability to make payments to our suppliers, and consequently may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial performance and financial position.
Some of our operations present significant risk of injury or death.
The industrial activities conducted at certain of our facilities present significant risk of serious injury or death to our employees, contractors, customers or other visitors to our operations. Notwithstanding our safety precautions, including our material compliance with federal and provincial employee health and safety regulations, we may be unable to avoid material liabilities for injuries or deaths. We maintain workers compensation insurance to address the risk of incurring material liabilities for injuries or deaths, but there can be no assurance that the insurance coverage will be adequate or will continue to be available on the terms acceptable to us, or at all, which could result in material liabilities to us for any injuries or deaths. We could also incur fines and other sanctions as a result of safety incidents.
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Our cross-border operations require us to comply with anti-corruption laws and regulations of the U.S. government and various non-U.S. jurisdictions.
Doing business in multiple countries requires us and our subsidiaries to comply with Canadian and other laws and regulations governing corruption and bribery, including the Canadian Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act. The laws generally prohibit companies and their officers, directors, employees and agents acting on their behalf from corruptly offering, promising, authorizing or providing anything of value to foreign officials for the purposes of influencing official decisions or obtaining or retaining business or otherwise obtaining favorable treatment. As a result, business dealings between our employees or our agents and any such public official could expose us to the risk of violating anti-corruption laws. Violations of these legal requirements are punishable by criminal fines and imprisonment, civil penalties, disgorgement of profits, injunctions, debarment from government contracts as well as other remedial measures. We have established policies and procedures designed to assist us and our personnel in complying with applicable laws and regulations; however, we cannot assure investors that these policies and procedures will completely eliminate the risk of a violation of these legal requirements. Any such violation (inadvertent or otherwise) could have a material adverse effect on our business prospects, financial position and financial performance.
Shortages of skilled labor, increased labor costs, or our failure to attract and retain other highly qualified personnel in the future could disrupt our operations and adversely affect our financial results.
We depend on skilled labor for the manufacture of our products. Our continued success depends on the active participation of our key employees. Shortages of some types of skilled labor could restrict our ability to maintain or increase production rates, lead to production inefficiencies and increase our labor costs. The competitive nature of the labor markets in which we operate, the cyclical nature of the steel industry and the resulting employment needs increase our risk of not being able to recruit, train and retain the employees we require at efficient costs and on reasonable terms, particularly when the economy expands, production rates are high or competition for such skilled labor increases. Many companies, including ours, have had employee lay-offs as a result of reduced business activities in an industry downturn. The loss of our key people or our inability to attract new key employees could adversely affect our operations. Additionally, layoffs or other adverse actions could result in an adverse relationship with our workforce. If we are unable to recruit, train and retain adequate numbers of qualified employees on a timely basis or at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, our business and financial performance could be adversely affected.
The expansion of social media platforms present new risks and challenges.
The expansion of social media platforms presents new risks and challenges. The inappropriate use of certain social media vehicles could cause brand damage or information leakage or could lead to legal implications from the improper collection and/or dissemination of personally identifiable information or the improper dissemination of material information. In addition, negative posts or comments about us and/or any of our key personnel on any social networking web site could seriously damage our reputation. If our sensitive information is disclosed or if our reputation or that of our key personnel is seriously damaged through social media, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and financial performance.
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Our management has limited experience operating a public company, and thus its success in such endeavors cannot be guaranteed.
We have been a public company for less than 12 months and, as a result, a portion of our executive officers have limited experience in the management of a publicly traded company. Our management team may not successfully or effectively manage our operations as a public company that is subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under U.S. and Canadian securities laws. Their limited experience in dealing with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies could be a significant disadvantage in that it is likely that an increasing amount of their time may be devoted to these activities, which will result in less time being devoted to the management and growth of the company. We may not have adequate personnel with the appropriate level of knowledge, experience and training in the accounting policies, practices or internal control over financial reporting required of public companies in the United States and Canada. We have and continue to be in the process of upgrading our finance and accounting systems to an enterprise system suitable for our operations as a public company, and a delay could impact our ability or prevent us from timely reporting our operating results, timely filing required reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) and applicable Canadian securities regulators and complying with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the Sarbanes-Oxley Act). The development and implementation of the standards and controls necessary for us to achieve the level of accounting standards required of us as a public company in the United States and Canada has and may continue to require costs greater than expected. It is possible that we will be required to expand our employee base and hire additional employees to support our operations as a public company which will increase our operating costs in future periods.
If we are unable for any reason to meet the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq or the TSX, such action or inaction could result in a delisting of the Common Shares or Warrants.
If we fail to satisfy the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq or the TSX (for example, the Nasdaq corporate governance requirements or the Nasdaq minimum closing bid price requirement), such exchanges may take steps to delist the Common Shares or Warrants. Such a delisting would likely have a negative effect on the price of the Common Shares or Warrants and would impair your ability to sell or purchase the Common Shares or Warrants when you wish to do so. In the event of a delisting, we can provide no assurance that any action taken by us to restore compliance with listing requirements would allow the Common Shares or Warrants to become listed again, stabilize the market price or improve the liquidity of the Common Shares or Warrants, prevent such securities from dropping below any minimum bid price requirement or prevent future non-compliance with Nasdaqs or the TSXs listing requirements.
If securities and industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or publish negative reports about our business, our share price and trading volume may suffer.
The trading market for the Common Shares is and will be influenced by the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. We do not have control over such analysts and cannot provide any assurance that analysts will continue to cover Algoma or provide favorable coverage. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our shares or change their opinion of our shares, our share price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of Algoma or fail to regularly publish reports on Algoma, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause our share price or trading volume to decline.
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There is a risk that we will fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls and our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations could be adversely affected. We may identify material weaknesses in our internal controls over financing reporting which we may not be able to remedy in a timely manner.
As a public company, we operate in an increasingly demanding regulatory environment, which requires us to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the regulations of Nasdaq and the TSX, the rules and regulations of the SEC and Canadian securities regulators, expanded disclosure requirements, accelerated reporting requirements and more complex accounting rules. Company responsibilities required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act include establishing corporate oversight and adequate internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. Effective internal controls are necessary for us to produce reliable financial reports and are important to help prevent financial fraud. Prior to becoming a public company in October 2021, we had never been required to test our internal controls within a specified period and, as a result, we may experience difficulty in meeting these reporting requirements in a timely manner.
We anticipate that the process of building our accounting and financial functions and infrastructure will continue to require significant additional professional fees, internal costs and management efforts. We may need to enhance and/or implement a new internal system to combine and streamline the management of our financial, accounting, human resources and other functions. However, the enhancement and/or implementation of a system may result in substantial costs. Any disruptions or difficulties in implementing or using such a system could adversely affect our controls and harm our business. Moreover, such disruption or difficulties could result in unanticipated costs and diversion of managements attention. In addition, we may discover additional weaknesses in our system of internal financial and accounting controls and procedures that could result in a material misstatement of our financial statements. Our internal control over financial reporting will not prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control systems objectives will be met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud will be detected.
If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in a timely manner, or if we are unable to maintain proper and effective internal controls, we may not be able to produce timely and accurate financial statements. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our business and results of operations could be harmed, investors could lose confidence in our reported financial information and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by Nasdaq, the TSX, the SEC, Canadian securities regulators or other regulatory authorities.
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We have incurred and expect to continue to incur increased costs as a result of our operation as a public company, and our management is and will continue to be required to devote substantial time and resources to employing new compliance initiatives in order to comport with the regulatory requirements applicable to public companies.
We have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses as a public company that we did not incur as a private company. As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, as well as rules adopted, and to be adopted, by the SEC, Canadian securities regulators, Nasdaq and the TSX. Our management and other personnel need to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations have substantially increased our legal and financial compliance costs and to have made some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, these rules and regulations have and are expected to continue to make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance and we have or may be forced to accept reduced policy limits or incur substantially higher costs to maintain the same or similar coverage. The impact of these requirements could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors, our board committees or as executive officers. We are continuously evaluating and monitoring developments with respect to these rules and regulations, and we cannot predict or estimate the amount or timing of additional costs we may incur to respond to any new requirements we may be subject to in the future.
Our Investor Rights Agreement provides certain IRA Parties the right to nominate up to four of our directors.
In connection with the consummation of our merger (the Merger) with Legato Merger Corp. (Legato), we entered into an Investor Rights Agreement pursuant to which, among other things, certain parties to the Investor Rights Agreement (IRA Parties) that previously had board designation rights with respect to Algoma Steel Holdings Inc. have the right to nominate, in the aggregate, four directors to our board for so long as they beneficially own at least 7.36% of our outstanding Common Shares. If such IRA Parties are able to exert significant influence over the our board as a result of their nomination rights pursuant to the Investor Rights Agreement, other holders of Common Shares may have limited ability to influence corporate matters and, as a result, we may take action that other holders of Common Shares do not view as beneficial.
Because we are a foreign private issuer and, as a result, are not be subject to U.S. proxy rules and are subject to Exchange Act reporting obligations that, to some extent, are more lenient and less frequent than those of a U.S. domestic public company.
We report under the Exchange Act as a non-U.S. company with foreign private issuer status. Because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the Exchange Act that are applicable to U.S. domestic public companies, including (1) the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act, (2) the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their share ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time and (3) the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q containing unaudited financial and other specified information, although we are subject to Canadian laws and regulations with regard to certain of these matters and intend to furnish comparable quarterly information on Form 6-K. In addition, foreign private issuers are not required to file their annual report on Form 20-F until 120 days after the end of each fiscal year, while U.S. domestic issuers that are accelerated filers are required to file their annual report on Form 10-K within 75 days after the end of each fiscal year and U.S. domestic issuers that are large accelerated filers are required to file their annual report on Form 10-K within 60 days after the end of each fiscal year. Foreign private issuers are also exempt from Regulation FD, which is intended to prevent issuers from making selective disclosures of material information. As a result of all of the above, you may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of a company that is not a foreign private issuer.
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As we are a foreign private issuer and follow certain home country corporate governance practices, our shareholders may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all Nasdaq corporate governance requirements.
As a foreign private issuer, we have the option to follow certain home country corporate governance practices rather than those of Nasdaq, provided that we disclose the requirements we are not following and describe the home country practices we are following. We rely on this foreign private issuer exemption with respect to the Nasdaq rules for shareholder meeting quorums and Nasdaq rules requiring shareholder approval. We may in the future elect to follow home country practices with regard to other matters. As a result, our shareholders do not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all Nasdaq corporate governance requirements.
Algoma may lose its foreign private issuer status in the future, which could result in significant additional costs and expenses.
As discussed above, Algoma is a foreign private issuer, and therefore is not required to comply with all of the periodic disclosure and current reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and may take advantage of certain exemptions to Nasdaqs corporate governance rules. The determination of foreign private issuer status is made annually on the last business day of an issuers most recently completed second fiscal quarter, and, accordingly, the next determination will be made with respect to Algoma on September 30, 2022. In the future, Algoma would lose its foreign private issuer status if (1) more than 50% of its outstanding voting securities are owned by U.S. residents and (2) a majority of its directors or executive officers are U.S. citizens or residents, or it fails to meet additional requirements necessary to avoid loss of foreign private issuer status. If Algoma loses its foreign private issuer status, it will be required to file with the SEC periodic reports and registration statements on U.S. domestic issuer forms, which are more detailed and extensive than the forms available to a foreign private issuer. Algoma would also have to mandatorily comply with U.S. federal proxy requirements, and its officers, directors and principal shareholders will become subject to the short-swing profit disclosure and recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, it would lose its ability to rely upon exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements under the listing rules of Nasdaq. As a U.S. listed public company that is not a foreign private issuer, Algoma would incur significant additional legal, accounting and other expenses that it will not incur as a foreign private issuer.
We may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of the Common Shares, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
For a variety of potential factors, which are currently unforeseen, we may be forced to write-down or write-off assets, restructure its operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in us reporting losses. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and would not have an immediate impact on Algomas liquidity, the fact that Algoma would report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions of Algoma or its securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause Algoma to violate net worth or other covenants to which Algoma may be subject as a result of Algoma obtaining debt financing. Accordingly, securityholders could suffer a reduction in the value of their Common shares and Warrants and such securityholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
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The grant and future exercise of registration rights may adversely affect the market price of Common Shares.
The Investor Rights Agreement provides that we will, under certain circumstances, agree to file a registration statement as soon as practicable upon a request from certain IRA Parties to register the resale of certain registrable securities under the Securities Act and Canadian securities laws (such request, a demand registration). Algoma has also agreed to provide customary piggyback registration rights with respect to any valid demand registration request.
We are required to and currently maintain a Registration Statement on Form F-1 covering the Securities held by PIPE Investors and the other outstanding Common Shares (other than the Common Shares issued to Legato public stockholders).
The registration of these securities permits the public sale of such securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of Common Shares. See A significant portion of our total outstanding Common Shares may be sold into the market in the near future. This could cause the market price of Common Shares and Warrants to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.
The IRS may not agree that Algoma should be treated as a non-U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Although Algoma is incorporated and tax resident in Canada, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the IRS) may assert that it should be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes pursuant to Section 7874 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). For U.S. federal income tax purposes, a corporation is generally considered a U.S. domestic corporation if it is created or organized in or under the laws of the U.S., any state thereof, or the District of Columbia. Because Algoma is not so created or organized (but is instead incorporated only in Canada), it would generally be classified as a foreign corporation (that is, a corporation other than a U.S. domestic corporation) under these rules. Section 7874 of the Code provides an exception under which a corporation created or organized only under foreign law may, in certain circumstances, be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
As more fully described in the section titled Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations U.S. Federal Income Tax Treatment of Algoma Tax Residence of Algoma for U.S. Federal Income Tax Purposes, based on the terms of the Merger, the rules for determining share ownership under Section 7874 of the Code and the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder (the Section 7874 Regulations), and certain factual assumptions, Algoma does not currently expect to be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Section 7874 of the Code as a result of the Merger. However, the application of Section 7874 of the Code is complex, is subject to detailed regulations (the application of which is uncertain in various respects and would be impacted by changes in such U.S. tax laws and regulations with possible retroactive effect) and is subject to certain factual uncertainties. Furthermore, Algoma has not sought and will not seek any rulings from the IRS as to such treatment, and the closing of the Merger was not conditioned upon achieving, or receiving a ruling from any tax authority or opinion from any tax advisor with regard to, any particular tax treatment. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the IRS will not challenge the status of Algoma as a foreign corporation under Section 7874 of the Code or that such challenge would not be sustained by a court.
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If the IRS were to successfully challenge under Section 7874 of the Code Algomas status as a foreign corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, Algoma and certain Algoma shareholders could be subject to significant adverse tax consequences, including a higher effective corporate income tax rate on Algoma and future withholding taxes on certain Algoma shareholders, depending on the application of any income tax treaty that might apply to reduce such withholding taxes. In particular, holders of Common Shares and/or Warrants would be treated as holders of stock and warrants of a U.S. corporation.
See Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations U.S. Federal Income Tax Treatment of Algoma Tax Residence of Algoma for U.S. Federal Income Tax Purposes for a more detailed discussion of the application of Section 7874 of the Code to Algoma. Investors should consult their own advisors regarding the application of Section 7874 of the Code to Algoma.
Section 7874 of the Code may limit the ability to use certain tax attributes following the Merger, increasing Algomas U.S. affiliates U.S. taxable income or having other adverse consequences to Algoma and Algomas shareholders.
Following the acquisition of a U.S. corporation by a foreign corporation, Section 7874 of the Code can limit the ability of the acquired U.S. corporation and its U.S. affiliates to use U.S. tax attributes (including net operating losses and certain tax credits) to offset U.S. taxable income resulting from certain transactions, as well as result in certain other adverse tax consequences, even if the acquiring foreign corporation is respected as a foreign corporation for purposes of Section 7874 of the Code. In general, if a foreign corporation acquires, directly or indirectly, substantially all of the properties held directly or indirectly by a U.S. corporation, and after the acquisition the former shareholders of the acquired U.S. corporation hold at least 60% (by either vote or value) but less than 80% (by vote and value) of the shares of the foreign acquiring corporation by reason of holding shares in the acquired U.S. corporation, subject to other requirements, certain adverse tax consequences under Section 7874 of the Code may apply.
If these rules apply to the Merger, Algoma and certain of Algomas shareholders may be subject to adverse tax consequences including, but not limited to, restrictions on the use of tax attributes with respect to inversion gain recognized over a 10-year period following the transaction, disqualification of dividends paid from preferential qualified dividend income rates and the requirement that any U.S. corporation owned by Algoma include as base erosion payments that may be subject to a minimum U.S. federal income tax any amounts treated as reductions in gross income paid to certain related foreign persons. Furthermore, certain disqualified individuals (including officers and directors of a U.S. corporation) may be subject to an excise tax on certain stock-based compensation held thereby at a rate of 20%.
As more fully described in the section titled Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations U.S. Federal Income Tax Treatment of Algoma Utilization of Legatos Tax Attributes and Certain Other Adverse Tax Consequences to Algoma and Algomas Shareholders, based on the terms of the Merger, the rules for determining share ownership under Section 7874 of the Code and the Section 7874 Regulations (as defined above), and certain factual assumptions, Algoma does not currently expect to be subject to these rules under Section 7874 of the Code as a result of the Merger. The above determination, however, is
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subject to detailed regulations (the application of which is uncertain in various respects and would be impacted by future changes in such U.S. tax laws and regulations, with possible retroactive effect) and is subject to certain factual uncertainties. Furthermore, Algoma has not sought and will not seek any rulings from the IRS as to such treatment, and the closing of the Merger was not conditioned upon achieving, or receiving a ruling from any tax authority or opinion from any tax advisor with regard to, any particular tax treatment. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the IRS will not challenge whether Algoma is subject to the above rules or that such a challenge would not be sustained by a court.
However, even if Algoma is not subject to the above adverse consequences under Section 7874 of the Code, Algoma may be limited in using its equity to engage in future acquisitions of U.S. corporations over the 36-month period following the Merger. If Algoma were to be treated as acquiring substantially all of the assets of a U.S. corporation within the 36-month period after the Merger, the Section 7874 Regulations would exclude certain shares of Algoma attributable to the Merger for purposes of determining the Section 7874 Percentage (as defined in Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations U.S. Federal Income Tax Treatment of Algoma Tax Residence of Algoma for U.S. Federal Income Tax Purposes) of that subsequent acquisition, making it more likely that Section 7874 of the Code will apply to such subsequent acquisition.
See Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations U.S. Federal Income Tax Treatment of Algoma Utilization of Legatos Tax Attributes and Certain Other Adverse Tax Consequences to Algoma and Algomas Shareholders for a more detailed discussion of the application of Section 7874 of the Code to Algoma. Investors in Algoma should consult their own advisors regarding the application of Section 7874 of the Code to Algoma.
Risks Related to Ownership of Common Shares and Warrants
We may issue additional Common Shares or other securities without shareholder approval, which would dilute existing ownership interests and may depress the market price of Common Shares.
We may issue additional Common Shares or other equity securities of equal or senior rank in the future in connection with, among other things, our equity incentive plan, without shareholder approval, in a number of circumstances. Our issuance of additional Common Shares or other equity securities of equal or senior rank would have the following effects:
| our existing shareholders proportionate ownership interest in Algoma may decrease; |
| the amount of cash available per share, including for payment of dividends in the future, may decrease; |
| the relative voting strength of each previously outstanding Common Share may be diminished; and |
| the market price of Common Shares may decline. |
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The price of our Common Shares may be volatile and may decline regardless of our operating performance.
The market price of the Common Shares may fluctuate significantly in response to numerous factors and may continue to fluctuate for these and other reasons, many of which are beyond our control, including:
| actual or anticipated fluctuations in our revenue and results of operations; |
| the financial projections we may provide to the public, any changes in these projections or our failure to meet these projections; |
| failure of securities analysts to maintain coverage of Algoma, changes in financial estimates or ratings by any securities analysts who follow Algoma or its failure to meet these estimates or the expectations of investors; |
| announcements by Algoma or its competitors of significant technical innovations, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, results of operations or capital commitments; |
| changes in operating performance and stock market valuations of other steel companies; |
| price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market, including as a result of trends in the economy as a whole; |
| trading volume of the Common Shares; |
| the inclusion, exclusion or removal of the Common Shares from any indices; |
| changes in our board of directors or management; |
| transactions in the Common Shares by directors, officers, affiliates and other major investors; |
| lawsuits threatened or filed against us; |
| changes in laws or regulations applicable to our business; |
| changes in our capital structure, such as future issuances of debt or equity securities; |
| short sales, hedging and other derivative transactions involving our capital stock; |
| general economic conditions in the United States; |
| pandemics or other public health crises, including, but not limited to, the COVID-19 pandemic; |
| other events or factors, including those resulting from war, incidents of terrorism or responses to these events; and |
| the other factors described in this Risk Factors section. |
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The stock market has recently experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. The market prices of securities of companies have experienced fluctuations that often have been unrelated or disproportionate to their operating results. In the past, stockholders have sometimes instituted securities class action litigation against companies following periods of volatility in the market price of their securities. Any similar litigation against us could result in substantial costs, divert our managements attention and resources, and harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
An active, liquid trading market for Common Shares and Warrants may not be maintained, which may limit your ability to sell Common Shares and Warrants.
Although the Common Shares and Warrants are currently listed on Nasdaq and the TSX, an active, liquid trading market for Common Shares and Warrants may not be sustained. A public trading market having the desirable characteristics of depth, liquidity and orderliness depends upon the existence of willing buyers and sellers at any given time, such existence being dependent upon the individual decisions of buyers and sellers over which neither we nor any market maker has control. The failure of an active and liquid trading market to continue would likely have a material adverse effect on the value of Common Shares and Warrants. The market price of Common Shares may decline, and you may not be able to sell your Common Shares at or above the price at which you purchased them, or at all. An inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital to continue to fund operations by issuing Common Shares or Warrants.
A significant portion of our total outstanding Common Shares may be sold into the market in the near future. This could cause the market price of Common Shares and Warrants to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.
Sales of a substantial number of Common Shares and Warrants in the public market could occur at any time. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of holders intend to sell Common Shares or Warrants, could reduce the market price of Common Shares or Warrants. Transfer restrictions continue to apply to the 6,379,875 Common Shares and the 262,254 Warrants and underlying Common Shares held by Eric S. Rosenfeld, David Sgro, Brian Pratt and their respective affiliates. All of these Common Shares and Warrants will, however, be able to be resold after the expiration of the lock-up period, which will be October 19, 2022 at latest, or its waiver (which may occur with the written consent of Algoma and persons holding a majority of the shares subject to the lock-up), as well as pursuant to customary exceptions thereto. Moreover, certain holders of Common Shares (including Common Shares underlying Warrants) will have certain registration rights that could require us to file registration statements in connection with sales of Common Shares and Warrants by such holders. Such sales by such holders could be significant. As restrictions on resale end, the market price of Common Shares and Warrants could decline if the holders of currently restricted Common Shares or Warrants sell them or are perceived by the market as intending to sell them.
Any issuance of preferred shares could make it difficult for another company to acquire us or could otherwise adversely affect shareholders, which could depress the price of the Common Shares.
Our board of directors has the authority to issue preferred shares and to determine the preferences, limitations, and relative rights of preferred shares and to fix the number of shares constituting any series and the designation of such series, without any further vote or action by our shareholders. Our preferred shares could be issued with liquidation, dividend, and other rights superior to the rights of the Common Shares. The potential issuance of preferred shares may delay or prevent a change in control of us, discourage bids for the Common Shares at a premium over the market price and adversely affect the market price and other rights of the holders of the Common Shares.
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ITEM 4. | INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY |
A. History and Overview
Algoma, a corporation organized under the laws of the Province of British Columbia in March 2021, is the parent holding company of Algoma Steel Inc., our operating company (Opco). Opco was incorporated in 2016 for the purpose of purchasing substantially all of the operating assets and liabilities of Old SteelCo and its subsidiaries in connection with Old SteelCos restructuring under the CCAA (the Restructuring Transaction). The Purchase Transaction was completed on November 30, 2018. Prior to November 30, 2018, Opco had no operations, and was capitalized with one common share with a nominal value. On October 19, 2021, Algoma consummated a business combination with Legato, a special purpose acquisition company, and became a publicly traded company with its common shares and warrants trading on each of the TSX and Nasdaq.
Our principal office is located at 105 West Street, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario P6A 7B4, Canada and our telephone number is (705) 945-2351. Our website address is http://www.algoma.com. Information contained on, or accessible through, our website is not a part of this disclosure document and the inclusion of our website address in this document is an inactive textual reference. The SEC maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding registrants that make electronic filings with the SEC using its EDGAR system. Algoma Steel USA Inc., located at 1209 Orange Street, Wilmington, Delaware, is the companys agent for service of process in the United States.
Algoma is a fully integrated steel producer of hot and cold rolled steel products including coiled sheet and plate. With a current liquid steel production capacity of an estimated 2.8 million tons per year, our size and diverse capabilities enable us to deliver responsive, customer-driven product solutions to direct applications in the automotive, construction, energy, defense, and manufacturing sectors.
We manufacture a broad range of high-quality semi-finished and finished flat steel sheet and plate products. In 1995, approximately $450 million was invested at that time in the construction of our Direct Strip Production Complex (DSPC), our cornerstone asset and one of the worlds first hot strip mills coupling integrated continuous casting with hot rolling. In addition to the DSPC, our facilities include two blast furnaces, Blast Furnace No. 6 and Blast Furnace No. 7, of which Blast Furnace No. 7 is currently operating. We also operate a discrete 106 inch-wide hot strip mill and 166 inch wide plate rolling mill as a combination mill to provide us with the flexibility to adjust product mix between our many sheet and plate products to take advantage of changes in market demand and pricing, thus allowing us to optimize our margins. Our idled Blast Furnace No. 6 provides redundancy and incremental flexibility to our operating platform, allowing for the management of any future re-lines for Blast Furnace No. 7, and could quickly add cost effective capacity with limited additional capital outlays. We believe a restart of Blast Furnace No. 6 could be achieved within approximately six months, for an estimated C$60 million investment.
Our coil sheet steel products include a wide variety of widths, gauges and grades, and are available in unprocessed form as well as with value-added temper processing for hot rolled coil (HRC), annealed and full hard cold-rolled coil (CRC), hot-rolled pickled and oiled products, floor plate and cut-to-length products. Primary end-users of our sheet products include service centers and automotive, manufacturing, construction, and tubular industries. Sheet steel products have represented approximately 88% of our total steel shipment volumes, on average, in our fiscal year ended March 31, 2022.
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Our plate steel products consist of various carbon-manganese, high-strength and low-alloy grades, and are sold in the as-rolled condition as well as subsequent value-added heat-treated conditions. The primary end-user of our plate products is the fabrication industry, which uses our plate products in the manufacture or construction of railcars, buildings, bridges, off-highway equipment, storage tanks, ships, military applications, large diameter pipelines and power generation equipment. Plate steel products have represented approximately 12% of our total steel shipment volumes in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022.
We sell our finished products to a geographically diverse customer base across North America. For fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, our shipment volume by product category, geography and end markets were as follows:
FY2022 Product Shipment Mix | FY2022 Geographic Shipments | FY2022 End Market Volume | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product |
Volume | Country | Volume | Segment | FY22 | FY21 | FY20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hot Roll |
80% | United States | 60% | Auto | 38% | 31% | 28% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cold Roll |
8% | Canada | 37% | Manufacturing and Construction | 32% | 30% | 28% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Plate |
12% | Mexico | 3% | Tubular | 7% | 9% | 9% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distribution | 23% | 30% | 35% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Source: Company information. Automotive comprised of direct automotive customer sales and estimated service center sales to the automotive industry.
Competitive Cost Position
We believe we have a competitive cost position in hot rolled coil as a result of our cost-efficient DSPC asset, our geographic location on the Great Lakes, which provides economical access to key raw materials and steel-consuming markets, and our strong track record of implementing improvements in conversion costs.
Moreover, in connection with the purchase of substantially all of the operating assets and some of the liabilities of Old Steelco and its affiliates, Algoma re-established ownership control of the port of Algoma as a means to receive critical inbound raw materials and facilitate outbound shipment of finished goods. Our on-site port facilities enable access to low-cost water transportation across the Great Lakes.
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Additionally, Algoma has an advantage in power sourcing through an on-site low-cost co-generation (Co-Gen) power generation facility. The nominally rated 70MW Co-Gen facility in operation on site is fueled by blast furnace and coke oven gases from the steelworks for purposes of generating electricity and process steam. The Co-Gen facility provides on average approximately 49% of our power needs at favorable prices, reducing reliance on the Ontario power grid.
Unique Production Process Supports Superior Cost Position Among North American Steel Producers
As mentioned above, we are the only integrated steel producer in North America to operate a DSPC hot strip mill coupling integrated continuous casting with hot rolling directly into coil. The DSPC line is among the newest, continuous thin slab casters in North America. We believe that this process provides us with a cost advantage over the traditional integrated hot rolling manufacturing process. Current annualized production capacity of the DSPC complex is 2.3 million tons.
Algoma is also the only discrete plate producer in Canada, with current capacity of 350,000-400,000 tons per year with the potential to increase capacity to 700,000 tons per year upon completion of our plate modernization program to debottleneck, and further automate production.
Blast Furnace No.6, with current capacity of approximately 900,000 tons of liquid iron, provides Algoma flexibility to manage any future re-lines for Blast Furnace No.7, as well as respond to shortages in prime scrap availability once the EAF transformation is complete. We believe Blast Furnace No.6 can be re-started in approximately six months for an estimated C$60 million investment.
Strong Government and Local Community Support
We are the largest employer in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. As of March 31, 2022, the Company had 2,734 full-time employees, of which approximately 95% are represented by two locals of the united Steelworkers Unions (USW) under two collective bargaining agreements. As a result of the Companys good relationship with its unionized workforce, there has not been a work disruption in approximately 30 years, and we have achieved contract terms that are competitive to those achieved by our peers.
We believe the Company is critical to the local economy and has strong relationships with local, provincial and federal governments. Algomas economic activities represent approximately 40% of Sault Ste. Maries Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and approximately 70% of the citys population is directly or indirectly economically dependent upon Algoma.
Furthermore, completion of the plate modernization program at Algomas discrete plate manufacturing process may significantly reduce Canadas reliance on plate imports and positively impact the countrys trade balance in plate products.
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As a result of Algomas significant contribution to the Canadian steel making industry, we benefit from strong federal and provincial government support in various forms. For example, to support political policies of the government of Canada and Ontario, the company has received financial support in the form of competitive low-interest loans and some grants, which enabled us to undertake various capital expenditures to reinvest in Algoma.
The Ontario government also enacted various regulations pertaining to pensions, including the 2018 Pension Regulations, to facilitate our acquisition of substantially all of the assets and liabilities of Old Steelco in November 2018, including the DB Pension Plans and the Wrap Plan that was maintained by Old Steelco. Among other things, the 2018 Pension Regulations capped our special pension contributions (comprising cash funding in addition to the current service funding) to the DB Pension Plans at C$31 million per year. As of March 1, 2021, the Company achieved a solvency funded status on its Hourly Plan and Salaried Plan greater than 85%, which substantially reduced the Companys obligation with respect to special pension contributions to the DB Pension plan and also made the DB Pension plan eligible for traditional guarantees provided by the Pension Benefits Guarantee fund (PBGF) which provides protection, subject to specific maximums and specific exclusions, to Ontario members and beneficiaries of privately sponsored single-employer defined benefit pension plans in the event of plan sponsor insolvency.
On July 5, 2021, we announced our potential to become the greenest flat-rolled steel producer in Canada with the Government of Canadas commitment of up to $420 million in financial support for major greenhouse gas reduction projects such as our conversion to electric arc steelmaking.
Strategic Initiatives to Further Strengthen Our Cost Position
Cost Saving Initiatives.
Algomas continuous improvement program produced C$24 million of net year-over-year benefit in fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, encompassing quality enhancements, cost reductions, efficiency upgrades, and including a one-time working capital reduction of C$3 million.
Plate Mill Modernization.
The Company has undertaken a two-phase plate mill modernization project (PMM Project) with final completion in November 2022, and plans to invest a total of approximately C$120 million, which will be partly funded by government loan facilities totaling approximately C$50 million. This strategic initiative will enhance the capacity and quality of the Companys plate product line, which is a differentiated product capability and a key source of competitive advantage. The PMM Project will allow the Company to satisfy higher product quality requirements of its customers with respect to surface and flatness, increase high strength capability with availability of new grades, ensure reliability of plate production with direct ship capability and increase overall plate shipment capacity through debottlenecking and automation. The modernization process will be comprised of two phases: quality focus and productivity focus. The first phase focuses on quality, is expected to be completed by May/June 2022, and includes the installation and commissioning upgrades of a new primary slab de-scaler (to improve surface quality), automated surface inspection system (to detect and map surface quality), an in-line hot leveler (to improves flatness), and automation of the 166 inch plate mill (which expands the Companys grade offering). The second phase focuses on productivity, and is expected to be completed by November/December 2022; and includes installation and commissioning upgrades of onboard descaling systems for the 2Hi and 4Hi roughing roll stands, mill alignment and work roll offset at the 4Hi, 4Hi DC drive, new cooling beds coupling the plate mill and shear line, dividing shear, plate piler and automated marking machine.
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Well Positioned with Historical Issues Addressed
We experienced an unplanned outage in April 2019 that disrupted production in our Blast Furnace No. 7. This outage had no impact on the integrity of the furnace, however the resulting lost production led to a shipping volume reduction in fiscal year 2020 of over 100,000 tons. During April 2019, the Company recorded a capacity utilization adjustment of C$32.7 million to cost of steel products sold. Planned maintenance, originally scheduled for later in the year, was accelerated and performed during this outage in April 2019. Rescheduling maintenance to align with the unplanned outage was part of the plan management implemented to make up for the lost production in the remaining quarters of fiscal year 2020. The outage, caused by a chemistry imbalance of certain materials, resulted from a poor and unforgiving construct of the blend of raw materials fed into the blast furnace. Operating parameters have been tightened and systems have been put in place to improve the overall monitoring of the Blast Furnace. We have modified operating practices following a deep-dive investigation with assistance from Hatch, our consulting engineering firm, undertook process control measures and personnel changes as well as adopted predictive modeling to ensure far greater control and less risk in our future operations.
Quarterly Shipment Volume
Our Competitive Strengths
Strategically Located on the Great Lakes in Close Proximity to Customers and Suppliers
We are strategically located on Lake Superior with close proximity to key steel consuming regions of the United States (the U.S. Mid-West, U.S. Northeast) and Canada (Southern Ontario), allowing us to serve our customers at competitive costs. Approximately 70% of our customers are located within a 500-mile radius of our facility.
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Additionally, our location on the Great Lakes provides access to multiple modes of transportation, supporting our ability to negotiate competitive rates for inbound raw materials and outbound steel products. The Companys acquisition of the adjacent port facility as part of the Restructuring Transaction the fourth largest port on the Great Lakes by volume, handling nearly 500 vessels a year and over 5 million tons of shipments facilitated access to low cost transportation across the Great Lakes and secures our distribution network.
Algoma has the option to pursue rail transportation from certain iron ore mines via well-established rail links, facilitating access to ore through the winter months when transport over the Great Lakes is less feasible.
We sell steel products to a diverse base of over 200 customers across multiple sectors in North America with no single customer accounting for greater than 11% of revenues. Our top ten customers accounted for approximately 49% of total revenue in fiscal year 2022. Our geographic, sector and customer diversity makes us less exposed to demand shifts. We have built strong customer relationships, with the average tenure for Algomas top ten customers being between 20 and 25 years. Despite the U.S. tariffs imposed on Canadian steel producers on June 1, 2018, the Company was able to maintain its geographic mix with 63% of fiscal year 2022 revenue generated by our customers in the United States.
Operations to Meet the Needs of a Diversified Blue-Chip Customer Base in Attractive End Markets
Our hot strip and plate rolling mills provide the flexibility to adjust our product mix within our existing asset base to align with market pricing and customer demand, and maximize profitability. Plate products accounted for 12% of shipments, hot rolled sheet for 80% and Cold Rolled Sheet for 8% for fiscal year 2022. Additionally, flexible union labor contracts allow us to optimize manpower allocation across the entire facility to meet variations in demand.
Our product width, gauge and strength flexibility allows us to serve a broad customer base across various end markets, including service centers, automotive, manufacturing, construction and tubular markets. Furthermore, our research and development investments support higher quality, lower cost products and drive a value proposition for customers.
Product Attributes |
End Markets |
Width Range |
Gauge Range | |||||
Hot Rolled Coil
|
✓ High strength formable hot rolled grades ✓ Broad width and strength capabilities |
Automotive Hollow structural product and welded pipe manufacturers Transportation Light manufacturing |
106Strip Mill 30-96 DSPC 32-63 |
106Strip Mill 0.070-0.500 DSPC 0.060-0.625 | ||||
Cold Rolled Coil
|
✓ Commercial grades ✓ High strength formable cold roll grades ✓ Full hard grades (not annealed) |
Automotive Welded pipe manufacturers Transportation Light manufacturing |
36-74 | 0.015-0.129 | ||||
Plate
|
✓ High strength, low-alloy grades ✓ Abrasion resistant and heat treat grades ✓ Only producer in Canada |
Fabrication industry- constructors or manufactures of railcars, buildings, bridges off-highway equipment, etc. |
72-154 | 0.236-4.500 |
Source: Company information.
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Low Cost Position Underpinned by Advantageous Raw Material Contracts
Algomas largest input cost in the steel-making process is iron ore, which we purchase under seprate supply contracts with Cliffs and U.S. Steel. Multi-sourcing iron ore further improves stability in our raw material procurement, and we believe that having a second competitive supply arrangement for this critical raw material will help mitigate our supply risks for iron ore. Taken together, Algomas agreements with Cliffs and U.S. Steel provide for the supply of iron ore pellets through the close of the 2024 shipping season.
Flexible Cost Structure Positions Algoma to Generate Cash Flow Through-the-Cycle
The combination of a flexible cost structure and the ongoing reduction in fixed costs positions Algoma to potentially generate positive cashflow through the steel economic cycle, including at HRC prices significantly lower than in the current pricing environment.
Legacy Liabilities Sustainably De-Risked from CCAA Process
On November 9, 2015, Algomas predecessor, Old Steelco, filed for creditor protection in Canada under the CCAA and in the United States under chapter 15 of title 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. On November 30, 2018, pursuant to the Restructuring Transaction approved by the court in the CCAA proceedings, Opco completed the purchase of substantially all of the operating assets and some of the liabilities of Old Steelco and its affiliates. As part of the CCAA restructuring, Algoma achieved transformational improvements in its capital structure, pension funding obligations and environmental liabilities. Algoma emerged as a more resilient company with a strong balance sheet and stable operating profits.
As part of the Restructuring Transaction, Algoma assumed the following pension plans that had been registered under the Ontario Pension Benefits Act (the Act) and sponsored by Old Steelco:
| Pension Plan for Hourly Employees, registered under the Act as number 1079904 (the Hourly Plan); and |
| Pension Plan for Salaried Employees, registered under the Act as number 1079896 (the Salaried Plan (together with the Hourly Plan, the Pension Plans); |
Algoma became the successor employer and sponsor of the Pension Plans on the transaction completion date as part of the Restructuring Transaction. The Restructuring Transaction was subject to a number of conditions, including enactment of special regulations under the Act with respect to the contributions of Algoma to the Pension Plans and applicable exemptions under the Act, and the replacement of the expired collective agreements with new collective agreements ratified by the membership and effective on the Restructuring Transaction completion date.
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As a result of the 2018 Pension Regulations implemented in connection with the Restructuring Transaction, the aggregate going concern and solvency special payments to the DB Pension Plans were approximately C$31 million per annum until the solvency ratio of each of the DB Pension Plans achieved at least 85%. As of March 1, 2021, both DB Pension Plans obtained an 85% solvency ratio, which reduced the Companys obligation with respect to special pension contributions to the DB Pension plan to near zero and also triggers the guarantees provided by the PBGF. If the Company is required to make annual special payments to the DB Pension Plans in the future, these payments would remain subject to a C$31 million annual cap. Since the DB Pension Plan achieved an 85% solvency ratio, the DB Pension Plans are eligible to participate in the PBGF.
The Wrap Regulations implemented by the province in 2019 to provide a funding framework for the Wrap Plan require the Company to make monthly contributions to the Wrap Plan equal to the lesser of C$416,667 and the amount of the prior months benefit payments until the Wrap Plans solvency ratio is 100%. This funding requirement supersedes the normal funding requirements under applicable law.
The revised funding framework implemented in connection with the Companys assumption of the pension plans provided significant funding relief in respect of historical pension obligations and established maximum annual contributions that provide enhanced certainty and reduced risk for the Company.
Lower equity values have no impact on benefit payments. Our current Collective Bargaining agreements include annual indexation adjustments, which are tied to the Consumer Price Index and are capped at 3%. Our Collective Bargaining agreements expire on July 31, 2022. Future indexation adjustments would need to be bargained.
In connection with the Restructuring Transaction, Algoma also entered into an agreement (the Framework Agreement Concerning Environmental Issues, or LEAP) with the Province of Ontario, as represented by the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) which addresses legacy environmental issues on Algomas main site in Sault Ste. Marie. The MECP provided a release in favor of the Company from any obligations under applicable environmental laws relating to legacy environmental issues at the Companys Sault Ste. Marie site with respect to the historical soil, groundwater and sediment contamination at the Sault Ste. Marie facility. Steel making activities have occurred on Algomas site since 1901 and before the adoption of modern environmental best practices. Pursuant to the LEAP, Algoma agreed to fund C$3.8 million per year for 20 years to a financial assurance fund, established to fund expenses relating to approved legacy environmental remediation and other projects, and provided a C$10 million letter of credit to the MECP to provide financial assurance for these obligations.
In exchange, Algoma was released from all legacy environmental issues with respect to the historical soil, groundwater and sediment contamination at Old Steelcos closed iron ore mines, which we did not acquire in connection with the Restructuring Transaction. Algoma agreed, among other things, to pay C$10 million to the Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines (the ENDM) in installments of C$250,000 semi-annually to be used to rehabilitate the closed iron ore mines and provide a C$3.5 million letter of credit to the ENDM to provide financial assurance for these obligations.
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Experienced Management Team with Extensive Industry Experience
We have an experienced management team with significant operating experience in the global steel industry. Our executives collectively have almost 200 years of steel industry experience. Under the leadership of our current management team, we have made significant capital expenditures and have achieved significant operating performance improvements by employing benchmarking and implementing industry best practices.
In addition, our management team has successfully steered our business, even during the turbulent times of the U.S. steel tariffs and the COVID-19 pandemic that significantly disrupted the entire industry. Our management achieved higher capacity utilization rates as compared to our North American peers, significantly strengthened our raw material supply position and took measures to improve the stability of future profits. Furthermore, we maintain a strong relationship with our skilled unionized workforce, as evidenced by the near 30-year period since our last work disruption. We benefit from favorable collective bargaining agreements that allow us flexibility to adapt to changes in operational and production needs.
Products
Sheet Steel: Our flat/sheet steel products include a wide variety of widths, gauges, and grades, and are available unprocessed and with value-added processing such as temper rolling, cold rolled in both full-hard and annealed, hot-rolled pickled and oiled products, floor plate and cut-to-length products. The primary end-users of our flat/sheet products are the automotive industry, hollow structural product manufacturers and the light manufacturing and transportation industries. For the last five years, sheet steel products have represented approximately 85% of our total steel shipment volumes. Over the same period, value-added applications represented approximately 45% of total steel volume.
Plate Steel: Our plate steel products consist of various carbon-manganese, high-strength, low-alloy grades that are produced in as-rolled, hot-rolled and heat-treated. The primary end-user market of our plate products is the fabrication industry, which uses our plate products in the construction or manufacture of railcars, buildings, bridges, off-highway equipment, storage tanks, ships, armored products for military applications, large diameter pipelines and wind energy generation equipment. For the last five years, plate steel products have represented approximately 15% of our total steel shipment volumes.
Sales by Major Product Lines
Total sales, accounted for by each of our major product lines for the periods indicated below, were as follows:
Twelve Months Ended March 31, 2022 |
Twelve Months 2021 |
Twelve Months Ended March 31, 2020 |
||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||
(in millions) | ||||||||||||
Sheet & Strip |
C$ | 3083.1 | C$ | 1,340.4 | C$ | 1,417.8 | ||||||
Plate |
465.7 | 274.7 | 324.8 | |||||||||
Freight |
172.9 | 150.4 | 175.1 | |||||||||
Non-steel sales |
84.3 | 29.4 | 39.2 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total |
C$ | 3806 | C$ | 1,794.9 | C$ | 1,956.9 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Sales and Marketing
The principal markets for our products are steel service centers, the automotive industry, manufacturing and construction. We market our sheet and plate products direct to end-users and also through distributors in Canada and the United States. We are focused on leveraging various competitive attributes of our process and product technologies to improve market and customer segmentation. We pursue the development of applications and markets for our high strength and light gauge products to respond to application design factors. We are also focused on increasing the Companys product portfolio to include more value-added products.
As part of our strategy to increase direct sales to end users of plate products, we have reduced the percentage of products sold through service centers. However, due to the nature of the market and the customers for such products, we continue to sell through service centers.
The Company pursues a diversified market and customer strategy to manage earnings volatility in the North American steel market. It is critical that a North American steel producer provide products to customers in all sectors of the economy given the industry dynamics, strong competition and global overcapacity. Focusing on more than one commodity to one sector is key to ensuring earnings stability through the business cycle and achieving greater stability in economic downturns. The Company believes it has strong customer loyalty which helps it to manage through the volatility of the steel pricing cycle.
The distribution of total steel shipments by principal markets for the periods indicated below, was as follows:
Total North American Finished Steel Shipments by Major Markets
April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 |
April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021 |
April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
Tons (in thousands) |
% | Tons (in thousands) |
% | Tons (in thousands) |
% | |||||||||||||||||||
Steel service center |
528,000 | 23 | 631,000 | 30 | 809,000 | 35 | ||||||||||||||||||
Automotive (direct and indirect) |
873,000 | 38 | 652,000 | 31 | 647,000 | 28 | ||||||||||||||||||
Manufacturing & Construction |
735,000 | 32 | 630,000 | 30 | 647,000 | 28 | ||||||||||||||||||
Tubular and other |
161,000 | 7 | 189,000 | 9 | 208,000 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||
Total |
2,297,000 | 100 | 2,102,000 | 100 | 2,311,000 | 100 |
Competition
There has been a substantial increase in global steel capacity, particularly in China, which has become the largest producer and consumer of steel in the world.
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A significant slowdown in domestic Chinese growth and/or increases in capacity that exceed consumption rates in China could result in surplus steel being exported to world markets. In addition, an economic downturn that affects demand for our products or an increase in the strength of the U.S. dollar or Canadian dollar relative to other currencies could increase imports. It is, therefore, possible that more unfairly priced imports could enter the North American markets at a future date, which could result in domestic price erosion, which would adversely affect our ability to compete, or generate revenue and reduce profitability.
We compete with numerous foreign and domestic steel producers, primarily from integrated producers, like ourselves, as well as EAF producers. We primarily compete with other steel producers based on the delivered price of finished steel products to customers. EAF producers typically require lower capital expenditures for construction and maintenance of facilities, and may have lower total employment costs. However, these competitive advantages may be reduced or eliminated when scrap prices are high.
Although freight costs for steel can often make it uneconomic for distant steel producers to compete with us, to the extent that they have lower cost of sales resulting from lower labor, raw material or energy costs or from government subsidies, they may be able to successfully compete. Although we are continually striving to improve our operating costs, we may not be successful in achieving labor, raw material and energy cost improvements or gaining operating efficiencies that may be necessary to remain competitive on a global scale.
Our competitive position is positively affected by lower incoming raw material transportation costs as well as lower marine outbound costs of finished products than those of other Canadian producers. Our position on the Great Lakes provides us with access to lower cost modes of transportation for our inbound raw materials and outbound steel products. Approximately 70% of our customers are located within a 500-mile radius of our facility in key steel consuming regions of the Midwest and Northeast United States and southern Ontario, allowing us to service our customers at competitive costs. In accordance with common industry practice, we may from time to time assume additional shipping costs when selling outside of our local geographic area in order to provide competitive pricing.
Trade
Our business has historically been affected by dumping the selling of steel into Canadian or U.S. markets at prices below cost or below the price prevailing in a foreign companys domestic market. Dumping may result in injury to steel producers in Canada or the U.S. in the form of suppressed prices, lost sales, lower profits and reductions in production, employment levels and the ability to raise capital. Some foreign steel producers are owned, controlled or subsidized by foreign governments. Decisions by these foreign producers to continue production at marginal facilities may be influenced to a greater degree by political and economic policy considerations than by prevailing market conditions and may further contribute to excess global capacity.
Successful industry trade cases over the past several years have had an impact on import levels as well.
The new United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement went into effect in July 2020. The agreement has several provisions that we believe will benefit the steel industry, including requiring that higher levels of a vehicles content, including steel, be produced in North America for a vehicle to qualify for zero tariffs, and that 70% of the steel used in vehicles be melted and poured in North America. There are also provisions addressing currency manipulation and state-owned enterprises.
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Although trade legislation to limit dumping has had some success, it may be inadequate to prevent future unfair import pricing practices which individually or collectively could materially adversely affect our business. If Canadian or U.S. trade laws are weakened, an increase in the market share of imports into the U.S. and Canada may occur, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and financial performance.
There remains in place anti-dumping findings covering imports of (i) hot rolled sheet into Canada from Brazil, China and India and into the United States from Russia, China, India, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Netherlands, Turkey and United Kingdom, among other countries, (ii) cold rolled sheet into Canada from China, South Korea and Vietnam and into the United States from Brazil, China, India, Japan, South Korea and United Kingdom, and (iii) hot rolled plate into Canada from China, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania, South Korea, Italy, Brazil, Japan, Denmark, Indonesia, Taiwan and Germany and into the United States from China, Russia, Ukraine, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Taiwan, and Turkey.
New trade cases in other jurisdictions are being considered to cover such exports. This and the potential for such exports to continue to displace hot rolled sheet product exports from other countries in markets worldwide may result in large quantities of hot rolled sheet products being exported into Canada and United States. The Company will continue to monitor imports of competing steel products into its customer markets and take appropriate action, including filing complaints, where such actions are warranted.
Information systems
Our information technology landscape supports a high level of business automation across three distinct segments of business processes: management decision systems, manufacturing execution/scheduling systems and process control systems. Our management decision systems, including the full order-to-cash cycle, are running on the SAP (Windows/Oracle) platform. Our manufacturing execution/scheduling systems run on the IBM mainframe environment. Our process control systems run on Windows, Vax, and Honeywell environments. Our infrastructure includes a LAN/WAN data network, desk/mobile phone services, approximately 100 servers, approximately 1400 PCs and two main datacenters (SAP at the Sault Ste. Marie, ON and Mainframe at Markham, ON). Daily incremental and full back-ups to disk and tape, including offsite replication and storage, are created for disaster recovery purposes.
Enterprise risk management
The Company employs an enterprise risk management (ERM) process to coordinate risk management among departments to manage the organizations full range of risks as a whole. ERM offers a framework for effectively managing uncertainty, responding to risk and harnessing opportunities as they arise. A comprehensive ERM framework consolidates and improves risk reporting to identify key risks that may affect the Company, quantify and manage them better, and implement the proper controls to eliminate or reduce the threat.
Algoma employs an enterprise risk management (ERM) program that proactively identifies and manages strategic risks to the organization. ERM follows a very distinct and ongoing process, where it actively identifies and reassesses the various strategic and major risks to ensure financial security for our business. The framework leverages systemization of the risk registers for prioritization and tracking; and applying effective mitigation strategies to manage risks. The ERM program extends its reach to evaluate strategic decisions and plans for the organization, as well as developing a risk culture to ensure longevity and sustainability of Algomas competitiveness.
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B. | Growth Strategies |
Our key strategic goals are to apply a forward-looking value-focused lens on growth, increasing our participation in key sustainable markets, generating a competitive return on capital, and meeting our financial and other obligations for all stakeholders.
We are committed to improving our quality, cost competitiveness and customer service; and developing a diverse organization to support our long term success, while maintaining safety excellence and environmental stewardship as key performance objectives.
Continuous Margin Stability Enhancement and Cost Improvement. We are striving to continue reducing our costs and improving our operating performance. Cost improvements include maintenance effectiveness, operations reliability, operational cost reductions, workforce effectiveness, power efficiency improvements, process yield improvements, improvements in product quality and optimization of gas usage.
Additionally, we are constantly striving to improve the stability of our revenue by increasing the share of contracted revenue above 65% while maintaining the ability to participate in increasing prices through flexible pricing mechanisms. The majority of our contracts are volume commitments with pricing tied to HRC and HRP CRU indexes on a one- and three-month lag basis. This results in exceptionally high correlation with the HRC and HRC CRU indexes on a one month lagging basis. Furthermore, the time lag allows Algomas management to plan effectively and design solutions to navigate uncertain times.
We expect that our transformation to EAF steelmaking will assist in reducing our costs and improving our operating performance. Fully commissioned, the EAF mill is expected to improve Adjusted EBITDA with a lower conversion cost.
We believe that the EAF steelmaking facility has the potential to increase our liquid steel capacity by 900,000 tons per year, which will provide us with the ability to pursue a higher value-add product mix with a more flexible operating footprint.
Capitalize on Low Cost Growth Opportunities. Our goal is to continue enhancing our productivity and profitability through prudent capital investment projects, including our ladle metallurgy furnace No. 2 (LMF2) debottlenecking our process flow and the added capacity from the plate mill modernization
Maintaining a Prudent Financial Policy. We are committed to creating a strong financial profile for Algoma. Our management is focused on generating disciplined growth while maintaining a strong credit profile, eliminating net long term debt while enhancing liquidity. We will continue to seek to de-lever the balance sheet while maintaining adequate liquidity throughout the seasonality in our business cycle. Algoma utilizes hedging for both revenue and raw materials to further enhance earnings stability.
Focus on Safety and Environmental Compliance. Management is focused on sustainable and safe operations by engaging in projects to improve safety, including machinery and crane guarding upgrades and coke battery door and jamb cleaners. Since fiscal year 2015, we have reduced our lost time injury frequency (measured over 200,000 hours (LTIFR) from an occurrence of 0.72 to approximately 0.08 in fiscal year 2022. Health and safety remains paramount and to further the Companys efforts to improve, we are implementing an ISO 45001 Safety Management System.
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We are committed to being good environmental stewards and encourage open communication and reporting to our communities with regard to our environmental performance. Through our participation in the Canadian Steel Producers Association, we have committed to pursue the aspirational goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. We continue to evaluate strategies to both meet this goal and maintain our competitiveness, including through the modernization of our existing facilities and/or the adoption of other technologies such as less carbon-intensive iron making or EAF steel-making. We estimate that the transition to EAF steelmaking would result in a reduction of 3.0 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, representing a 70% reduction to current emissions levels with a goal of eliminating all coal use in our steelmaking operations over time, which we believe will allow us to become one of the greenest producers in North America and reduce the potential impact of the Canadian carbon tax regime on our business.
All of our facilities are registered to the world-wide ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Standard. We are supporting open dialogue on environmental issues with the community by establishing community outreach and ensuring frequent reporting on our environmental performance. For example, Algoma has established a Community Liaison Committee as a forum for exchanging relevant environmental information with the public, conducting meetings on monthly basis and publishing meeting notes on our website.
The Company instituted an environmental community liaison committee (CLC) to solicit representation from community organizations, agencies or public bodies, with the objectives to keep the local community informed about the operations of the facility in relation to the requirements of the environmental approvals in effect, and to keep the Company informed of any community concerns about the operations of the facility.
The CLC also serves as a forum for dissemination, review and exchange of information related to the environmental impact of the facility. In order to ensure the objectives of the CLC are met, the Company provides information to the members as necessary on an ongoing basis.
Sources and Availability of Raw Materials
Steel production requires the use of large volumes of bulk raw materials and energy, in particular iron ore and coal, as well as energy, alloys, scrap, oxygen, natural gas, electricity and other inputs, the prices of which can be subject to significant fluctuation. The prices of iron ore and coal can vary greatly from period to period and our results have historically been impacted by movements in coal and iron ore prices. Iron ore and coal prices have been volatile in recent years.
Iron ore
Our largest input cost in the steel-making process is iron ore, which we purchase under our supply contracts with Cliffs and U.S. Steel.
Our iron ore needs of 3.5 million tons are satisfied by our contracts with Cliffs and U.S. Steel. The Cliffs iron ore purchase contract was first negotiated in 2002 and has been amended and extended on a number of occasions. Our current contract, dated May 31, 2013 provides for the supply of iron ore through 2024.
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In 2020, the Company secured a long term iron ore purchase contract with U.S. Steel for the supply of the Companys remaining tonnage requirement. The U.S. Steel contract, dated May 13, 2020, provides for the supply of iron ore through 2024. The Company believes that having a second competitive supply arrangement for this critical raw material will help mitigate the Companys supply risks for iron ore.
Taken together, the Companys agreements with Cliffs and U.S. Steel provide for supply of iron ore pellets through the close of the 2024 shipping season.
Scrap Metal and Iron Units
On October 27, 2021, Algoma announced that it had entered into a joint venture with Triple M Metal LP, one of North Americas largest privately owned ferrous and non-ferrous metal recycling companies, establishing a jointly owned company known as ATM Metals Inc. The new entity sources prime scrap metal and other iron units to meet Algomas business needs, including in connection with its transformation to electric arc steelmaking.
Coal
The Companys procurement team has worked with the operations team to develop a desired coal mix with reduced total volatile matter to produce more coke, which is stronger, creating less degradation and less gas. Coal is sourced from mines in Central Appalachia. Annual contracts have been set up with four suppliers which are incumbents for the past several years.
Coke
Our internal coke batteries produce the majority of our coke requirements for the Blast Furnace No. 7. Additional coke is purchased as required under contract or from the spot market.
Other raw materials
We purchase limestone, alloys and other raw materials for our manufacturing operation at what we believe to be competitive prices. We generate half of our scrap requirements internally and the balance is purchased from third parties, primarily from regional sources where we have a pricing advantage over other markets due to our proximity to the suppliers.
Energy
We purchase all of our natural gas from independent suppliers at market pricing. From time to time, we may use forward contracts over three- to twelve-month periods, mainly for peak winter months (January through March) to manage exposure to natural gas price changes. Currently, we do not have any fixed price natural gas commodity contracts in place. We do have fixed price contracts in place in relation to natural gas transportation.
The Company sources approximately 50% of its electricity needs internally and under a supply agreement with the operator of a low-cost cogeneration facility. We also obtain electricity from the Independent Electricity System Operator in Ontario and obtain electricity rebates under the Northern Industrial Electricity Rate program.
Oxygen is supplied by Praxair Canada Inc. through a supply agreement that extends to mid-2026.
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Government Regulation
The Companys environmental policy is to conduct our business in a manner that ensures the Company and its personnel act reasonably and responsibly with respect to the protection of the environment. Where appropriate, we have introduced environmental accountability to all employees. Activities that may have an impact on the natural environment have been identified and managed through the implementation of our ISO14001 compliant environmental management system. Our Environment Department regularly reviews and audits our operating practices to monitor compliance with our environmental policies and legal requirements.
The Company is required to comply with a stringent and evolving body of federal, provincial and local environmental laws concerned with, among other things, emissions into the air, carbon and greenhouse gas emissions, discharges to surface and ground water, the investigation and remediation of contaminated property, noise and odor control, waste management, recycling and disposal. Significant expenditures could be required for compliance with current or future laws or regulations relating to environmental compliance and remediation.
In the United States and Canada, certain environmental laws and regulations impose joint and several liabilities on certain classes of persons for the costs of investigation and remediation of contaminated properties. Liability may attach regardless of fault or the legality of the original management or disposal of the substance or waste. Some of our current and former facilities have been in operation for many years and, over such time, have used substances and disposed of wastes that may require investigation and remediation. The Company could be liable for the costs of such investigations and remediation. Costs for any remediation of contamination, on or off site, whether known or not yet discovered, or to address other issues relating to waste disposal, mine closure, emissions into the air or water, or the storage of materials, could be substantial and could have an adverse effect on our operating results.
In 2021, the Company became subject to the Canadian federal OBPS Program for GHG emissions, which requires payment by December 15, 2022 for any emissions above the OBPS Program benchmarks for emissions relating to the 2021 calendar year, which payment is approximately C$5.75 million. Algoma has been successful in off-setting this cost through the purchase of surplus credits. In 2022, there was a transition from the federal OBPS Program to the Ontario Emissions Performance Program (EPS Program) for GHG emitters in Ontario. Compliance obligations for CY2022 are estimated at approximately C$8 million. Federal and provincial regulatory development is currently underway for the 2023-2030 compliance periods. See Risk Factors Increased regulation associated with climate change and greenhouse gas emissions could impose significant additional costs on our operations.
The Company is required to implement plans and measures to reduce the amount of sulphur dioxide emitted from the combustion of coke oven gas by-product in accordance with the Notice issued under subsection 56(1) of CEPA. Algoma will be taking an alternative approach to reduce SO2 through its transition to electric arc steelmaking, which will see the elimination of cokemaking from Algomas operations. Therefore, Algoma will be providing a pollution prevention plan that reflects this alternative approach to reduce SO2 which has been deemed an acceptable approach to comply with CEPA. Similarly, in order to align with new provincial legislation related to SO2, Algoma has applied for a Site-Specific Standard that includes an action plan to reduce SO2 that reflects the progressive facility shutdown. See Risk Factors Environmental compliance and site remediation obligations could result in substantially increased costs and could materially adversely affect our competitive position.
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On October 18, 2019, there was a rupture of a steam drain line which was located below an electrical room in our cokemaking BP, which resulted in a loss of power to the BP. In accordance with our emergency procedures, the coke oven gas bleeders were lit to flare the coke oven gas. Additionally, the loss of power caused the cokemaking south raw liquor tank and the tar running tanks to overflow. Raw liquor was conveyed to the MWFP via a sewer located in the BP. This resulted in effluent exceedances at the MWFP for phenol, ammonia and total cyanide and a toxicity failure for rainbow trout. The incident remains under investigation by MECP.
The Company is subject to an order from the MECP, which requires vapor collection and air pollution control devices to be installed on four sources by December 31, 2021 for the purpose of reducing benzene emissions from the site. These projects are currently in the final stages of commissioning and start-up. The MECP has advised that compliance with the order is under investigation.
We are also subject to Canadian labor and employment laws, privacy and data security laws, health and safety, and environmental laws concerned with, among other things, greenhouse gas emissions, emissions and discharges of other hazardous substances, private sewer and water treatment facilities, electricity generation and distribution, mine closure and rehabilitation, and the generation, handling, storage, transportation, presence and disposal or, or exposure to hazardous substances and other laws. We are also subject to Canadian and U.S. trade laws. We monitor changes in these laws, regulations, treaties and agreements, and believe that we are in material compliance with applicable laws.
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C. | Organizational Structure |
The following chart reflects our organizational structure (including the jurisdiction of formation or incorporation of the various wholly owned entities).
D. | Property, Plants and Equipment |
Our production facility is located on the St. Marys River adjacent to other industrial facilities in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It is on 686 hectares of land, much of which is available for expansion. Transportation services are provided by road, rail and water. Our facilities include raw material and commercial docks and we operate the only deep-water dock on the upper St. Marys River, at Leighs Bay.
Facilities
We are an integrated steelmaker in that we produce coke from coal, convert iron ore to iron, iron to liquid steel and produce finished and semi-finished steel products. Our production facilities, all of which are located in Sault Ste. Marie, include the following:
| three coke batteries; |
| two blast furnaces (one currently idle); |
| basic oxygen steelmaking shop consisting of two vessels and secondary steel refining facilities; |
| DSPC with twin strand thin slab caster coupled with roughing and finishing hot mill; |
| twin strand conventional slab caster; |
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| combination hot rolling mill capable of switching between plate and sheet products; |
| plate heat treat facilities and plate finishing facilities; and |
| downstream finishing operations consisting of pickling, cold rolling, annealing and tempering, sheet slitting, and cut to length facilities. |
The following table sets forth the nameplate annual production capacity in tons and actual production for certain of our facilities for the periods indicated:
Actual Production | ||||||||||||||||
Annual Production Process Line | Capacity (NT) |
Fiscal 2022 | Fiscal 2021 | Fiscal 2020 | ||||||||||||
Coke Batteries No. 7, No. 8 and No. 9 |
900,000 | 713,539 | 830,882 | 765,199 | ||||||||||||
Blast Furnace No. 7 |
2,800,000 | 2,172,776 | 2,010,295 | 2,450,734 | ||||||||||||
Blast Furnace No. 6 |
900,000 | | | | ||||||||||||
Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) |
3,700,000 | 2,312,164 | 2,508,871 | 2,727,207 | ||||||||||||
Direct Strip Production Complex |
2,300,000 | 1,869,240 | 1,796,450 | 1,890,436 | ||||||||||||
Slab Caster |
2,000,000 | 572,893 | 625,476 | 742,150 | ||||||||||||
106 Strip Mill |
460,000 | 284,124 | 309,656 | 337,445 | ||||||||||||
166 Plate Mill |
400,000 | 337,699 | 369,627 | 432,865 | ||||||||||||
Heat Treat |
320,000 | 187,501 | 131,246 | 174,775 | ||||||||||||
100 Pickler |
800,000 | 630,470 | 566,041 | 667,306 | ||||||||||||
80 Cold Reduction Mill |
350,000 | 216,680 | 155,430 | 147,923 | ||||||||||||
80 Temper/Skinpass Mill |
800,000 | 528,000 | 602,381 | 692,032 | ||||||||||||
Batch Annealing |
250,000 | 163,924 | 140,846 | 146,007 |
EAF Steelmaking Transformation
On November 10, 2021, Algomas Board of Directors authorized Algoma to construct two new state-of-the EAFs to replace its existing blast furnace steelmaking operations. EAF steelmaking is a modern method of producing steel; with primary inputs of scrap steel and electricity, steel is formed by using an electrical current to melt scrap steel and/or other metallic inputs. Our EAF steelmaking facility is to be built adjacent to the current steel shop and will utilize existing downstream equipment and facilities, thereby reducing capital expenditure requirements of the build. The EAF is expected to improve product mix, reduce fixed costs, provide for material carbon tax savings, increase production capacity and decrease our environmental footprint, with a majority of the benefits realized by 2024. Algoma has engaged key stakeholders, including relevant government and regulatory agencies, to start the process of obtaining the required permits to build, commission and operate the EAF. EAF construction activities are progressing and include the installation of foundation piling, relocation of utilities and services, commencement of building foundations, and the relocation of rail tracks. Algoma is progressing its applications for environmental permits through the Provinces Ministry of Environment Conservation & Parks.
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As of March 31, 2022, expenditures equal $98.7 million. The total capital cost for the conversion to EAF steelmaking is estimated to be C$700 million, consisting of:
| C$547 million of EAF installation (C$339 million for building and labor and C$208 million for EAF equipment); |
| C$68 million for internal cogeneration upgrade and electrical infrastructure; and |
| C$85 million for contingencies. |
See Item 5. - Operating and Financial Review and Prospects - Managements Discussion and Analysis - Strategic Capital Projects Electric Arc Furnace (EAF)
Plate Mill Modernization
See Item 5. - Operating and Financial Review and Prospects - Managements Discussion and Analysis - Strategic Capital Projects Plate Mill Modernization
ITEM 4A. | UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS |
None.
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ITEM 5. | OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS |
See below for Managements Discussion & Analysis.
ALGOMA STEEL GROUP INC.
MANAGEMENTS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
The following Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) contains information regarding the financial position and financial performance of Algoma Steel Group Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries and unless the context otherwise requires, all references to Algoma, the Company,, we, us, or our refer to Algoma Steel Group Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.
The following MD&A provides Algoma managements perspective on the financial position and financial performance of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries for the years ended March 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020. This MD&A provides information to assist readers of, and should be read in conjunction with, the Companys audited consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes thereto as at March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2021 and for the years ended March 31, 2022, March 31, 2021 and March 31, 2020.
This discussion of the Companys business may include forward-looking information with respect to the Company, including its operations and strategies, as well as financial performance and conditions, which are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties. Readers are directed to carefully review the sections entitled Non-IFRS Financial Measures included elsewhere in this MD&A. For a discussion of risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company and its financial position and results, refer to Item 3 D. Risk Factors of this Annual Report.
This MD&A is dated as of June 14, 2022. Events occurring after this date could render the information contained herein inaccurate or misleading in a material respect. This document has been approved and authorized for issue by the Board of Directors on June 13, 2022.
Non-IFRS Financial Measures
In this MD&A we use certain non-IFRS measures to evaluate the performance of the Company. These terms do not have any standardized meaning prescribed within IFRS and, therefore, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Rather, these measures are provided as additional information to complement those IFRS measures by providing a further understanding of our financial performance from managements perspective. Accordingly, they should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for analysis of our financial information reported under IFRS. As described below, the term Adjusted EBITDA is a financial measure utilized by Algoma in reporting its financial results that is not defined by IFRS. The terms Net Sales Realization (NSR) and Cost Per Ton of Steel Products Sold are financial measures utilized by Algoma in reporting its financial results that are not defined by IFRS. Net Sales Realization, as defined by Algoma, refers to steel revenue less freight per steel tons shipped. Net Sales Realization is included because it allows management and investors to evaluate our selling prices per ton of steel products sold, excluding geographic impact of freight charges, in order to enhance comparability when comparing our sales performance to that of our competitors. Cost Per Ton of Steel Products Sold, as defined by Algoma, refers to cost of steel revenue less freight, amortization, carbon tax and business combination adjustments (included in cost of steel revenue) per steel tons shipped. Cost Per Ton of Steel Products Sold allows management and investors to evaluate the Companys cost of steel products sold on a per ton basis, excluding the items that we exclude when calculating Adjusted EBITDA, to evaluate our operating performance and to enhance the comparability of our costs over different time periods. We consider each of Net Sales Realization and Cost Per Ton of Steel Products Sold to be meaningful measures to assess our operating performance in addition to IFRS measures. A reconciliation of each of Net Sales Realization and Cost Per Ton of Steel Products Sold to their most comparable IFRS financial measures are contained in this MD&A.
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Adjusted EBITDA, as defined by the Company, refers to net (loss) income before amortization of property, plant, equipment and amortization of intangible assets, finance costs, interest on pension and other post-employment benefit obligations, income taxes, restructuring costs, foreign exchange loss (gain), finance income, carbon tax, changes in fair value of warrant, earnout and share-based compensation liabilities, transaction costs, listing expense, share-based compensation related to performance share units and business combination adjustments. Further Adjusted EBITDA is defined as Adjusted EBITDA before tariff expense and capacity utilization adjustment. Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA by revenue for the corresponding period, and Further Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing Further Adjusted EBITDA by revenue for the corresponding period. Adjusted EBITDA per ton is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA by tons of steel products sold for the corresponding period, and Further Adjusted EBITDA per ton is calculated by dividing Further Adjusted EBITDA by tons of steel products sold for the corresponding period. Adjusted EBITDA and Further Adjusted EBITDA are not intended to represent cash flow from operations, as defined by IFRS, and should not be considered as alternatives to net profit (loss) from operations, or any other measure of performance prescribed by IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA and Further Adjusted EBITDA, as defined and used by the Company, may not be comparable to Adjusted EBITDA and Further Adjusted EBITDA as defined and used by other companies. We consider Adjusted EBITDA and Further Adjusted EBITDA to be meaningful measures to assess our operating performance in addition to IFRS measures. These measures are included because we believe it can be useful in measuring our operating performance and our ability to expand our business and provide management and investors with additional information for comparison of our operating results across different time periods and to the operating results of other companies. Adjusted EBITDA and Further Adjusted EBITDA are also used by analysts and our lenders as measures of our financial performance. In addition, we consider Adjusted EBITDA margin, Adjusted EBITDA per ton, Further Adjusted EBITDA margin and Further Adjusted EBITDA per ton, to be useful measures of our operating performance and profitability across different time periods that enhance the comparability of our results. For a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA and Further Adjusted EBITDA to its most comparable IFRS financial measures, see Adjusted EBITDA presented in this MD&A.
Adjusted EBITDA, Further Adjusted EBITDA, Net Sales Realization and Cost Per Ton of Steel Products Sold have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation from, or as alternatives to, net income, cash flow from operations or other data prepared in accordance with IFRS. Some of these limitations are:
| they do not reflect cash outlays for capital expenditures or contractual commitments; |
| they do not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, working capital; |
| they do not reflect the finance costs, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments on indebtedness; |
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| they do not reflect income tax expense or the cash necessary to pay income taxes; |
| they do not reflect interest on pension and other post-employment benefit obligations; |
| although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future, as such Adjusted EBITDA and Further Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect cash requirements for such replacements; |
| they do not reflect the impact of earnings or charges resulting from matters we believe not to be indicative of our ongoing operations; and |
| other companies, including other companies in our industry, may calculate these measure differently than as presented by us, limiting their usefulness as a comparative measure. |
Because of these limitations, these measures should not be considered as measures of discretionary cash available to invest in business growth or to reduce indebtedness. We compensate for these limitations by relying primarily on our IFRS results, using these measures only as a supplement to such results.
Functional Currency
The Companys functional currency is the US dollar, which reflects the Companys operational exposure to the US dollar. The Company uses the Canadian dollar as its presentation currency. In accordance with IFRS, all amounts presented are translated to Canadian dollars using the current rate method whereby all revenues, expenses and cash flows are translated at the average rate that was in effect during the period or presented at their Canadian dollar transactional amounts and all assets and liabilities are translated at the prevailing closing rate in effect at the end of the period. Equity transactions have been translated at historical rates. The resulting net translation adjustment has been reflected in other comprehensive income (loss). Unless otherwise stated, the figures included in this MD&A are stated in Canadian dollars.
The currency exchange rates for the relevant periods for the years ending March 31, 2022, March 31, 2021 and March 31, 2020:
Average Rate | Period End Rate | |||||||||||||||||||
FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | ||||||||||||||||
April 1 to June 30 |
1.2280 | 1.3859 | 1.3375 | 1.2394 | 1.3576 | |||||||||||||||
July 1 to September 30 |
1.2601 | 1.3316 | 1.3206 | 1.2741 | 1.3319 | |||||||||||||||
October 1 to December 31 |
1.2600 | 1.3030 | 1.3200 | 1.2678 | 1.2732 | |||||||||||||||
January 1 to March 31 |
1.2663 | 1.2666 | 1.3442 | 1.2496 | 1.2575 |
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Overview of the Business
Algoma Steel Group Inc., formerly known as 1295908 B.C. Ltd., was incorporated on March 23, 2021 under the Business Corporations Act (BCA) for the purpose of purchasing Algoma Steel Holdings Inc. under section 85(1) of the Income Tax Act (Canada), effecting the purchase on an income tax-deferred basis. A purchase agreement between the Company and Algoma Steel Intermediate S.A R.L. (the Vendor) was executed March 29, 2021, whereby the Vendor sold its equity holdings in the capital of Algoma Steel Holdings Inc. to the Company. The transaction resulted in the Vendor transferring its 100,000,001 common shares of Algoma Steel Holdings Inc. to the Company in exchange for 100,000,000 common shares of the Company.
Opco, the operating company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Algoma Steel Holdings Inc., was incorporated on May 19, 2016 under the BCA, for the purpose of purchasing substantially all of the operating assets and liabilities of Essar Steel Algoma Inc. The Company is an integrated steel producer with its active operations located entirely in Canada. The Company produces sheet and plate products that are sold primarily in North America.
Merger Transaction
On October 19, 2021, the Merger between a subsidiary of the Company (Merger Sub) and Legato Merger Corp. (Legato), pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger (Merger Agreement) entered into on May 24, 2021 (the Merger), was completed (the Closing), with Legato becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company and the shareholders of Legato becoming shareholders of the Company. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, the Company effected a reverse stock split such that each outstanding common share became such number of common shares, as determined by the conversion factor of 71.76775% (as defined in the Merger Agreement). As a result of the Merger, the shares were dual listed on the TSX and NASDAQ and became publicly traded on October 20, 2021.
Pursuant to the Merger, each outstanding share of Legato common stock was converted into and exchanged for one newly issued common share of the Company. This resulted in the issuance of 30,306,320 common shares of the Company, after redemption by initial Legato shareholders. On Closing, the Company accounted for the Merger as a share-based payment transaction, with the fair value of the Algoma common shares issued to the Legato shareholders measured at the market price of Legatos publicly traded common shares on October 19, 2021. The total fair value of the Algoma common shares issued to Legato shareholders was C$421.3 million (US$340.9 million). As part of the Merger, Algoma acquired cash, a receivable previously owed between Legato and Opco and warrants, with the difference accounted for as a listing expense. Refer to Note 4 of the consolidated financial statements for a reconciliation of the elements of the Merger. Following the consummation of the Merger on Closing, Legato was dissolved and its assets and liabilities were distributed to the Company.
Concurrent with the execution of the Merger Agreement, the Company and Legato entered into subscription agreements with certain investors (the PIPE Investors) pursuant to which the PIPE Investors agreed to purchase, and the Company and Legato agreed to issue to the PIPE Investors, an aggregate of 10,000,000 common shares of Legato common stock, for the purchase price of US$10.00 per share and at an aggregate purchase price of US$100.0 million (the PIPE Investment) on closing. Those PIPE Investors that subscribed for Legato common stock exchanged their PIPE shares for common shares pursuant to the PIPE subscription agreements immediately prior to the Merger. After giving effect to such exchange 10,000,000 common shares of the Company were issued in the PIPE Investment.
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Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, the previously outstanding Legato warrants were converted into an equal number of warrants issued by the Company. These warrants comprise 23,575,000 Public Warrants and 604,000 Private Warrants (collectively Warrants). In connection with this conversion, there were no substantial changes to the rights assigned to the holders of the warrants and assumed by the Company. Each of the Companys Warrants are exercisable for one common share in the Company at US$11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, with the exercise period beginning on November 18, 2021. On Closing, the Company recognized a liability in the amount of C$92.0 million (US$74.5 million) using the market price of the Legato Warrants as an approximation of fair value for each unit.
As at March 31, 2022, the 24,179,000 Warrants remain outstanding with an estimated fair value of US$3.29 per Warrant based on the market price of the Warrants, for which the Company recognized a liability of C$99.4 million (US$79.6 million) in warrant liability on the audited consolidated statements of financial position. The loss for change in fair value of the warrant liability of C$6.4 million is presented in the audited consolidated statements of net income (loss).
On Closing, the LTIP awards granted by Algoma Steel Holdings Inc. (ASHI) became vested and were exchanged for replacement LTIP awards issued by the Company (Replacement LTIP Award(s)) as determined by the conversion factor of 71.76775% (as defined in the Merger Agreement). Based on the conversion factor, 3,232,628 Replacement LTIP Award(s) were issued. Similar to the LTIP awards, each Replacement LTIP Award(s) allow the holders to purchase one common share of Algoma. The Replacement LTIP Award(s) are considered fully vested and can be exercised for US$0.013 per common share, pursuant to an LTIP exchange agreement with each holder, at the earlier of a significant disposal of Algoma common shares held by the Companys shareholders immediately prior to the Closing, or December 31, 2025. Should the participants employment with the Company cease, a cash-out option is available as an alternative method of settlement for a portion of the vested Replacement LTIP Award(s) based on the five-day volume-weighted average trading price of the Companys common shares, subjected to the approval of the Board of Directors.
On the day preceding the Closing, the Company remeasured the fair value of the original LTIP Awards as they became fully vested on the day before the Merger. Consequently, the Company recognized a liability in the amount of C$44.9 million (US$36.4 million) using the market price of the Algoma common shares as an approximation of fair value for each unit of Replacement LTIP Award(s). The gain on change in fair value of previously recognized LTIP awards accounted for as cash-settled share-based payments, including restricted share units and director units, were recognized in profit or loss in the amount of C$10.4 million. In addition, the fair value of the previously recognized fully vested performance share units, which were previously accounted for as equity-settled share-based payments, was recognized as a liability in the amount of C$35.5 million (US$28.7 million) with an offsetting charge to equity to reflect the modification of these units to cash settled awards.
The Company accounted for the Replacement LTIP Award(s) as a modification of share-based payment as the LTIP awards and the Replacement LTIP Award(s) share similar terms and conditions, and were only replaced as a result of a liquidating event (the Merger) as described by the original long-term incentive plan. Given the alternative settlement options at the election of the participant, the Company has accounted for the Replacement LTIP Award(s) as cash-settled share-based transactions, which are measured at fair value on initial recognition and at each reporting date with the changes in fair value recorded in the audited consolidated statements of net income (loss). The Company applied modification accounting by remeasuring the fair value of the LTIP awards previously granted by ASHI as at the day prior to Closing and determined that there is no resulting gain or loss.
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Upon the consummation of the Merger, the Company issued Replacement LTIP Award(s) to replace previously issued restricted share units, director units and performance share units. The Replacement LTIP Award(s) are accounted for as cash-settled share-based payment and are immediately vested on Closing. The previous long-term incentive plan established by Algoma Steel Holdings Inc. dated May 13, 2020 was cancelled on Closing and no additional awards can be granted under this plan.
As at March 31, 2022, the 3,232,628 Replacement LTIP Award(s) remain outstanding with an estimated fair value of US$11.25 per share based on the market price of the Companys common shares, for which the Company recognized a liability of C$45.4 million (US$36.4 million) in share-based payment compensation liability on the audited consolidated statements of financial position.
On October 19, 2021, the Company approved an Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan (October 2021 LTIP Plan) that would allow the Company to grant various awards to its employees. Under the terms of the Omnibus Plan, the maximum number of common shares that may be subjected to awards is 8.8 million common shares. The awards issuable under the Plan consists of Restricted Share Units (RSU), Deferred Share Units (DSU) Performance Share Units (PSU) and stock options.
Under the terms of the Omnibus Plan, DSUs may be issued to members of the Board of Directors as may be designated by the Board of Directors from time-to-time in satisfaction of all or a portion of Director fees. The number of DSUs to be issued in satisfaction of a payment of Director fees shall be equal to the amount of the Director fees divided by the give day volume weighted average price of the Companys common shares preceding the grant date. DSUs are share-based payments measured at fair value at the date of grant and expensed immediately as the underlying services have been rendered. The grant date fair value takes into account the Companys estimation of the DSUs that will eventually vest and adjusts for the effect of non-market based performance conditions. DSUs do not have an exercise price and become exercisable for one common share of the Company upon the retirement of the Director, or in the event of incapacity. The price of the Companys common shares on the grant date is used to approximate the grant date fair value of each unit of DSUs.
As of March 31, 2022, 54,558 DSUs under the Omnibus Plan were granted to certain Directors of the Company, with a grant date fair value of US $9.54 per DSU based on the market price of the Companys common shares. The DSUs vested immediately upon issuance. Accordingly, the Company recorded a share-based payment compensation expense of C$0.7 million (March 31, 2021 - C$14.1 million) in administrative and selling expenses on the consolidated statement of net income (loss) and contributed surplus on the consolidated statements of financial position. No exercises or forfeiture of DSUs have been recorded to date.
On March 28, 2022, the Board of Directors approved the resolution to grant RSUs and PSUs in accordance with the Omnibus Plan during the first quarter of the year ending March 31, 2023. Grant agreements will be issued to certain employees with specific terms and conditions, as well as certain performance targets that will need to be met during the year ending March 31, 2023 in order for the awards to vest.
Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, holders of the Companys common shares and each holder of Replacement LTIP Award(s) were granted the contingent right to receive their pro rata portion of up to 37.5 million common shares of the Company if certain targets based on Earnout Adjusted EBITDA (as defined in the Merger Agreement) and the trading price of the Companys common shares were met as at December 31, 2021 and thereafter. The Company has accounted for the earnout rights as a derivative liability, which are measured at fair value on initial recognition and at each reporting date with the changes in fair value, recorded in the audited consolidated statements of net income (loss).
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On Closing, the Company forecasted that the highest level of the Earnout Adjusted EBITDA would be achieved as at December 31, 2021. Accordingly, the Company recognized an earnout liability based on the expectation that all 37.5 million Algoma common shares underlying the earnout rights would become issuable. On October 19, 2021, the Company recorded an earnout liability in the amount of C$521.3 million (US$421.9 million) using the market price of the Algoma common shares as an approximation of fair value for each unit of earnout rights. Given that the earnout rights were granted to all of the previous shareholders of the Company, the amount was recorded as a distribution through retained earnings.
On February 9, 2022, 35,883,695 earnout shares were issued with a value of US$9.54 per unit with a fair value of C$434.1 million (US$342.3 million). As a result, the Company derecognized the related earnout liability. As at March 31, 2022, 1,616,305 earnout rights remain outstanding with an estimated fair value of US$11.25 per unit based on the market price of the Algoma common shares, for which the Company recognized a liability of C$22.7 million (US$18.2 million) in earnout liability on the audited consolidated statements of financial position. Gain in the fair value of the earnout liability of C$78.1 million is presented in the audited consolidated statements of net income (loss).
Strategic Capital Projects
Electric Arc Furnace (EAF)
On November 10, 2021, the Companys Board of Directors authorized the Company to construct two state-of-the-art electric-arc-furnaces (EAF) to replace its existing No. 7 blast furnace steelmaking operations. The transformation is expected to reduce Algomas carbon emissions by approximately 70%. The Company plans to invest approximately C$700 million in the EAF transformation, funded with previously announced financing commitments and the proceeds from the Merger. EAF steelmaking is a modern method of producing steel; with primary inputs of scrap steel and electricity, steel is formed by using an electrical current to melt scrap steel and/or other metallic inputs. The EAF steelmaking facility is to be built on vacant land adjacent to the current steelmaking facility to avoid disruption to current operations, and will utilize existing downstream equipment and facilities, thereby reducing capital expenditure requirements.
The EAF transformation is expected to improve product mix, reduce fixed costs, provide for significant carbon tax savings, increase production capacity and decrease the Companys environmental footprint. The Company anticipates a 30-month construction phase for the EAF facility, with completion expected between April 2024 and June 2024, and expects to transition away from its current blast furnace steelmaking thereafter as increased electric power from the grid supplying the Company becomes available.
On September 20, 2021, the Company secured an agreement with the Government of Canada through the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada of, whereby the Company will receive up to C$200.0 million in the form of a loan to support the Companys EAF transformation. The loan is provided through the Net Zero Accelerator Initiative of the Federal Strategic Innovation Fund (the Federal SIF). The repayment period will commence upon the earlier of the Company having access to full power from the provincial electricity grid to operate the EAFs independently, or January 1, 2030. The annual repayment is further dependent on the Companys performance in reducing green house gas emissions.
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On November 29, 2021, the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) and the Company have entered into a definitive agreement with respect to the CIBs previously announced commitment to finance green house gas reduction industrial initiatives, including the EAF transformation of the Companys steelmaking processes at its facility in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Under the terms of the agreement, the CIB will provide up to C$220 million in loan financing towards the EAF transformation.
On December 2, 2021, the Company announced that it has selected Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche S.p.A. (Danieli) as the sole technology provider for the EAF steelmaking facility. In connection with this agreement, Danieli will supply its AC-Digimelter technology powered by Q-One digital power systems.
On January 27, 2022, the Company announced that it has awarded GE Gas Power (GE), a General Electric company, a contract for the upgrade to the Companys natural gas combined cycle power plant, including the installation of two gas turbine packages. The upgrade is expected to supply the Company with sufficient internal electricity generation to power phase one of its transition to EAF steelmaking. Under the terms of the contract, GE will provide two LM6000 aero derivative gas turbines complete with new control systems as well as a new control system for the existing GE steam turbine. In addition, GE will also complete a full rewind on the No. 2 Generator.
On April 25, 2022, the Company announced that it has awarded the structural building contract for its EAF to Hamilton, ON-based Walters Group Inc. (Walters). Walters will be responsible for fabricating and erecting the main building structure in addition to the necessary dust collection hoods. Pursuant to the fixed-price contract, Walters will use Algomas steel plate products in the fabrication of the heavy structural components, and will work with local industrial contractor, SIS Manufacturing Inc., for the fabrication of these key elements. Onsite assembly of the building structure is expected to commence in the fall of 2022, with the completion targeted within a year.
EAF construction activities are progressing and include the installation of foundation piling, relocation of utilities and services, commencement of building foundations, and the relocation of rail tracks.
The Company is progressing its applications for environmental operational permits through the Provinces Ministry of Environment Conservation & Parks.
Plate Mill Modernization
The Company has undertaken a plate mill modernization project (PMM Project) which is expected to be completed in two phases by November 2022 and plans to invest a total of approximately C$120 million, which will be partly funded by government loan facilities totaling approximately C$50 million. This strategic initiative will enhance the capacity and quality of the Companys plate product line, which is a differentiated product capability and a key source of competitive advantage. The PMM Project will allow the Company to satisfy higher product quality requirements of its customers with respect to surface and flatness, increase high strength capability with availability of new grades, ensure reliability of plate production with direct ship capability and increase overall plate shipment capacity through debottlenecking and automation. The modernization process will be comprised of two phases: quality focus and productivity focus. The first phase focuses on quality, is expected to be completed by May/June 2022, and includes the installation and commissioning upgrades of a new primary slab de-scaler (to improve surface quality), automated surface
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inspection system (to detect and map surface quality), an in-line hot leveler (to improves flatness), and automation of the 166 inch plate mill (which expands the Companys grade offering). The second phase focuses on productivity, and is expected to be completed by November 2022; and includes installation and commissioning upgrades of onboard descaling systems for the 2Hi and 4Hi roughing roll stands, mill alignment and work roll offset at the 4Hi, 4Hi DC drive, new cooling beds coupling the plate mill and shear line, dividing shear, plate piler and automated marking machine.
Key Leadership and Governance Announcements
The Companys current Chief Executive Officer, Michael McQuade, joined the board of directors of Opco following the restructuring of the company under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act. Mr. McQuade became Chief Executive of Opco in March 2019. In accordance with the announcement that was made on April 18, 2022, Michael D. Garcia was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective June 1, 2022. Mr. McQuade will continue to serve on the Companys board of directors and Mr. Garcia will also join the Board concurrent with his appointment as CEO.
Subsequent Events
Steel producers such as Algoma are subject to numerous environmental laws and regulations (Environmental Law), including federal and provincial, relating to the protection of the environment. The company can incur regulatory liability as well civil liability for contamination on-site (soil, groundwater, indoor air), contaminant migration and impacts off-site including in respect of groundwater, rivers, lakes, other waterways, and air emissions.
On June 9, 2022, the Company experienced an incident where an oil-based lubricant was released from our hot mill in Sault Ste. Marie. The oil entered our water treatment facility, and some quantity of the oil was discharged into the St. Marys River. Working with the assistance of expert technical advisors, the Company has been able to ascertain that the estimated amount of oil that was ultimately discharged into the river from its water treatment plant is in the range of 1,000 liters (263 gallons) to 1,250 liters (330 gallons), with the amount not likely exceeding 1,250 liters. This information along with the analysis methodology have been provided to the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks, whom we continue to work closely with. Following the discharge, traffic on the river was temporarily halted, the local public health authority issued a water advisory and a nearby municipality issued an emergency declaration regarding its municipal water supply. We continue to actively work with our response partners deploying equipment and resources to contain and mitigate the effects on the waterway and neighboring communities, and are working with local, provincial, and federal regulatory authorities conducting ongoing sampling and monitoring to mitigate any possible impact. At present, the Company has not received any orders or offenses from any regulatory authority, however, the Provincial environmental regulator is requiring that Algoma prepare and submit a report that outlines the cause of the spill and preventative measures to prevent a re-occurrence.
On June 13, 2022, the Board of Directors approved the Companys intention to pursue a Substantial Issuer Bid in Canada, as well as Tender Offer in the United States (collectively, the Share Repurchase) using a Modified Dutch Auction to repurchase its common shares and aggregate value of the Share Repurchase of US$400 million. Conditions of the Share Repurchase, including the pricing range per share will be determined following the release of the Companys financial results for the year ended March 31, 2022. The Company will fund the purchase of tendered shares from cash on hand.
Factors Affecting Financial Performance
The Companys profitability is correlated to the pricing of steel, ore, coal and energy and the existence of tariffs on its sales outside of Canada. Changes in the underlying pricing of the Companys steel products and raw materials, and changes in tariffs on sales outside of Canada cause variation in operating results between periods. During periods of stronger or improving steel market conditions, the Company is more likely to be able to pass the increased costs of ore, coal and energy to its customers, protecting the Companys margins from significant erosion. During weaker or rapidly deteriorating steel market conditions, including due to weak steel demand, low industry utilization rates and/or increasing steel product imports, the competitive environment intensifies which results in increased pricing pressure. All of those factors, to some degree, impact pricing, which in turn impacts margins.
North American steel pricing is largely dependent on global supply and demand, the level of steel imports into North America, economic conditions in North America, global steelmaking overcapacity, and increased raw material prices. North American steel producers compete with many foreign producers, including those in Europe, China and other Asian countries. Competition from foreign producers is periodically intensified by weakening regional economies of their surrounding countries, and resultant decisions by these foreign producers with respect to export volumes and pricing possibly more influenced by political and economic policy considerations than by prevailing market conditions.
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Global steel production increased 3.7% in 2021 compared to 2020 to 1,950.5 million metric tonnes. China represents approximately 53% of global crude steel production. (source: Worldsteel Association December 2021 crude steel production January 25, 2022). Given the strong recovery in steel production in 2021 compared to 2020 pandemic levels, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development projects that global excess capacity was approximately 478 million metric tonnes in 2021, which is down from previous levels but remains approximately 30 times the size of the Canadian steel industry.
Overall Results
Net Income (Loss)
Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2021
The Companys net income for the three month period ended March 31, 2022 was C$242.9 million compared to C$100.1 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2021, resulting in a C$142.8 million increase of net income. This increase in net income was due mainly to an increase in steel revenue of C$294.3 million, primarily a result of an increase in the selling price of steel, offset in part by an associated increase in the cost of steel revenue (C$118.2 million) which is mainly due to an increase in the purchase price of many key inputs such as iron ore, scrap, alloys and natural gas as well as an increase in employee profit sharing expense compared to the prior year.
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021
The Companys net income for the year ended March 31, 2022 was C$857.7 million compared to a net loss of C$76.1 million for the year ended March 31, 2021, resulting in a C$933.8 million increase of net income. This increase in net income was due mainly to an increase in steel revenue of C$1,933.7 million, primarily a result of an increase in the selling price of steel, offset in part by listing expense of C$235.6 million and transaction costs of C$26.5 million due to the Merger transaction. Further offsetting the increase in revenue was an associated increase in the cost of steel revenue (C$596.7 million) which is mainly due to an increase in the purchase price of many key inputs such as iron ore, scrap, alloys and natural gas as well as an increase in employee profit sharing expense compared to the prior year.
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2020
The Companys net loss for the year ended March 31, 2021, was C$76.1 million compared to a net loss of C$175.9 million for the year ended March 31, 2020, resulting in a C$99.8 million reduction of net loss. This reduction of net loss was due primarily to decreased amortization (C$40.8 million) and lower cost of steel revenue per ton of steel sold (decreased by 12.3% from C$791 to C$694) due to a reduction in the purchase price of many inputs such as alloys, scrap and natural gas as well as certain cost control measures that were put in place to mitigate the impact of deteriorating market conditions at the onset of the pandemic.
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Income (Loss) from Operations
Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2021
The Companys income from operations for the three month period ended March 31, 2022 was C$310.6 million compared to C$130.0 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2021, an increase of C$180.6 million, due primarily to the same reasons mentioned above for net income.
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021
The Companys income from operations for the year ended March 31, 2022 was C$1,411.0 million compared to C$84.8 million for the year ended March 31, 2021, an increase of C$1,326.2 million, due primarily to the same reasons mentioned above for net income except expenses associated with the Merger transaction.
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2020
The Companys income from operations for the year ended March 31, 2021 was C$84.8 million (March 31, 2020 loss from operations of C$137.0 million), an increase of C$221.8 million, due primarily to the reasons described above for net income.
Steel Revenue and Cost of Sales
change | January 1 to March 31, 2022 |
January 1 to March 31, 2021 |
||||||||||||||
tons |
||||||||||||||||
Steel Shipments |
i | 12.0 | % | 547,217 | 621,843 | |||||||||||
millions of dollars |
||||||||||||||||
Revenue |
C$ | 941.8 | C$ | 638.5 | ||||||||||||
Less: |
||||||||||||||||
Freight included in revenue |
(48.0 | ) | (47.3 | ) | ||||||||||||
Non-steel revenue |
(13.9 | ) | (5.6 | ) | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Steel revenue |
h | 50.3 | % | C$ | 879.9 | C$ | 585.6 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Cost of steel revenue |
C$ | 541.3 | C$ | 423.1 | ||||||||||||
Amortization included in cost of steel revenue |
(22.7 | ) | (21.6 | ) | ||||||||||||
Carbon tax included in cost of steel revenue |
(0.4 | ) | (1.8 | ) | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Cost of steel products sold |
h | 29.6 | % | C$ | 518.2 | C$ | 399.7 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
dollars per ton |
||||||||||||||||
Revenue per ton of steel sold |
h | 67.6 | % | C$ | 1,721 | C$ | 1,027 | |||||||||
Cost of steel revenue per ton of steel sold |
h | 45.4 | % | C$ | 989 | C$ | 680 | |||||||||
Average net sales realization on steel sales (i) |
h | 70.8 | % | C$ | 1,608 | C$ | 942 | |||||||||
Cost per ton of steel products sold |
h | 47.3 | % | C$ | 947 | C$ | 643 |
(i) | Represents Steel revenue (being Revenue less (a) Freight included in revenue and (b) Non-steel revenue) divided by the number of tons of Steel Shipments during the applicable period. |
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Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2021
The Companys NSR on steel sales (excluding freight) per ton shipped was C$1,608 for the three month period ended March 31, 2022 (March 31, 2021 - C$942), an increase of 70.8%. Steel revenue increased by 50.3% whereas steel shipment volumes decreased by 12.0% during the three month period ended March 31, 2022 as compared to the three month period ended March 31, 2021. The decrease in steel shipment volumes is due in part to lower production levels as a result of logistics supply chain impacts. The overall increase in steel revenue is mainly due to increased steel prices compared to the three month period ended March 31, 2021.
For the three month period ended March 31, 2022, the Companys cost of steel products sold increased by 29.6% to C$518.2 million (March 31, 2021 - C$399.7 million) due primarily to an increase in the purchase price of many key inputs such as iron ore, scrap, alloys and natural gas as well as an increase in employee profit sharing expense (C$28.8 million) compared to the prior year.
Change (FY2022 to FY2021) |
FY2022 | Change (FY2021 to FY2020) |
FY2021 | FY2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
tons |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Steel Shipments |
h | 9.3 | % | 2,297,159 | i | 8.8 | % | 2,102,086 | 2,305,039 | |||||||||||||||||||
millions of dollars |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Revenue |
C$ | 3,806.0 | C$ | 1,794.9 | C$ | 1,956.9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Less: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Freight included in revenue |
(172.9 | ) | (150.4 | ) | (175.1 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Non-steel revenue |
(84.3 | ) | (29.4 | ) | (39.2 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Steel revenue |
h | 119.7 | % | C$ | 3,548.8 | i | 7.3 | % | C$ | 1,615.1 | C$ | 1,742.6 | ||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Cost of steel revenue |
C$ | 2,054.6 | C$ | 1,457.9 | C$ | 1,822.7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Amortization included in cost of steel revenue |
(86.7 | ) | (86.8 | ) | (127.6 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Carbon tax included in cost of steel revenue |
0.6 | (13.4 | ) | (6.9 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Business combination adjustments |
| | (1.4 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Cost of steel products sold |
h | 45.0 | % | C$ | 1,968.5 | i | 19.5 | % | C$ | 1,357.7 | C$ | 1,686.8 | ||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
dollars per ton |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Revenue per ton of steel sold |
h | 94.0 | % | C$ | 1,657 | h | 0.6 | % | C$ | 854 | C$ | 849 | ||||||||||||||||
Cost of steel revenue per ton of steel sold |
h | 28.8 | % | C$ | 894 | h | 12.3 | % | C$ | 694 | C$ | 791 | ||||||||||||||||
Average net sales realization on steel sales (i) |
h | 101.2 | % | C$ | 1,545 | h | 1.6 | % | C$ | 768 | C$ | 756 | ||||||||||||||||
Cost per ton of steel products sold |
h | 32.7 | % | C$ | 857 | i | 11.7 | % | C$ | 646 | C$ | 732 |
(i) | Represents Steel revenue (being Revenue less (a) Freight included in revenue and (b) Non-steel revenue) divided by the number of tons of Steel Shipments during the applicable period. |
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Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021
The Companys NSR on steel sales (excluding freight) per ton shipped was C$1,545 for the year ended March 31, 2022 (March 31, 2021 - C$768), an increase of 101.2%. Steel revenue increased by 119.7% and steel shipment volumes increased by 9.3% during the year ended March 31, 2022, as compared to the year ended March 31, 2021. The overall increase in steel revenue is mainly due to increased steel prices compared to the year ended March 31, 2021.
For the year ended March 31, 2022, the Companys cost of steel products sold increased by 45.0% to C$1,968.5 million (March 31, 2021 - C$1,357.7 million) due primarily to an increase in steel shipments, increase in the purchase price of many key inputs such as iron ore, scrap, alloys and natural gas as well as an increase in employee profit sharing expense (C$132.9 million) compared to the prior year. Employee profit sharing expense has been calculated in accordance with the profit sharing agreement for year ended March 31, 2022.
Further, the Government of Canada passed the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the year ended March 31, 2022, the Company did not receive CEWS funding. For the year ended March 31, 2021, the Company recorded a reduction of C$52.8 million to the cost of steel products sold as a reduction to personnel costs, included therein, in connection with the CEWS program.
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2020
The Companys NSR on steel sales (excluding freight) per ton shipped was C$768 for the year ended March 31, 2021 (March 31, 2020 - C$756), an increase of 1.6%. Steel revenue decreased by 7.3% and steel shipment volumes decreased by 8.8% during year ended March 31, 2021, as compared to the year ended March 31, 2020. The overall decrease in steel shipment volumes was a result of the reduction in demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, increased steel prices and demand during the last six months of the year resulted in improved NSR for the year ended March 31, 2021 compared to the year ended March 31, 2020.
For the year ended March 31, 2021, the Companys cost of steel products sold on a per ton basis decreased by 19.5% to C$1,357.7 (March 31, 2020 - C$1,686.8). For the year ended March 31, 2021, the Companys cost of steel products sold on a per ton basis decreased by 11.7% to C$646 (March 31, 2020 C$732). The decrease in cost of steel products sold on a per ton basis was the result of a reduction in the purchase price of many inputs such as alloys, scrap and natural gas as well as certain cost control measures that were put in place to mitigate the impact of deteriorating market conditions at the onset of the pandemic.
For the year ended March 31, 2021, the Company recorded a C$52.8 million reduction to cost of steel products sold in connection with the CEWS (March 31, 2020 nil).
Non-steel Revenue
Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2021
For the three month period ended March 31, 2022, the Companys non-steel revenue was C$13.9 million (March 31, 2021 - C$5.6 million). The increase of $8.3 million was mainly due to increased sale of various by-products.
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Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021
For the year ended March 31, 2022, the Companys non-steel revenue was C$84.3 million (March 31, 2021 - C$29.4 million). The increase of $54.9 million was mainly due to the sale of royalty rights (C$20.0 million) and also due to increased sale of various by-products.
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2020
For the year ended March 31, 2021, the Companys non-steel revenue was C$29.4 million (March 31, 2020 - C$39.2 million). The decrease of C$9.8 million was primarily due to lower sales volume and lower selling prices of tar, light oil and braize. For the years ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, non-steel cost of sales approximated non-steel sales.
Administrative and Selling Expenses
millions of dollars |
January 1 to March 31, 2022 |
January 1 to March 31, 2021 |
||||||
Personnel expenses |
C$ | 13.9 | C$ | 21.9 | ||||
Professional, consulting, legal and other fees |
10.1 | 6.6 | ||||||
Software licenses |
1.1 | 0.8 | ||||||
Amortization of intangible assets and non-production assets |
0.1 | 0.1 | ||||||
Other administrative and selling |
2.8 | 3.1 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
C$ | 28.0 | C$ | 32.5 | |||||
|
|
|
|
Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2021
As illustrated in the table above, the Companys administrative and selling expenses for the three month period ended March 31, 2022, were C$28.0 million (March 31, 2021 - C$32.5 million). The decrease in administrative and selling expenses of C$4.5 million is mainly due to decreased personnel expenses (C$8.0 million), due primarily to lower share based compensation ($13.7 million), offset by an increase in employee profit sharing (C$3.2 million). The decrease is partially offset by an increase in professional, consulting, insurance and other fees (C$3.5 million) primarily due to costs associated with listing on the public exchange.
millions of dollars |
FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 | |||||||||
Personnel expenses |
C$ | 54.2 | C$ | 39.6 | C$ | 29.7 | ||||||
Professional, consulting, legal and other fees |
36.2 | 22.2 | 17.1 | |||||||||
Software licenses |
4.6 | 3.1 | 2.7 | |||||||||
Amortization of intangible assets and non-production assets |
0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | |||||||||
Other administrative and selling |
7.6 | 7.1 | 6.9 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
C$ | 103.0 | C$ | 72.4 | C$ | 56.9 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021
As illustrated in the table above, the Companys administrative and selling expenses for the year ended March 31, 2022, were C$103.0 million (March 31, 2021 - C$72.4 million). The increase in administrative and selling expenses of C$30.6 million is due primarily to increased personnel expenses (C$14.6 million), largely associated with employee profit sharing (C$14.8 million) and increase in professional, consulting, insurance and other fees (C$14.0 million) mainly due to costs associated with listing on the public exchange.
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2020
As illustrated in the table above, the Companys administrative and selling expenses for the year ended March 31, 2021, were C$72.4 million (March 31, 2020 - C$56.9 million). The increase in administrative and selling expenses of C$15.5 million comprising increased personnel expenses (C$9.9 million) due primarily to share based compensation and increased professional, consulting, legal and other fees (C$5.1 million) primarily due to costs associated with on-going cost reduction and efficiency projects.
In addition, for the year ended March 31, 2021, the Company recorded a C$4.2 million reduction in administration and selling expenses (personnel) in connection with the CEWS (March 31, 2020 nil), which was offset by personnel costs being higher due to CEWS funding being applied to retain employees that would otherwise have been subject to temporary layoffs.
Finance Costs, Finance Income, Interest on Pension and Other Post-employment Benefit Obligations, and Foreign Exchange Gains and Losses
The Companys finance costs represent interest cost on the Companys debt facilities, including the Revolving Credit Facility, Secured Term Loan Facility and Algoma Docks Term Loan Facility, described in the section entitled Capital Resources - Financial Position and Liquidity included elsewhere in this MD&A. Finance cost also includes the amortization of transaction costs related to the Companys debt facilities and the accretion of the benefits in respect of the Companys governmental loan facilities in respect of the interest free loan issued by, and the grant given by the Canadian federal government as well as the low interest rate loan issued from the Ontario provincial government, all of which are discussed below (Financial Resources and Liquidity - Cash Flow Used in Investing Activities) and the unwinding of discounts on the Companys environmental liabilities.
millions of dollars |
January 1 to March 31, 2022 |
January 1 to March 31, 2021 |
||||||
Interest on the following facilities |
||||||||
Revolving Credit Facility |
C$ | 0.1 | C$ | 1.0 | ||||
Secured Term Loan Facility |
| 9.6 | ||||||
Algoma Docks Term Loan Facility |
| 1.0 | ||||||
Revolving Credit Facility fees |
0.4 | 0.3 | ||||||
Unwinding of issuance costs of debt facilities and accretion of governmental loan benefits and discounts on environmental liabilities |
3.4 | 3.6 | ||||||
Other interest expense |
0.4 | 0.4 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
C$ | 4.3 | C$ | 15.9 | |||||
|
|
|
|
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Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2021
As illustrated in the table above, the Companys finance costs for the three month period ended March 31, 2022 was C$4.3 million compared to C$15.9 million for the three month ended March 31, 2021 resulting in a decrease of C$11.6 million. The decrease in finance cost is primarily attributable to repayment in full of the Secured Term Loan Facility (C$9.6 million) and Algoma Docks Term Loan Facility (C$1.0 million) in November 2021. The finance cost associated with the Revolving Credit Facility decreased by C$0.9 million due to repayments on this facility.
The Companys finance income for the three month period ended March 31, 2022, was C$0.4 million compared to nil for the three month period ended March 31, 2021, representing an increase of C$0.4 million due primarily to interest income.
The Companys interest on pension and other post-employment benefit obligations for the three month period ended March 31, 2022 was C$2.9 million compared to C$4.1 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2021, due to a decrease in beginning-of-year discount rates that were used to determine the pension benefit expense for the three month period ended March 31, 2022.
The Companys foreign exchange loss for the three month period ended March 31, 2022 was C$6.3 million compared to C$9.9 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2021. These foreign exchange movements reflect the effect of US dollar exchange rate fluctuations on the Companys Canadian dollar denominated monetary assets and liabilities.
millions of dollars |
FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 | |||||||||
Interest on the following facilities |
||||||||||||
Revolving Credit Facility |
C$ | 0.1 | C$ | 4.3 | C$ | 2.1 | ||||||
Secured Term Loan Facility |
24.1 | 43.0 | 41.0 | |||||||||
Algoma Docks Term Loan Facility |
2.5 | 4.7 | 6.7 | |||||||||
Revolving Credit Facility fees |
1.6 | 1.2 | 2.2 | |||||||||
Unwinding of issuance costs of debt facilities and discounts on environmental liabilities, and accretion of governmental loan benefits |
18.8 | 13.8 | 10.3 | |||||||||
Other interest expense |
1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
C$ | 48.6 | C$ | 68.5 | C$ | 63.8 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021
As illustrated in the table above, the Companys finance costs for the year ended March 31, 2022 were C$48.6 million compared to C$68.5 million for the year ended March 31, 2021 resulting in a decrease of C$19.9 million. The decrease in finance cost is primarily attributable to repayment in full of the Secured Term Loan Facility (C$18.9 million) and Algoma Docks Term Loan Facility (C$2.2 million) in November 2021. The finance cost associated with the Revolving Credit Facility decreased by C$4.2 million due to repayments on this facility.
The Companys finance income for the year ended March 31, 2022, was C$0.5 million compared to C$1.1 million for the year ended March 31, 2021, representing a decline of C$0.6 million due in part to interest income from tariff overpayments in the prior year which did not repeat in the current year.
76
The Companys interest in pension and other post-employment benefit obligations for the year ended March 31, 2022 was C$11.6 million compared to C$17.0 million for the year ended March 31, 2021, due to a decrease in discount rates at March 31, 2021 that was used to determine the 2022 fiscal year pension benefit expense.
The Companys foreign exchange loss for the year ended March 31, 2022 was C$4.3 million compared to C$76.5 million for the year ended March 31, 2021. These foreign exchange movements reflect the effect of US dollar exchange rate fluctuations on the Companys Canadian dollar denominated monetary assets and liabilities.
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2020
As illustrated in the table above, the Companys finance costs for the year ended March 31, 2021, was C$68.5 million compared to C$63.8 million for the year ended March 31, 2020 resulting in an increase of C$4.7 million. The increase is primarily attributable to the Revolving Credit Facility (C$2.2 million) and the unwinding of issuance costs/accretion of governmental loan benefits (C$3.5 million). On April 1, 2020, July 1, 2020 and October 1, 2020, management elected to pay the interest due on the Secured Term Loan Facility in kind which resulted in a 1.0% interest premium. Interest on the Secured Short Term Loan Facility of C$10.2 million in January 2021 was paid in cash.
The Companys finance income for the year ended March 31, 2021, was C$1.1 million compared to C$2.6 million for the year ended March 31, 2020, representing a decline of C$1.5 million primarily due to interest income from tariff overpayments.
The Companys interest in pension and other post-employment benefit obligations for the year ended March 31, 2021 was C$17.0 million compared to C$17.3 million for the year ended March 31, 2020.
The Companys foreign exchange loss for the year ended March 31, 2021 was C$76.5 million compared to a gain of C$35.3 million for the year ended March 31, 2020. These foreign exchange movements reflect the effect of US dollar exchange rate fluctuations on the Companys Canadian dollar denominated monetary assets and liabilities.
77
Pension and Post-Employment Benefits
millions of dollars |
January 1 to March 31, 2022 |
January 1 to March 31, 2021 |
||||||
Recognized in income (loss) before income taxes: |
||||||||
Pension benefits expense |
C$ | 6.1 | C$ | 6.9 | ||||
Post-employment benefits expense |
3.0 | 3.2 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
C$ | 9.1 | C$ | 10.1 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) (pre-tax): |
||||||||
Pension benefits (gain) loss |
C$ | 0.3 | C$ | (104.7 | ) | |||
Post-employment benefits (gain) loss |
(71.0 | ) | (37.7 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
C$ | (70.7 | ) | C$ | (142.4 | ) | |||
|
|
|
|
|||||
C$ | (61.6 | ) | C$ | (132.3 | ) | |||
|
|
|
|
Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2021
As illustrated in the table above, the Companys pension expense for the three month period ended March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2021 were C$6.1 million and C$6.9 million, respectively, representing a decrease of C$0.8 million. The Companys post-employment benefits expense for the three month period ended March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2021 were C$3.0 million and C$3.2 million, representing a decrease of C$0.2 million. The decrease in pension and post-employment benefit expense was primarily due to a decrease in beginning-of-year discount rates. While this increased the cost of benefits accruing over the three month period ended March 31, 2022, this increase was more than offset by the lower net interest cost.
As disclosed in Note 3 to the March 31, 2022 audited consolidated financial statements, all actuarial gains and losses that arise in calculating the present value of the defined benefit pension obligation net of assets and the defined benefit obligation in respect of other post-employment benefits, including the re-measurement components, are recognized immediately in other comprehensive income (loss).
78
For the three month period ended March 31, 2022, the Company recorded an actuarially determined gain to the accrued defined pension liability and accrued other post-employment benefit obligation in other comprehensive income of C$70.7 million (March 31, 2021 actuarial determined gain of C$142.4 million), a difference of C$71.7 million. The C$70.7 million gain was comprised mainly of a decrease in obligations due to a steep increase in end of period discount rates, partially offset by pension fund returns lower than expected.
millions of dollars |
FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 | |||||||||
Recognized in income (loss) before income taxes: |
||||||||||||
Pension benefits expense |
C$ | 24.4 | C$ | 27.6 | C$ | 31.4 | ||||||
Post-employment benefits expense |
12.0 | 12.8 | 12.9 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
C$ | 36.4 | C$ | 40.4 | C$ | 44.3 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) (pre-tax): |
||||||||||||
Pension benefits (gain) loss |
C$ | (57.9 | ) | C$ | (51.8 | ) | C$ | (48.6 | ) | |||
Post-employment benefits (gain) loss |
(60.0 | ) | 28.8 | (33.2 | ) | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
C$ | (117.9 | ) | C$ | (23.0 | ) | C$ | (81.8 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
C$ | (81.5 | ) | C$ | 17.4 | C$ | (37.5 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021
As illustrated in the table above, the Companys pension expense for the years ended March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2021 were C$24.4 million and C$27.6 million, respectively, representing a decrease of C$3.2 million. The Companys post-employment benefits expense for the years ended March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2021 were C$12.0 million and C$12.8 million, representing a decrease of C$0.8 million. The decrease in pension and post-employment benefit expense was primarily due to a decrease in beginning-of-year discount rates. While this increased the cost of benefits accruing over the year, this increase was more than offset by the lower net interest cost.
For the year ended March 31, 2022, the Company recorded an actuarially determined gain to the accrued defined pension liability and accrued other post-employment benefit obligation in other comprehensive income of C$117.9 million (March 31, 2021 actuarial determined gain of C$23.0 million), a difference of C$94.9 million. The C$117.9 million gain was comprised mainly of a decrease in obligations due to a steep increase in end of year discount rates, partially offset by pension fund returns lower than expected.
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2020
As illustrated in the table above, the Companys pension expense for the years ended March 31, 2021 and March 31, 2020 were C$27.6 million and C$31.4 million, respectively, representing a decrease of C$3.8 million. The Companys post-employment benefit expense for the year ended March 31, 2021, was C$12.8 million compared to C$12.9 million for the year ended March 31, 2020. The decrease in pension and post-employment benefit expense was primarily due to a decrease in discount rates as of March 31, 2021 that was used to determine the 2022 fiscal year pension and non-pension benefit expense.
For the year ended March 31, 2021, the Company recorded actuarially determined gain to the accrued defined pension liability and accrued other post-employment benefit obligation in other comprehensive loss of C$23.0 million. The gain was comprised primarily of pension fund returns being greater than expected and some demographic gains, partially offset by an increase in obligations due to a reduction in end-of-year discount rates.
For the year ended March 31, 2020, the Company recorded actuarially determined gain to the accrued defined pension liability and other post-employment benefits liability in other comprehensive loss of C$82.8 million, (gain of C$74.6 million, net of income tax effect of actuarial gains recognized in other comprehensive loss of C$7.2 million). The C$81.8 million gain is primarily due to an increase in the end-of-year discount rate, offset by pension fund returns being less than expected and demographic losses.
79
Carbon Taxes
On June 28, 2019, the Company became subject to the Federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (the Carbon Tax Act). The Carbon Tax Act was enacted with retroactive effect to January 1, 2019. The Company has chosen to remove the costs associated with the Carbon Tax Act from Adjusted EBITDA to facilitate comparison with the results of its competitors in jurisdictions not subject to the Carbon Tax Act.
For the three month periods ended March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2021, total Carbon Tax recognized in cost of sales was C$0.4 million and C$1.8 million, respectively. The decrease is due to the purchase of output-based pricing system surplus credits and differences between the estimate and actual settlement of Carbon Tax for the calendar year 2021. Carbon Tax is primarily a function of the volume of our production, increasing as production increases.
For the year ended March 31, 2022, total Carbon Tax recognized in cost of sales was a reduction of C$0.6 million, compared to expense of C$13.4 million in the year ended March 31, 2021. The decrease in Carbon tax is due to reasons described above.
Income Taxes
Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2021
For the three month period ended March 31, 2022, the Companys deferred income tax recovery and current income tax expense were C$3.3 million and C$81.3 million respectively, compared to deferred and current income tax expense (recovery) of nil for the three month period ended March 31, 2021 due primarily to net income before tax of C$320.9 million compared to C$100.1 million for the year ended March 31, 2021 and non-capital losses available, as described below.
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021
The carrying amount of deferred income tax assets is reviewed at the end of each reporting period and reduced to the extent that it is no longer probable that sufficient taxable profits will be available to allow all or part of the asset to be recovered. Management assesses the available positive and negative evidence to estimate whether sufficient future taxable income will be generated to permit use of the existing deferred tax assets. A significant piece of objective evidence had been the cumulative loss the Company had incurred over the first two years of its operations. However, over the past year, operations have provided evidence that there is sufficient taxable income to permit use of the existing deferred tax assets. As such, the Company has reflected a deferred tax liability of C$92.9 million, net of a deferred tax asset (C$7.8 million) at March 31, 2022 (March 31, 2021 nil ).
For the year ended March 31, 2022, the Companys deferred income tax expense and current tax expense were C$101.7 million and C$197.2 million respectively, compared to deferred and current income tax expense of nil for the year ended March 31, 2021, due to net income before tax of C$1,156.6 million compared to net loss of C$76.1 million for the year ended March 31, 2021.
80
For the year ended March 31, 2022, the Company has fully utilized non-capital tax losses available of C$306.5 million.
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2020
For the year ended March 31, 2021 and March 31, 2020, the Companys current income tax expense/recovery was nil. On the basis of the evaluation described above, for the year ended March 31, 2021, the Companys deferred income tax recovery was nil, net of deferred tax de-recognition. For the year ended March 31, 2020, the Companys deferred income tax recovery was C$4.3 million, net of deferred tax asset de-recognition, due to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets timing differences of tax deductions and non-capital losses carry forward.
As of March 31, 2021, the Company had non-capital tax losses available of C$579.8 million, C$380.0 million of which expire in 2038, C$113.1 million of which expire in 2039 and C$86.7 million of which expire in 2040.
81
Adjusted EBITDA
The following table shows the reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income for the periods indicated:
millions of dollars |
January 1 to March 31, 2022 |
January 1 to March 31, 2021 |
||||||
Net income |
C$ | 242.9 | C$ | 100.1 | ||||
Amortization of property, plant and equipment and amortization of intangible assets |
22.8 | 21.0 | ||||||
Finance costs |
4.3 | 15.9 | ||||||
Interest on pension and other post-employment benefit obligations |
2.9 | 4.1 | ||||||
Income taxes |
78.0 | | ||||||
Foreign exchange loss |
6.3 | 9.9 | ||||||
Finance income |
(0.4 | ) | | |||||
Carbon tax |
0.4 | 1.8 | ||||||
Increase in fair value of warrant liability |
13.2 | | ||||||
Decrease in fair value of earnout liability |
(44.5 | ) | | |||||
Increase in fair value of share-based payment compensation liability |
2.9 | | ||||||
Transaction costs |
5.0 | | ||||||
Share-based compensation |
0.7 | 14.1 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Adjusted EBITDA |
C$ | 334.4 | C$ | 166.9 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net Income Margin |
25.8 | % | 15.7 | % | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net Income / ton |
C$ | 443.84 | C$ | 161.01 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Adjusted EBITDA Margin |
35.5 | % | 26.1 | % | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Adjusted EBITDA / ton |
C$ | 611.09 | C$ | 268.40 | ||||
|
|
|
|
(i) | See Non-IFRS Measures for information regarding the limitations of using Adjusted EBITDA. |
(ii) | Adjusted EBITDA Margin is Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenue. |
82
Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2021
Adjusted EBITDA for the three month period ended March 31, 2022 was C$334.4 million, compared to C$166.9 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2021, resulting in an increase of C$167.5 million. The Adjusted EBITDA margin for the three month period ended March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2021 was 35.5% and 26.1%, respectively. The Adjusted EBITDA per ton for the three month period ended March 31, 2022 was C$611.09 and C$268.40 for the three month period ended March 31, 2021. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA and improvement in Adjusted EBITDA margin for the three month period ended March 31, 2022 compared to the three month period ended March 31, 2021 was due primarily to increase in steel revenue (C$294.3) primarily as a result of increase in the selling prices for steel products, offset by associated increase in cost of steel products sold (C$118.5 million).
millions of dollars |
FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 | |||||||||
Net income (loss) |
C$ | 857.7 | C$ | (76.1 | ) | C$ | (175.9 | ) | ||||
Amortization of property, plant and equipment and amortization of intangible assets |
87.1 | 86.9 | 126.5 | |||||||||
Finance costs |
48.6 | 68.5 | 63.8 | |||||||||
Interest on pension and other post-employment benefit obligations |
11.6 | 17.0 | 17.3 | |||||||||
Income taxes |
298.9 | | (4.3 | ) | ||||||||
Foreign exchange loss (gain) |
4.4 | 76.5 | (35.3 | ) | ||||||||
Finance income |
(0.5 | ) | (1.1 | ) | (2.6 | ) | ||||||
Carbon tax |
(0.6 | ) | 13.4 | 6.9 | ||||||||
Increase in fair value of warrant liability |
6.4 | | | |||||||||
Decrease in fair value of earnout liability |
(78.1 | ) | | | ||||||||
Transaction costs |
26.5 | | | |||||||||
Listing expense |
235.6 | | | |||||||||
Share-based compensation |
5.7 | 14.1 | | |||||||||
Business combination adjustments |
| | 1.4 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Adjusted EBITDA |
C$ | 1,503.2 | C$ | 199.2 | C$ | (2.2 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net income (loss) Margin |
22.5 | % | -4.2 | % | -9.0 | % | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net income (loss)/ ton |
C$ | 373.36 | C$ | (36.19 | ) | C$ | (76.31 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Adjusted EBITDA Margin |
39.5 | % | 11.1 | % | -0.1 | % | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Adjusted EBITDA / ton |
C$ | 654.37 | C$ | 94.76 | C$ | | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Tariff expense included in Net income |
C$ | | C$ | | C$ | 27.8 | ||||||
Capacity utilization adjustment included in Net income |
| | 32.7 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Adjustments to Adjusted EBITDA |
| | 60.5 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Further Adjusted EBITDA |
C$ | 1,503.2 | C$ | 199.2 | C$ | 58.3 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Further Adjusted EBITDA Margin |
39.5 | % | 11.1 | % | 3.0 | % | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Further Adjusted EBITDA / ton |
C$ | 654.37 | C$ | 94.76 | C$ | 26.25 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
(i) | See Non-IFRS Measures for information regarding the limitations of using Adjusted EBITDA and Further Adjusted EBITDA. |
(ii) | Adjusted EBITDA and Further Adjusted EBITDA Margin is Adjusted EBITDA and Further Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenue. |
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021
Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended March 31, 2022 was C$1,503.2 million, compared to C$199.2 million for the year ended March 31, 2021, resulting in an increase of C$1,304.0 million. The Adjusted EBITDA margin for the year ended March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2021 was 39.5% and 11.1%, respectively. The Adjusted EBITDA per ton for the year ended March 31, 2022 was C$654.37 and C$94.76 for the year ended March 31, 2021. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA and improvement in Adjusted EBITDA margin for the year ended March 31, 2022 compared to the year ended March 31, 2021 was due primarily to increase in steel revenue (C$1,933.70) primarily as a result of increases in the selling prices for steel products, offset by associated increase in cost of steel products sold (C$610.8 million).
83
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2020
Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended March 31, 2021 was C$199.2 million, compared to (C$2.2) million for the year ended March 31, 2020, resulting in an increase of C$201.4 million. The Adjusted EBITDA margin for the years ended March 31, 2021 and March 31, 2020 was 11.1% and (0.1%), respectively. The Adjusted EBITDA per ton for the year ended March 31, 2021 was C$94.76 and was nil for the year ended March 31, 2020.
The increase in Adjusted EBITDA and improvement in Adjusted EBITDA margin for the year ended March 31, 2021 compared to the year ended March 31, 2020 was due primarily to increases in selling prices for steel products.
Canadian steel producers became subject to 25% tariffs on all steel revenues earned on shipments made to the United States effective as of June 1, 2018. Tariff expense included in cost of steel sales were nil for the year ended March 31, 2021; however, for the year ended March 31, 2020, tariffs totaling C$27.8 million had a significant impact on the Companys Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted EBITDA per ton as illustrated above. On May 17, 2019, the United States announced a complete lifting of this tariff effective May 20, 2019.
Algoma experienced an unplanned outage in the month of April 2019 that disrupted production in our #7 Blast Furnace (the FY 2020 Q1 Outage). The resulting lost production led to a shipping volume reduction during the three month period ended June 30, 2019 of over one hundred thousand tons and resulted in a capacity utilization adjustment of C$32.7 million being recorded to cost of steel products sold.
84
Financial Resources and Liquidity
Summary of Cash Flows
millions of dollars |
January 1 to March 31, 2022 |
January 1 to March 31, 2021 |
||||||
Operating Activities: |
||||||||
Cash generated from operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital and environmental liabilities paid |
C$ | 253.1 | C$ | 143.3 | ||||
Net change in non-cash working capital |
191.1 | (9.6 | ) | |||||
Environmental liabilities paid |
(0.4 | ) | 0.2 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Cash generated by operating activities |
C$ | 443.8 | C$ | 133.9 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Investing activities |
||||||||
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment |
C$ | (93.4 | ) | C$ | (22.0 | ) | ||
Acquisition of intangible assets |
0.4 | (0.1 | ) | |||||
Acquisition of right-of-use assets |
(0.9 | ) | | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Cash used in investing activities |
C$ | (93.9 | ) | C$ | (22.1 | ) | ||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Financing activities |
||||||||
Bank indebtedness advanced (repaid), net |
C$ | 0.1 | C$ | (95.3 | ) | |||
Repayment of Senior Secured Term Loan Facility |
| (0.9 | ) | |||||
Repayment of Algoma Docks Term Loan Facility |
(0.1 | ) | (2.6 | ) | ||||
Government loans issued, net of benefit |
1.1 | (0.1 | ) | |||||
Repayment of govenrment loans |
(0.8 | ) | | |||||
Interest paid |
(0.1 | ) | (11.4 | ) | ||||
Interest cost of right-of-use assets |
| | ||||||
Proceeds from issuance of shares |
| | ||||||
Dividends paid |
(9.3 | ) | | |||||
Other |
(0.4 | ) | 0.2 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Cash used in financing activities |
C$ | (9.5 | ) | C$ | (110.1 | ) | ||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash |
C$ | (12.6 | ) | C$ | (0.2 | ) | ||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Change in cash during the period |
C$ | 327.8 | C$ | 1.5 | ||||
|
|
|
|
85
Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2021
As illustrated in the table above, the generation of cash for the three month period ended March 31, 2022 was C$327.8 million, compared to C$1.5 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2021. The increase in the generation of cash for the three month period ended March 31, 2022, as compared to the three month period ended March 31, 2021, was C$326.3 million, and is primarily the result of the C$309.9 million increase in cash generated by operating activities, a result of an increase in net income (net income of C$242.9 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2022 compared to C$100.1 million for the three month period ended March 31, 2021), for reasons described above. Further the increase in the generation of cash is due in part to the decrease in cash used in financing activities of C$100.6 million which was partially offset by the use of cash in investing activities (increased by C$71.8 million), for reasons described below.
millions of dollars |
FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 | |||||||||
Operating Activities: |
||||||||||||
Cash generated by (used in) operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital and environmental liabilities paid |
C$ | 1,287.8 | C$ | 147.4 | C$ | (34.5 | ) | |||||
Net change in non-cash working capital |
(21.1 | ) | (137.7 | ) | 34.3 | |||||||
Environmental liabilities paid |
(3.3 | ) | (1.6 | ) | (4.5 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Cash generated by (used in) operating activities |
C$ | 1,263.4 | C$ | 8.1 | C$ | (4.7 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Investing activities |
||||||||||||
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment |
C$ | (166.2 | ) | C$ | (71.7 | ) | C$ | (113.3 | ) | |||
Acquisition of intangible assets |
| (0.1 | ) | (0.6 | ) | |||||||
Acquisition of right-of-use assets |
(1.7 | ) | | | ||||||||
Recovery (issuance) of related party receivable |
2.2 | (1.1 | ) | (1.2 | ) | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Cash used in investing activities |
C$ | (165.7 | ) | C$ | (72.9 | ) | C$ | (115.1 | ) | |||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Financing activities |
||||||||||||
Bank indebtedness (repaid) advanced, net |
C$ | (86.8 | ) | C$ | (145.2 | ) | C$ | 249.3 | ||||
Repayment of Secured Term Loan |
(381.8 | ) | (3.8 | ) | (3.8 | ) | ||||||
Repayment of Algoma Docks Term Loan Facility |
(76.0 | ) | (8.8 | ) | (6.5 | ) | ||||||
Government loans issued, net of benefit |
1.1 | 6.5 | 42.4 | |||||||||
Repayment of government loans |
(0.8 | ) | | | ||||||||
Restricted cash |
| | 7.2 | |||||||||
Interest paid |
(36.3 | ) | (15.6 | ) | (42.0 | ) | ||||||
Proceeds from issuance of shares |
393.5 | | | |||||||||
Dividends paid |
(9.3 | ) | | | ||||||||
Other |
(2.3 | ) | (0.5 | ) | 0.1 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Cash (used in) generated by financing activities |
C$ | (198.7 | ) | C$ | (167.4 | ) | C$ | 246.7 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash |
C$ | (4.9 | ) | C$ | (11.6 | ) | C$ | 2.6 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Increase (decrease) in cash during year |
C$ | 894.1 | C$ | (243.8 | ) | C$ | 129.5 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021
As illustrated in the table above, the generation of cash for the year ended March 31, 2022 was C$894.1 million, compared to the use of cash of C$243.8 million for the year ended March 31, 2021. The increase in the generation of cash for the year ended March 31, 2022, as compared to the year ended March 31, 2021, was C$1,137.9 million, and is primarily the result of the C$1,255.3 million increase in cash generated by operating activities, a result of an increase in net income (net income of C$857.7 million for the year ended March 31, 2022 compared to net loss of C$76.1 million for the year ended March 31, 2021), for reasons described above. The increase in cash generated by operating activities for the year ended March 31, 2022 was partially offset by the use of cash in financing activities (increased by C$31.3 million) and investing activities (increased by C$92.8 million), for reasons described below.
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2020
As illustrated in the table above, the use of cash for the year ended March 31, 2021 was C$243.8, compared to the generation of cash of C$129.5 million for the year ended March 31, 2020. The decrease in the generation of cash for the year ended March 31, 2021, as compared to the year ended March 31, 2020, was C$373.3 million, and is primarily the result of the C$414.1 million increase in cash used in financing activities, a result of repayments on the bank indebtedness.
86
Cash Flow Generated by (Used In) Operating Activities
Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2021
For the three month period ended March 31, 2022, the cash generated by operating activities was C$443.8 million (March 31, 2021 C$133.9 million). The increase in cash generated from operating activities for the three month period ended March 31, 2022 was primarily due to higher NSR.
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021
For the year ended March 31, 2022, the cash generated by operating activities was C$1,263.4 million (March 31, 2021 C$8.1 million). The increase in cash generated from operating activities for the year ended March 31, 2022 was primarily due to higher NSR.
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2020
For the year ended March 31, 2021, the cash generated by operating activities was C$8.1 million, compared to C$4.7 million cash used in operating activities for the year ended March 31, 2020. The increase in cash generated from operating activities for the year ended March 31, 2021 was due to lower cost of steel products sold and higher NSR, offset in part, by an increased use of cash for working capital.
The following table shows changes in the Companys non-cash working capital for the periods indicated:
millions of dollars |
January 1 to March 31, 2022 |
January 1 to March 31, 2021 |
||||||
Accounts receivable |
$ | 44.2 | $ | (113.3 | ) | |||
Inventories |
128.9 | 102.7 | ||||||
Prepaid expenses and deposits and other current assets |
23.9 | (20.7 | ) | |||||
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities |
83.2 | 28.9 | ||||||
Income and other taxes payable |
(116.6 | ) | 8.7 | |||||
Derivative financial instruments (net) |
27.5 | (15.9 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total |
$ | 191.1 | $ | (9.6 | ) | |||
|
|
|
|
87
Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2021
As illustrated in the table above, the Companys source of cash due to changes in non-cash working capital during the three month period ended March 31, 2022 was C$191.1 million (March 31, 2021 use of cash C$9.6 million), representing a net change of C$200.7 million. The increase in the net change in working capital was due primarily to a decrease in accounts receivable (C$157.5 million) as a result of a decline in steel shipping volume and in the selling prices for steel products. Further, accounts payable and accrued liabilities increased (C$54.3 million) due primarily to an increase in wages and accrued vacation, mainly a result of increased employee profit sharing.
millions of dollars |
FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 | |||||||||
Accounts receivable |
C$ | (127.0 | ) | C$ | (47.2 | ) | C$ | 88.4 | ||||
Inventories |
(63.6 | ) | (33.6 | ) | (36.8 | ) | ||||||
Prepaid expenses, deposits and other current assets |
12.5 | (70.3 | ) | 20.2 | ||||||||
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities |
166.6 | (21.2 | ) | (42.4 | ) | |||||||
Taxes payable and accrued taxes |
(22.1 | ) | 16.7 | 3.7 | ||||||||
Derivative financial instruments (net) |
12.5 | (15.3 | ) | 1.2 | ||||||||
Secured term loan interest payments in kind |
| 33.2 | | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total |
C$ | (21.1 | ) | C$ | (137.7 | ) | C$ | 34.3 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021
As illustrated in the table above, the Companys use of cash due to changes in non-cash working capital during the year ended March 31, 2022 was C$21.1 million (March 31, 2021 C$137.7 million), representing a net change of C$116.6 million. The increase in the net change in working capital was due in part, to an increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities (C$187.8 million) due primarily to an increase in wages and accrued vacation, mainly a result of increased employee profit sharing. Further, the increase in net change in working capital was due in part, to a decrease in prepaid expenses and other current assets (C$82.8 million) due to a reduced requirement for advance payments to vendors. This was offset, in part, by an increase in accounts receivable (C$79.8 million) as a result of improved steel revenue in the year ended March 31, 2022, which increased by 119.7% as compared to the year ended March 31, 2021. Offset further, in part, by a decrease in secured term loan interest payments in kind (C$33.2 million), which resulted in the year ended March 31, 2021 due to the election to pay the interest due on the Secured Term Loan Facility in kind on April 1, 2020, July 1, 2020 and October 1, 2020 to conserve cash at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The increase was further offset, in part, by a decrease in income and other taxes payable (C$38.8 million) resulting from corporate tax payments made during the year ended March 31, 2022.
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2020
As illustrated in the table above, the Companys use of cash due to changes in non-cash working capital during the year ended March 31, 2021, was C$137.7 million (March 31, 2020 generation of cash of C$34.3 million). The net change in working capital was a decrease of C$172.0 million due to an increase in accounts receivable (C$135.6 million) as a result of improved steel revenue in the quarter ended March 31, 2021, which increased by 28.3% as compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2020 and as a result of increased NSR in the quarter ended March 31, 2021, which increased by 32.4% compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2020. Further, prepaid expenses and other current assets increased due to advance payments made for capital project and raw material purchases (C$90.5 million), offset, in part, by increase in secured term loan interest payments in kind (C$33.2 million). This increase in secured loan payments in kind occurred as a result of the election to pay the interest due on the Secured Term Loan Facility in kind on April 1, 2020, July 1, 2020 and October 1, 2020 to conserve cash at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets was further offset, in part, by an increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities (C$21.2 million) primarily due to an increase in wages and accrued vacation payable.
88
Cash Flow Used In Investing Activities
Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2021
For the three month period ended March 31, 2022, cash used in investing activities was C$93.9 million (March 31, 2021 C$22.1 million).
Expenditures for the acquisition of property, plant and equipment for the three month period ended March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2021 were C$95.3 million and C$22.2 million, respectively. In addition, the Company recorded benefits of C$1.0 million (March 31, 2021 - C$0.2 million) in respect of the interest free loan issued by, and the grant given by the Canadian federal government as well as the low interest rate loan issued from the Ontario provincial government, all of which are discussed below. The acquisition of property, plant and equipment net of benefits for the three month period ended March 31, 2022 was C$94.3 million (March 31, 2021 - C$22.0 million).
For the three month period ended March 31, 2022, the Company had property under construction for the EAF and plate mill modernization projects of C$98.7 million (March 31, 2021 nil) and C$18.9 million, respectively (March 31, 2021 C$4.8 million).
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021
For the year ended March 31, 2022, cash used in investing activities was C$165.7 million (March 31, 2021 C$72.9 million).
Expenditures for the acquisition of property, plant and equipment for the year ended March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2021 were C$172.1 million and C$81.5 million, respectively. In addition, the Company recorded benefits of C$4.2 million (March 31, 2021 - C$9.8 million) in respect of the interest free loan issued by, and the grant given by the Canadian federal government as well as the low interest rate loan issued from the Ontario provincial government, all of which are discussed below. The acquisition of property, plant and equipment net of benefits for the year ended March 31, 2022 was C$167.9 million (March 31, 2021 - C$71.7 million).
For the year ended March 31, 2022, the Company had property under construction for the EAF and plate mill modernization projects of C$98.7 million (March 31, 2021 nil) and C$43.6 million, respectively (March 31, 2021 C$8.9 million).
During the year ended March 31, 2022, the Company disposed of property, plant and equipment with a cost of C$0.6 million (March 31, 2021 C$1.9 million). The disposal of property, plant and equipment during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022 resulted in a net loss of C$0.3 million (March 31, 2021 loss of C$1.7 million).
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2020
For the year ended March 31, 2021, the cash used in investing activities was C$72.9 million (March 31, 2020 C$115.1 million). Expenditures for the acquisition of property, plant and equipment for the years ended March 31, 2021 and March 31, 2020 were C$81.5 million and C$156.8 million, respectively. In addition, the Company recorded benefits of C$9.8 million (March 31, 2020 - C$43.5 million) in respect of the interest free loan issued by, and the grant given by the Canadian federal government as well as the low interest rate loan issued from the Ontario provincial government, all of which are discussed below. The acquisition, net of benefits, for the year ended March 31, 2021 was C$71.7 million (March 31, 2020 - C$113.3 million).
89
For the year ended March 31, 2021, the Company had property under construction for the plate mill modernization project of C$8.9 million (March 31, 2021 C$1.1 million).
During the year ended March 31, 2021, the Company disposed of property, plant and equipment with a cost of C$1.9 million (March 31, 2020 nil). The disposal of property, plant and equipment during the year ended March 31, 2021 resulted in a net loss of C$1.7 million.
Expenditures for the acquisition of intangible assets for the year ended March 31, 2021, were C$0.1 million, (March 31, 2020 C$0.6 million). During the year ended March 31, 2021, the Company disposed of intangible assets with a cost of C$0.8 million (March 31, 2020 nil). The disposal of intangible assets during the year ended March 31, 2021 resulted in a net loss of C$0.8 million.
Cash Flow Generated by (Used In) Financing Activities
Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Three Month Period Ended March 31, 2021
For the three month period ended March 31, 2022, cash used in financing activities was C$9.5 million (March 31, 2021 C$110.1 million). The decrease in cash used in financing activities of C$100.6 million is largely due to repayments of the Revolving Credit Facility during the three month period ended March 31, 2021 (C$95.3 million).
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021
For the year ended March 31, 2022, cash used in financing activities was C$198.7 million (March 31, 2021 C$167.4 million). The Company made repayments of its Revolving Credit Facility totaling C$105.1 million and drew down C$18.3 million (March 31, 2021 repaid C$318.4 million and drew down C$173.3 million). The Company repaid its Secured Term Loan Facility in full (C$381.8 million) (March 31, 2021 - C$3.8 million) and its Algoma Docks Term Loan Facility in full (C$76.0 million) (March 31, 2021 C$8.8 million). In addition, during the year ended March 31, 2022, the Company received proceeds from issuance of shares as a result of the Merger transaction (C$393.5 million). Further, the Company paid interest of C$36.3 million (March 31, 2021 - C$15.6 million) for the year ended March 31, 2022.
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2020
For the year ended March 31, 2021, the cash used in financing activities was C$167.4 million (March 31, 2020 C$246.7 million of cash generated). During the year ended March 31, 2021, the Company made repayments of its Revolving Credit Facility totaling C$318.4 million and drew down C$173.3 million (March 31, 2020 repaid C$109.3 million and drew down C$358.0 million), its Secured Term Loan of C$3.8 million (March 31, 2020 - C$3.8 million) and its Algoma Docks Term Loan Facility of C$8.8 million (March 31, 2020 C$6.5 million). In addition, during the year ended March 31, 2021, the Company recorded long-term governmental loans issued, net of benefits recorded, of C$6.5 million (March 31, 2020 - C$42.4 million), and paid interest of C$15.6 million (March 31, 2020 - C$42.0 million).
90
Capital Resources - Financial Position and Liquidity
The Company anticipates making, on average, approximately C$50-C$60 million of capital expenditures annually to sustain existing production facilities. Furthermore, supported by its agreements with the federal and provincial governments and using the cash received as a result of the Merger, the Company anticipates making significant capital expenditures relating to its modernization and expansion program over the next five years, including substantial investment in EAF steelmaking.
The below capital sources and future cash flows from operating activities avail the Company of substantial financial resources to complete its proposed expansion plans. The Companys business generates significant cash flow and the Company does not anticipate any issues with generating sufficient cash and cash equivalents, both in the short term and the long term, when combined with the cash made available as a result of the Merger and the PIPE Investment and under the SIF Funding and the CIB Funding, to meet its planned growth or to fund development activities.
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021
As at March 31, 2022, the Company had cash of C$915.3 million (March 31, 2021 - C$21.2 million), and had unused availability under its Revolving Credit Facility of C$278.2 million ($222.6 million) after taking into account C$34.1 million ($27.3 million) of outstanding letters of credit and borrowing base reserves. At March 31, 2021, the Company had drawn C$90.1 million ($71.7 million), and there was C$200.8 ($156.5 million) of unused availability after taking into account C$27.4 million ($21.8 million) of outstanding letters of credit and borrowing base reserves.
On September 20, 2021, the Company, together with the government of Canada, entered into an agreement of which a benefit of up to $420.0 million would flow to the Company in the form of a loan up to $200.0 million from the SIF and a loan up to $220.0 million from the CIB. Under the terms of the SIF agreement, the Company will be reimbursed for certain defined capital expenditures incurred to transition from blast furnace steel production to EAF steel production between March 3, 2021 and March 31, 2025. Annual repayments of the SIF loan will be scalable based on the Companys greenhouse gas emission performance.
Under the terms of the CIB agreement, the Company may draw on a non-revolving construction credit facility. Following the completion of the project, quarterly payments including interest at a rate per annum equal to the base rate from the date of borrowing until November 27, 2031, then at a base rate plus 150 basis points until maturity of the loan are required prior to the loan maturity date, November 26, 2046.
In November 2021, the Company repaid its Secured Term Loan Facility and Algoma Docks Term Loan Facility in full.
The Revolving Credit Facility, the Federal AMF Loan, the Provincial MENDM Loan and the Federal SIF agreements are expected to service the Companys principal liquidity needs (to finance working capital, fund capital expenditures and for other general corporate purposes) until the maturity of these facilities.
91
The Revolving Credit Facility is governed by a conventional borrowing base calculation comprised of eligible accounts receivable plus eligible inventory plus cash. At March 31, 2022, there was C$0.1 million ($0.09 million) drawn on this facility. There was C$278.2 million ($222.6 million) of unused availability after taking into account C$34.1 million ($27.3 million) of outstanding letters of credit, and borrowing base reserves. The Company is required to maintain a calculated borrowing base. Any shortfall in the borrowing base will trigger a mandatory loan repayment in the amount of the shortfall, subject to certain cure rights including the deposit of cash into an account controlled by the agent. As at March 31, 2022, the Company has complied with these requirements.
On March 3, 2022, the Company announced a normal course issuer bid (the NCIB) after receiving regulatory approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange. Pursuant to the NCIB, the Company is authorized to acquire up to a maximum of 7,397,889 of its shares, or 5% of its 147,957,790 issued and outstanding shares as of February 18, 2022, subject to a daily maximum of 16,586 shares. The common shares are available for purchase for cancellation commencing on March 3, 2022 until no later than March 2, 2023. No shares were repurchased by the Company under the NCIB during the year ended March 31, 2022.
On March 31, 2022, a dividend payment of $9.3 million (US $7.4 million) was paid and recorded as a distribution through retained earnings.
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2020
As at March 31, 2021, the Company had cash of C$21.2 million (March 31, 2020 - C$265.0 million), and had unused availability under its Revolving Credit Facility of C$200.8 million ($156.5 million) (March 31, 2020 - C$61.4 million ($43.6 million)) after taking into account C$27.4 million ($21.8 million) of outstanding letters of credit (March 31, 2020 C$27.8 million ($19.7 million)). The reduction in the Companys overall available cash (including availability under its Revolving Credit Facility) as of March 31, 2021 compared to March 31, 2020 is due to the factors discussed above.
On November 30, 2018, the Company secured the following debt financing:
| $250.0 million in the form of a traditional asset-based revolving credit facility, with a maturity date of November 30, 2023; |
| a C$60.0 million interest free loan from the Federal Economic Development Agency of the Government of Canada, through the Advanced Manufacturing Fund (the Federal AMF Loan). The Company will repay the loan in equal monthly installments beginning on April 1, 2022 with the final installment payable on March 1, 2028.; and |
| a C$60.0 million low interest loan from the Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines of the Province of Ontario (the Provincial MENDM Loan). The Company will repay the loan in monthly blended payments of principal and interest beginning on December 31, 2024 and ending on November 30, 2028. |
On March 29, 2019, the Company secured an agreement with the Minister of Industry of the Government of Canada, whereby the Company will receive C$15.0 million in the form of a grant and C$15.0 million in the form of an interest free loan through the Federal SIF. The Company will repay the interest free loan portion of this funding in equal annual payments beginning on April 30, 2024 and ending on April 30, 2031.
92
Contractual Obligations and Off Balance Sheet Arrangements
The following table presents, at March 31, 2022, the Companys obligations and commitments to make future payments under contracts and contingent commitments. The following figures assume that the March 31, 2022, Canadian/US dollar exchange rate of US$1.00 = $0.8003 remains constant throughout the periods indicated.
millions of dollars |
Total | Less than 1 year |
Year 2 | Years 3-5 | More than 5 years |
|||||||||||||||
Bank indebtedness |
C$ | 0.1 | C$ | 0.1 | C$ | | C$ | | C$ | | ||||||||||
Long-term governmental loans |
136.5 | 9.9 | 9.9 | 71.5 | 45.2 | |||||||||||||||
Purchase obligations |
551.2 | 323.7 | 130.0 | 97.5 | | |||||||||||||||
Environmental liabilities |
77.0 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 12.9 | 54.9 | |||||||||||||||
Lease obligations |
5.8 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 0.4 | | |||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Total |
C$ | 770.6 | C$ | 340.9 | C$ | 147.3 | C$ | 182.3 | C$ | 100.1 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Purchase obligations, which represent the Companys most significant contractual obligations across the periods indicated above, are comprised of contracts to purchase the raw materials required to manufacture the Companys products and therefore contribute directly to the Companys ability to generate revenue. The Company enters into such contracts on an ongoing basis based on its production requirements to secure favorable raw material pricing and consistency of supply. The majority of the Companys purchase obligations mature in less than one year and are contracted based on the Companys anticipated production, and the revenue generated from such production is applied to satisfy such purchase obligations.
Off balance sheet arrangements include letters of credit, and operating lease obligations as disclosed above. At March 31, 2022, the Company had C$34.1 million ($27.3 million) (March 31, 2021 - C$27.4 million ($21.8 million)) of outstanding letters of credit.
As discussed above, the Company maintains defined benefit pension plans and other post-employment benefit plans. At March 31, 2022, the Companys net obligation in respect of its defined benefit pension plans was C$118.1 million (March 31, 2021 - C$170.1 million) and the Companys obligation in respect of its other post-employment benefits plans was C$239.8 million (March 31, 2021 C$297.8 million).
The Companys obligations, commitments and future payments under contract are expected to be financed through cash flow from operations and funds from the Companys Revolving Credit Facility. Any default in the Companys ability to meet such commitments and future payments could have a material and adverse effect on the Company.
Related Party Transactions
As a result of the Merger, the Company is no longer a related party of Algoma Steel Parent S.C.A., and its commonly controlled affiliates. Further, Algoma Steel Parent S.C.A. settled its promissory note payable to the Company for C$2.2 million ($1.7 million) by receiving a net amount of C$6.5 million ($5.0 million) in exchange for settling this note payable with the return of capital of C$8.3 million ($6.7 million), as explained in Note 31 to the March 31, 2022 audited consolidated financial statements. To facilitate this payment, the Company entered an agreement with its subsidiary, Opco to pay the net amount of C$6.5 million ($5.0 million) on its behalf. The Company settled the loan to Opco with net proceeds from the merger transaction.
93
There are no ongoing contractual or other commitments with related parties.
Financial Instruments
The Companys financial assets and liabilities (financial instruments) include cash, restricted cash, accounts receivable, margin payments, bank indebtedness, accounts payable and accrued liabilities, derivative financial instruments, warrant liability, earnout liability and long-term governmental loans.
Financial assets and financial liabilities, including derivatives, are recognized when the Company becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the financial instrument or non-financial derivative contract. Financial instruments are disclosed in Note 32 to the March 31, 2022 audited consolidated financial statements.
Critical Accounting Estimates
As disclosed in Note 5 of the March 31, 2022 audited consolidated financial statements, the preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the years.
Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include the going concern assessment, allowance for doubtful accounts, carrying amount and useful life of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, defined benefit retirement plans and income tax expense and scientific research and development investment tax credits. Further, Note 4 to the March 31, 2022 audited consolidated financial statements discloses the basis for determining the fair value of the warrant, earnout and share-based compensation liabilities. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Allowance for doubtful accounts
Management analyzes accounts receivable to determine the allowance for doubtful accounts by assessing the collectability of receivables owing from each individual customer. This assessment takes into consideration certain factors including the age of outstanding receivable, customer operating performance, historical payment patterns and current collection efforts, relevant forward looking information and the Companys security interests, if any.
Useful lives of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets
The Company reviews the estimated useful lives of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets at the end of each annual reporting period, and whenever events or circumstances indicate a change in useful life. Estimated useful lives of items of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets are based on a best estimate and the actual useful lives may be different. The useful life of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets affects the amount of amortization and the net book value disclosed in the Companys financial statements.
94
Impairment of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets
Any accounting estimate related to impairment of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets require the Company to make assumptions about future cash flows and discount rates. Further, determining whether property, plant and equipment and intangible assets are impaired requires the Company to determine the recoverable amount of the cash generated unit (CGU) to which the asset is allocated. To determine the recoverable amount of the CGU, management is required to estimate its fair value. To calculate the value of the CGU in use, management determines expected future cash flows, which involves, among other items, realization rates on future steel output, costs and volume of production, growth rate, and the estimated selling costs, using an appropriate weighted average cost of capital. Assumptions about future cash flows require significant judgement because actual operating levels have fluctuated in the past and are expected to do so in the future.
Defined Benefit Retirement Plans
The determination of employee benefit expense and obligations requires the use of assumptions such as the discount rate applied to determine the present value of all future cash flows expected in the plan. Since the determination of the cost and obligations associated with employee future benefits requires the use of various assumptions, there is measurement uncertainty inherent in the actuarial valuation process. Actual results could differ from estimated results which are based on assumptions.
Taxation
The Company computes an income tax provision in each of the jurisdictions in which it operates. Actual amounts of income tax expense and scientific research and experimental development investment tax credits only become final upon filing and acceptance of the returns by the relevant authorities, which occur subsequent to the issuance of the audited consolidated financial statements.
Additionally, the estimation of income taxes includes evaluating the recoverability of deferred income tax assets based on an assessment of the ability to use the underlying future tax deductions before they expire against future taxable income. The assessment is based upon existing tax laws and estimates of future taxable income. To the extent estimates differ from the final tax return, (loss) income would be affected in a subsequent period. The Company will file tax returns that may contain interpretations of tax law and estimates. Positions taken and estimates utilized by the Company may be challenged by the relevant tax authorities. Rulings that alter tax returns filed may require adjustment in the future.
95
Selected Quarterly Information
(millions of dollars, except where otherwise noted) |
2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As at and for the three months ended1 |
Q4 | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 | Q4 | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Financial results |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total revenue |
C$ | 941.8 | C$ | 1,064.9 | C$ | 1,010.2 | C$ | 789.1 | C$ | 638.5 | C$ | 430.0 | C$ | 377.0 | C$ | 349.4 | ||||||||||||||||
Steel products |
879.9 | 1,009.5 | 936.5 | 722.9 | 585.6 | 383.8 | 335.3 | 310.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Non-steel products |
13.9 | 14.2 | 31.8 | 24.4 | 5.6 | 9.5 | 6.9 | 7.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Freight |
48.0 | 41.2 | 41.9 | 41.8 | 47.3 | 36.7 | 34.8 | 31.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cost of sales |
603.2 | 599.9 | 578.7 | 510.2 | 476.0 | 432.2 | 389.8 | 339.7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Administrative and selling expenses |
28.0 | 18.9 | 29.4 | 26.7 | 32.5 | 15.5 | 11.9 | 12.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Income (loss) from operations |
310.6 | 446.1 | 402.1 | 252.2 | 130.0 | (17.7 | ) | (24.7 | ) | (2.8 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Net income (loss) |
242.9 | 123.0 | 288.2 | 203.7 | 100.1 | (73.5 | ) | (60.0 | ) | (42.7 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA (loss) |
C$ | 334.4 | C$ | 457.3 | C$ | 430.6 | C$ | 280.8 | C$ | 166.9 | C$ | 11.7 | C$ | 0 | C$ | 20.5 | ||||||||||||||||
Per common share (diluted)3 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net income (loss) |
C$ | 1.45 | C$ | 0.92 | C$ | 4.02 | C$ | 2.83 | C$ | 1.40 | C$ | (1.02 | ) | C$ | (0.84 | ) | C$ | (0.59 | ) | |||||||||||||
Financial position |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total assets |
C$ | 2,693.6 | C$ | 2,520.7 | C$ | 2,185.7 | C$ | 1,697.2 | C$ | 1,553.9 | C$ | 1,541.9 | C$ | 1,554.4 | C$ | 1,731.6 | ||||||||||||||||
Total non-current liabilities |
573.5 | 640.1 | 1,038.8 | 1,002.5 | 1,031.5 | 1,184.7 | 1,236.2 | 1,220.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operating results |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Average NSR per nt2 |
C$ | 1,608 | C$ | 1,827 | C$ | 1,594 | C$ | 1,185 | C$ | 942 | C$ | 701 | C$ | 649 | C$ | 746 | ||||||||||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA per nt2 |
611.1 | 827.6 | 733.1 | 460.3 | 268.4 | 21.4 | 0.0 | 49.2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shipping volume (in thousands of nt) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sheet |
486 | 481 | 514 | 541 | 543 | 470 | 444 | 336 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Plate |
61 | 72 | 73 | 69 | 79 | 78 | 72 | 80 |
1 | Period end date refers to the following: Q4 - March 31, Q3 - December 31, Q2 - September 30 and Q1 - June 30. |
2 | The definition and reconciliation of these non-IFRS measures are included in the Non-IFRS Financial Measures section of this MD&A. |
3 | Pursuant to the Merger Agreement with Legato as described in the Merger Transaction section of this MD&A, on October 19, 2021, the Company effected a reserve stock split retroactively, such that each outstanding common share became such number of common shares, each valued at $10.00 per share, as determined by the conversion factor of 71.76775% (as defined in the Merger Agreement), with such common shares subsequently distributed to the equity holders of the Companys former ultimate parent company. |
Further, on February 9, 2022, the Company issused 35,883,692 common shares in connection with the earnout rights granted to non-management shareholders that existed prior to the Merger.
Trend Analysis
The Companys financial performance for the fourth quarter of fiscal year end 2022 (Q4 2022) increased from the third quarter of fiscal year end 2022 (Q3 2022), primarily due to listing expense incurred in Q3 2022 as a result of the Merger in Q3 2022. This was offset, in part, by decreased steel revenue mostly due to lower average steel selling prices. The following discussion reflects the Companys trend analysis in chronological order:
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Revenue:
| decreased $152.8 million or 30% from $502.2 million in Q4 2020 to $349.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal year end 2021 (Q1 2021), a result of decreased steel revenue mainly due to lower steel shipments, represented by a decline of 204 thousand net ton (nt) or 33% from 620 thousand nt in Q4 2020 to 416 thousand nt in Q1 2021. |
| increased $27.6 million or 8% from $349.4 million in Q1 2021 to $377.0 million in the second quarter of fiscal year end 2021 (Q2 2021), a result of increased steel revenue due primarily to higher steel shipments, represented by an increase of 100 thousand nt or 24% from 416 thousand nt in Q1 2021 to 516 thousand nt in Q2 2021. |
| increased $53.0 million or 14% from $377.0 million in Q2 2021 to $430.0 million in the third quarter of fiscal year end 2021 (Q3 2021), a result of increased steel revenue mostly due to higher selling prices of steel as average NSR per nt increased by $51.3 from $649 per nt in Q2 2021 to $701 per nt in Q3 2021. Further, steel shipments increased by 31 thousand nt or 6% from 516 thousand nt in Q2 2021 to 547 thousand nt in Q3 2021. |
| increased $208.5 million or 48% from $430.0 million in Q3 2021 to $638.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year end 2021 (Q4 2021), a result of increased steel revenue primarily due to higher selling prices of steel as average NSR per nt increased by $241 from $701 per nt in Q3 2021 to $942 per nt in Q4 2021. Further, steel shipments increased by 75 thousand nt or 14% from 547 thousand nt in Q3 2021 to 622 thousand nt in Q4 2021. |
| increased $150.6 million or 24% from $638.5 million in Q4 2021 to $789.1 million in Q1 2022, a result of increased steel revenue mainly due to higher selling price of steel as average NSR per nt increased by $243.3 from $942 per nt in Q4 2021 to $1,185 per nt in Q1 2022. |
| increased $221.1 million or 28% from $789.1 million in Q1 2022 to $1,010.2 million in Q2 2022, a result of increased steel revenue mostly due to higher selling price of steel as average NSR per nt increased by $409.5 from $1,185 per nt in Q1 2022 to $1,594 per nt in Q2 2022. |
| increased $54.7 million or 5% from $1,010.2 million in Q2 2022 to $1,064.9 million in Q3 2022, a result of increased steel revenue primarily due to higher selling prices of steel as average NSR per nt increased by $233 from $1,594 per nt in Q2 2022 to $1,827 per nt in Q3 2022. |
| decreased $123.1 million or 12% from $1,064.9 million in Q3 2022 to $941.8 million in Q4 2022, a result of decreased steel revenue primarily due to lower selling prices of steel as average NSR per nt decreased by $219 from $1,827 per nt in Q3 2022 to $1,608 per nt in Q4 2022. |
Net income (loss):
| of ($42.7) million in Q1 2021 decreased compared to $19.4 million in Q4 2020 primarily due to decrease in revenue of $152.8 million, a result of lower steel shipments, offset, in part by decrease in cost of sales ($159.6 million) |
| of ($60.0) million in Q2 2021 decreased compared to ($42.7) million in Q1 2021 mainly due to the increase in cost of sales of $50.1 million, offset, in part by an increase in revenue of $27.6 million, primarily a result of higher steel shipments. |
| of ($73.5) million in Q3 2021 decreased compared to ($60.0) million in Q2 2021 mostly due an increase in cost of sales of $42.4 million, offset, in part by an increase in revenue of $53.0 million due primarily to higher selling price of steel. |
| of $100.1 million in Q4 2021 increased compared to ($73.5) million in Q3 2021 mainly to due higher revenue of $208.5 million, a result of higher selling prices of steel and increased steel shipments and proportionately lower increase in cost of sales of $43.8 million. |
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| of $203.7 million in Q1 2022 increased compared to $100.1 million in Q4 2021 due primarily to higher revenue (increased by $150.6 million), a result of higher selling prices of steel, proportionately lower increase in cost of sales of $34.2 million and lower administrative and selling expenses (decreased by $5.8 million). |
| of $288.2 million in Q2 2022 increased compared to $203.6 million in Q1 2022 primarily due to higher revenue of $221.1 million, a result of higher selling prices of steel with a proportionately lower increase in cost of sales of $68.5 million. |
| of $123.0 million in Q3 2022 decreased compared to $288.2 million in Q2 2022 mostly due to listing expense ($235.6 million) as a result of the Merger. This was offset, in part, by changes in fair value of warrant liability ($6.8 million), changes in fair value of earnout liability ($33.6 million), changes in fair value of share-based compensation liability ($2.9 million) and increased revenue due primarily to higher selling price of steel. |
| of $242.9 million in Q4 2022 increased compared to $123.0 million in Q3 2022 mostly due to listing expense ($235.6 million) as a result of the Merger in Q3 2022. This was offset, in part, by decreased revenue due primarily to lower selling price of steel. |
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ITEM 6. | DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES |
A. Directors and Senior Management
The following table sets forth certain information relating to our directors and executive officers as of June 1, 2022. The business address for our directors and officers is c/o Algoma Steel Group Inc., 105 West Street, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario P6A 7B4, Canada.
Name |
Age |
Position | ||
Michael Garcia |
57 | Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||
Rajat Marwah |
48 | Chief Financial Officer | ||
John Naccarato |
55 | Vice President Strategy and General Counsel | ||
Rory Brandow |
62 | Vice President of Sales | ||
Mark Nogalo |
57 | Vice President, Maintenance and Operating Services | ||
Michael McQuade |
64 | Director | ||
Andy Harshaw |
67 | Director | ||
Andrew E. Schultz |
67 | Director | ||
David D. Sgro |
45 | Director | ||
Eric S. Rosenfeld |
64 | Director | ||
Brian Pratt |
70 | Director | ||
Mary Anne Bueschkens |
60 | Director | ||
Gale Rubenstein |
69 | Director | ||
James Gouin |
62 | Director |
Executive Officers
Michael Garcia, Chief Executive Officer and Director, was appointed Algomas Chief Executive Officer commencing in June 2022 and joined its board of directors at the same time. Mr. Garcia is a successful industrial business leader, experienced public company CEO, and board member. He is skilled at developing and executing corporate strategy, offering global experience across multiple countries and cultures with the proven ability to nurture talent and lead an organization through change. His career spans senior executive roles in numerous well-regarded companies including Alcoa Inc., Gerdau Ameristeel Inc., Evraz Inc./Evraz Highveld Steel & Vanadium Co., Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Domtar Inc., and Alliant Energy Inc. Mr. Garcia holds a Bachelor degree in Computer Science from the United States Military Academy and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University.
Rajat Marwah, Chief Financial Officer, joined Opco in 2008 as General Manager of Finance and Cost with accountability for the credit, cost, budget, pricing, planning and financial accounting divisions within his portfolio. He was appointed Vice President Finance in 2012 and became CFO in 2014. Mr. Marwah began his career with KPMG and subsequently entered the steel industry with ArcelorMittal as Head of Internal Audit in Romania moving on to become Financial Controller with Arcelor Mittal, Czech Republic. He is a Chartered Accountant with international experience in Romania, Czech Republic and India and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the Sir Ram College of Commerce in Delhi, India. In his current role Mr. Marwah is charged with overall accountability for all finance functions, procurement, information technology, planning and is also the Chief Risk Officer of the Company.
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John Naccarato, Vice President Strategy and General Counsel, has responsibility for developing and enabling the execution of the strategic direction and go-to-market strategies for Algoma. Prior to rejoining Opco, Mr. Naccarato had acquired 30 years of experience in the steel and engineering sectors at progressive levels of responsibility for market/product development, facilities development, mergers/acquisitions and strategic growth initiatives. He has developed entrepreneurial businesses, and has held previous commercial and legal positions with Dofasco Inc., Opco (Director of Market and Product Development), and EVP & General Counsel for Bracknell Corporation. Mr. Naccarato holds a materials engineering degree from the University of Western Ontario, and a law degree from University of Windsor.
Rory Brandow, Vice President of Sales, assumed this role upon the retirement of Robert Dionisi, Chief Commercial Officer. Mr. Brandow has held a variety of positions at Opco over the past 33 years spanning Engineering, Market Development, Technical Services and Sales. Mr. Brandow holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from the University of Western Ontario, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Laker Superior State University and a Masters of Business Administration Degree from Lake Superior State University.
Mark Nogalo, Vice President, Maintenance & Operating Services, has held a variety of positions at Opco over the past 27 years spanning Operations, Engineering, Maintenance and Energy Management. Mr. Nogalo holds a Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Queens University and a Masters of Business Administration from Lake Superior State University. Mr. Nogalo is a Licensed Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario and he currently serves as Chair of the Algoma University Board.
Directors
Michael McQuade, Director, served as the Chief Executive Officer of Algoma from March 2019 until his retirement in June 2022. Mr. McQuade has served on Algomas board of directors since March 2019 and continues to do so following his retirement as Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining Algoma, Mr. McQuade acquired more than 35 years of progressive experience at Stelco Inc. (Stelco) a Canadian steel producer. During his first 25 years at Stelco, he moved through a variety of roles in finance, accounting, operations and sales. In 2007, he was promoted to Vice President, Finance at Stelco and played a critical role in that years sale to U.S. Steel. He carried on after the sale as the General Manager, Finance for U.S. Steel Canada, and in 2010 was appointed Chief Financial Officer for U.S. Steel Canada. In his final executive role, as President of Stelco/ U.S. Steel Canada, he led a successful financial restructuring and sale while under CCAA protection, which separated Stelco from U.S. Steel. He retired from Stelco in March 2018. Mr. McQuade holds a bachelor of mathematics degree from the University of Waterloo as well as the CPA, CMA and Chartered Director designations.
Andy Harshaw, Director, earned a Metallurgical Engineering degree at McMaster University in 1987, and subsequently joined Dofasco as an entry-level Research Engineer. Over the ensuing years, he grew to ever more senior roles within the Dofasco organization. In 2004, he was named Works Manager and in 2005 was promoted to Vice President, Manufacturing. He stayed with Dofasco through its sale to Arcelor and ultimate transition to ArcelorMittal. In 2008, he took on responsibilities at ArcelorMittal in Burns Harbor, Indiana as the Vice President, Operations. In this role, he managed all operations including technology, safety and quality for all flat rolled and plate operations. He was ArcelorMittals Chief Executive Officer when he retired from full-time executive work in December 2016.
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Andrew E. Schultz, Director, has had a varied career, applying an operational, legal and financial background to a wide range of businesses. He joined Holding Capital Group in 1999, a private equity firm focusing on under-performing middle market companies. His experience includes senior management positions at several companies and as general counsel to Greenwich Hospital and its board in Greenwich, CT, where, in addition to legal responsibilities (including leading the merger with Yale-New Haven Health System), was project executive for a $100 million expansion and new construction program. He has also practiced corporate, health care and administrative law. For the past 10 years, Mr. Schultz has served as an independent director for a variety of restructured companies (including publicly listed) across a wide range of industries, including Niagara LaSalle Steel. Additionally, he has been an advisor and consultant to numerous boards and companies, specializing in distressed or underperforming assets with a focus on value maximizing and out-of-court solutions. Mr. Schultz completed his undergraduate and graduate work in economics and in geography at Clark University, in Worcester, MA, and received his law degree from Fordham University in New York, NY.
David D. Sgro, Director, previously served as Legatos chief executive officer and a member of Legatos board of directors from Legatos formation. He has served as Chief Operating Officer of Allegro Merger Corp. since August 2017 and its chairman of the board since April 2018 and served as its Chief Financial Officer from November 2017 until April 2018. Mr. Sgro served as Harmony Merger Corp.s chief operating officer and secretary since its inception in May 2014 until its merger with NextDecade in July 2017 and as a director from May 2014 to August 2016 and then again from its merger with NextDecade until June 2018. Mr. Sgro has been a Senior Managing Director of Crescendo Partners, L.P. since December 2014, and has held numerous positions with Crescendo Partners since December 2005. Mr. Sgro has served as the director of research for Jamarant Capital, L.P., a private investment partnership, since January 2016. Mr. Sgro has served as a director of Pangaea Logistics Solutions, a Nasdaq-listed drybulk shipping logistics company, since 2015, and currently serves as the chairman of the audit committee. Mr. Sgro also currently serves as chairman of the board of Hill International Inc., a NYSE listed construction project management firm. Mr. Sgro served on the boards of BSM Technologies, Inc., a TSX listed GPS enabled fleet management service provider from June 2016 until its sale to Geotab in June 2019; Bridgewater Systems, Inc., a TSX listed telecommunications software company, from June 2008 until its sale to Amdocs in August 2011; Imvescor Restaurant Group, a TSX listed restaurant franchisor, from March 2016 until its sale to MYR Group in March 2018; and COM DEV International Ltd., a global designer and manufacturer of space hardware from April 2013 to February 2016. In 2001, Mr. Sgro became a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder. Mr. Sgro is a regular guest lecturer at Columbia Business School and an adjunct faculty member of The College of New Jersey.
Eric S. Rosenfeld, Director, previously served as Legatos chief SPAC officer from Legatos formation. Since August 2017, he has served as chief executive officer of Allegro and served as chairman of the board from August 2017 until April 2018. From May 2014 until its merger with NextDecade in July 2017, Mr. Rosenfeld served as the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Harmony and served as a member of the board of NextDecade from that time until June 2020. Mr. Rosenfeld served as Quartets chairman of the board and chief executive officer from its inception in April 2013 until its merger with Pangea in October 2014, and has served as a director of Pangaea since such time. Mr. Rosenfeld has been the president and chief executive officer of Crescendo Partners, L.P., a New York-based investment firm, since its formation in November 1998. He has also been the senior managing member of Crescendo Advisors II LLC, the entity providing us with general and administrative services, since its formation in August 2000. Since November 2018, Mr. Rosenfeld has served as chairman emeritus of CPI Aerostructures, Inc. an NYSE American-listed company engaged in
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the contract production of structural aircraft parts for fixed wing aircraft and helicopters in both the commercial and defense markets. He became a director of CPI in April 2003 and served as chairman from January 2005 until November 2018. Mr. Rosenfeld has also served on the board of Primo Water Corp. (formerly Cott Corporation), a NYSE- and TSX-listed beverage company, since June 2008 and is currently the Lead Independent Director. Mr. Rosenfeld has served as a board member of Aecon Group Inc., a TSX listed provider of construction and infrastructure development services, since June 2017. Mr. Rosenfeld served as a board member of Canaccord Genuity Group Inc, a TSX listed investment bank, from August 2020 until March 2021. From December 2012 until December 2019, Mr. Rosenfeld served as a board member of Absolute Software Corporation, a TSX listed provider of security and management for computers and ultra-portable devices. Mr. Rosenfeld is a regular guest lecturer at Columbia Business School and Tulane Law School and has served on numerous panels at Queens University Business Law School Symposia, McGill Law School, the World Presidents Organization and the Value Investing Congress. He is a senior faculty member at the Directors College. He has also been a guest host on CNBC.
Brian Pratt, Director, previously served as a member of Legatos board of directors and non-executive chairman of the board since August 2020. Mr. Pratt served as Chairman of Primoris Services Corp from July 2008 until May 2019 and as a Director from July 2008 to February 2020. He served as Primoris President and Chief Executive Officer from July 2008 to July 31, 2015. Mr. Pratt has been managing his personal investments since leaving Primoris. From 1983 through July 2015, he served as the President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Primoris and its predecessor entity, ARB, Inc. Mr. Pratt has over 35 years of hands-on operations and management experience in the construction industry.
Mary Anne Bueschkens, Director, is a globally experienced business executive, attorney and board member. She has held progressive roles as General Counsel, President, CEO and Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors and member of the Nominating and Governance Committee of ABC Technologies Inc., a TSX-listed global Tier One automotive parts supplier, in addition to serving as a Board and Audit Committee Member of ACPS, a leading European automotive parts supplier. She was previously a tax partner with a leading Canadian law firm where she was the Head of the National Tax Group and on the Executive Management Committee. Ms. Bueschkens is a member of the Board of Governors of the Royal Ontario Museum and its Nominating and Governance Committee, and a member of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association. She completed her undergraduate and graduate studies in sciences and business at the University of Windsor (B.Sc., B.Comm and MBA) and her law degree at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University (JD Law). She also is a holder of the Institute of Corporate Directors Director designation (ICD.D) from the Rotman School of Business Management, Toronto.
Gale Rubenstein, Director, is an experienced board director with deep expertise in corporate pensions and regulatory matters, corporate governance, restructuring and crisis management. She has spent the last 40 years of her career with Goodmans LLP, including as a partner since 1986. Ms. Rubensteins board experience includes the University Pension Plan Ontario Inaugural Chair Board of Trustees since 2019, board member of Hydro One from 2007-2018, and board member of the Canadian Lawyers Liability Assurance Society from 1990-2012. She was also a member of the Executive Committee and the Partners Compensation Committee at Goodmans LLP. Ms. Rubenstein is a member of the Law Society of Ontario and the Canadian Bar Association. She received her LL. B. from Osgoode Hall Law School.
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James Gouin, Director, served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the board of directors of Tower International, Inc. (Tower), a global manufacturer of engineered automotive products from 2017 until the sale of Tower in 2019. Mr. Gouin served as President of Tower during 2016 after joining the company in November 2007 as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to Tower, Mr. Gouin served as a Senior Managing Director of the corporate finance practice of FTI Consulting, Inc. (FTI), a business advisory firm. Before joining FTI, Mr. Gouin spent 28 years at Ford Motor Company in a variety of senior positions, including as Vice President, Finance and Global Corporate Controller from 2003 to 2006 and as Vice President of Finance, Strategy and Business Development of Ford Motor Companys International Operations from 2006 to 2007. Mr. Gouin also served on the Board of Trustees of the University of Detroit Mercy until October 2017, and the Board of Vista Maria, a non-profit corporation, until 2019. Since 2015, he has served on the board, the Audit Committee, and the Compensation and Human Capital Committee of Exterran Corporation, an upstream oil, gas, and water solution company. Mr. Gouin received a B.B.A. from the Detroit Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from the University of Detroit Mercy.
B. Compensation
Board of Director Compensation
All non-employee directors, received compensation in respect of fiscal 2022 for their service on our board of directors. Mr. McQuade did not receive any compensation as a director of the Company, and his compensation for serving as Chief Executive Officer is included with that of the other named executive officers. The following table sets forth information concerning the compensation paid by the company to each of the non-employee directors in respect of fiscal 2022:
Name |
Fees Earned or Paid in Cash (C$)(1) | |||
Andy Harshaw |
$ | 253,584 | ||
Andrew E. Schultz |
$ | 210,033 | ||
David D. Sgro |
$ | 123,374 | ||
Eric S. Rosenfeld |
$ | 121,263 | ||
Brian Pratt |
$ | 121,263 | ||
Mary Anne Bueschkens |
$ | 121,864 | ||
Gale Rubenstein |
$ | 132,952 | ||
James Gouin |
$ | 127,774 |
As compensation for service on our board of directors, the Company pays each of its independent directors US$220,000 per year (the Board Retainer). The Chairs Retainer is $310,000 per year. In addition, independent directors who serve as members of committees of our board of directors are paid an additional US$20,000 per year for their committee service. The Chair of the Audit Committee is paid $25,000 per year for his committee service.
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Executive Compensation
Components of Executive Compensation
On May 1, 2022, Mr. Brandow succeeded Mr. Dionisi as Vice President of Sales following Mr. Dionisis retirement. On June 1, 2022, Mr. Garcia was appointed as the Companys CEO, effective upon the retirement Mr. McQuade. The following summary description of executive compensation reflects that Mr. McQuade was the Companys CEO and that Mr. Dionisi was the Companys Chief Commercial Officer during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022.
The compensation of Algomas CEO during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022 Michael McQuade, CFO Rajat Marwah and three most highly compensated executive officers for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, other than Mr. McQuade and Mr. Marwah, who served as executive officers for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022 John Naccarato (VP Strategy & General Counsel), Mark Nogalo (VP Maintenance & Operating Services) and Robert Dionisi (Chief Commercial Officer) (the Named Executive Officers) includes three major elements: (i) base salary, (ii) short-term incentives, consisting of an annual bonus, and (iii) long-term equity incentives. The Named Executive Officers are eligible to participate in benefits available generally to salaried employees, including benefits under Algomas health and welfare plans and arrangements, and vacation pay or other benefits under Algomas medical insurance plan. Additionally, certain of the Named Executive Officers are entitled to receive benefits under the Companys defined benefit pension plan. Perquisites and benefits are not significant elements of compensation for the Named Executive Officers.
Named Executive Officers
The following tables and discussion relate to the compensation paid to or earned by our Named Executive Officers.
The following table sets forth information about certain compensation awarded to, earned by, or paid to our Named Executive Officers in respect of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022:
Non-equity incentive plan compensation (C$) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name and principal position |
Salary (C$) |
Share-based awards (C$)(2) |
Option-based awards (C$) |
Annual incentive plans(1) |
Long-term incentive plans |
Pension value (C$) |
All other compensation (C$) |
Total compensation (C$) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michael McQuade, |
904,151 | 26,528,402 | N/A | N/A | 29,210 | 13,846 | 28,990,062 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rajat Marwah, CFO |
384,431 | 7,945,104 | N/A | 427,871 | N/A | 29,210 | 5,169 | 8,791,785 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
John Naccarato, VP Strategy & General Counsel |
347,500 | 7,945,104 | N/A | 386,767 | N/A | 29,210 | 19,130 | 8,727,711 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mark Nogalo, VP Maintenance & Operating Services |
345,000 | 6,810,103 | N/A | 369,495 | N/A | 28,610 | 1,130 | 7,554,338 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Robert Dionisi, CCO |
325,762 | 4,540,073 | N/A | 348,891 | N/A | 0 | 13,684 | 5,228,410 |
(1) | As a percentage of annualized salary, represents target annual incentive plan compensation of approximately 168% for Mr. McQuade, 111% for Mr. Marwah, 111% for Mr. Naccarato, 107% for Mr. Nogalo, and 107% for Mr. Dionisi. For the year ending March 31, 2022, awards were determined relative to achievement of the applicable criteria for such awards. |
(2) | Represents Replacement Long Term Incentive Plan Awards and Earnout Rights. Refer to Note 4 of the Companys Consolidated Financial Statements contained elsewhere in the Annual Report. |
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Base Salary
Annual base salaries are intended to provide a fixed component of compensation to the Named Executive Officers, reflecting their skill sets, experience, roles and responsibilities. Base salaries for the Named Executive Officers have generally been set at levels deemed necessary to attract and retain individuals with superior talent.
Algoma intends for any adjustments to base salaries to be determined annually and may increase base salaries based on factors such as the Named Executive Officers success in meeting or exceeding individual objectives and an assessment of the competitiveness of the then-current compensation. Additionally, Algoma may choose to adjust base salaries as warranted throughout the year to reflect promotions or other changes in the scope or breadth of a Named Executive Officers role or responsibilities, as well as to maintain market competitiveness.
In the year ended March 31, 2022, Mr. McQuades base salary was C$904,151, Mr. Marwahs base salary was C$440,000, Mr. Naccaratos base salary was C$400,000, Mr. Nogalos base salary was C$345,000, and Mr. Dionisis base salary was C$325,762.
Annual Incentive Bonuses
In accordance with the terms of their respective employment agreements, certain of Algomas Named Executive Officers and other executive officers are eligible to receive discretionary annual bonuses based on individual performance, company performance or otherwise as may be determined by Algomas board of directors from time to time. Bonuses earned by each of our Named Executive Officers during the year ended March 31, 2022 are reflected in the compensation table above.
For the year ended March 31, 2022, Mr. McQuade was eligible to earn a target annual bonus equal to approximately 100% of his base salary, Mr. Marwah was eligible to earn a target annual bonus equal to 70% of his base salary, Mr. Naccarato was eligible to earn a target annual bonus equal to 70% of his base salary, Mr. Nogalo was eligible to earn a target annual bonus equal to 70% of his base salary, and Mr. Dionisi was eligible to earn a target annual bonus equal to 70% of his base salary.
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Equity-Based Compensation
Outstanding Equity Awards
The following table sets forth information regarding equity awards held by our named executive officers as of March 31, 2022:
Option-based Awards | Share-based Awards | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name |
Number of securities underlying unexercised options (#) |
Option exercise price (C$) |
Option expiration date |
Value of unexercised in-the-money options (C$) |
Number of shares or units of shares that have not vested (#) |
Market or payout value of share-based awards that have not vested (C$) |
Market or payout value of vested share -based awards not paid out or distributed (C$)(1) |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Michael McQuade, |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Nil | Nil | 26,528,402 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Rajat Marwah, CFO |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Nil | Nil | 7,945,104 | |||||||||||||||||||||
John Naccarato, VP Strategy & General Counsel |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Nil | Nil | 7,945,104 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Mark Nogalo, VP Maintenance & Operating Services |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Nil | Nil | 6,810,103 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Robert Dionisi, CCO |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Nil | Nil | 4,540,073 |
(1) | Represents rights to acquire Common Shares that were granted in respect of Replacement LTIP Awards pursuant to the LTIP Exchange, valued at C$14.06 per right. |
Incentive Plan Awards Value Vested or Earned During the Year
The following table indicates, for each of the Named Executive Officers, a summary of the value of the option-based awards and share-based awards that vested in accordance with their terms for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022.
Name and principal position |
Option-based awards Value expected to be vested during the year (C$) |
Share-based awards Value expected to be vested during the year (C$)(1) |
Non-equity incentive plan compensation Value expected to be earned during the year (C$) |
|||||||||
Michael McQuade, CEO |
N/A | 26,528,402 | N/A | |||||||||
Rajat Marwah, CFO |
N/A | 7,945,104 | N/A | |||||||||
John Naccarato, VP Strategy & General Counsel |
N/A | 7,945,104 | N/A | |||||||||
Mark Nogalo, VP Maintenance & Operating Services |
N/A | 6,810,103 | N/A | |||||||||
Robert Dionisi, CCO |
N/A | 4,540,073 | N/A |
(1) | Represents rights to acquire Common Shares that were granted in respect of Replacement LTIP Awards pursuant to the LTIP Exchange, valued at C$14.06 ($11.25) per right. |
Executive Employment Agreements
We have entered into an employment agreement with each of our named executive officers. The terms of the agreements are as follows.
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Compensation and Bonus Opportunities
Under his current employment agreement, effective on or around April 1, 2022, Mr. McQuade was entitled to an annual base salary of $904,151. Mr. McQuade was also eligible to participate in our annual incentive bonus plans, with an annual cash incentive bonus targeted at 100% of his annual base salary, and annual equity incentive bonus targeted at 300% of his annual base salary.
Under his employment agreement, effective on or around June 12, 2020, as amended May 30, 2022, Mr. Marwah is entitled to an annual base salary of $440,000. Mr. Marwah is also eligible to participate in our annual incentive bonus plans, with an annual cash incentive bonus targeted at 70% of his annual base salary, and annual equity incentive bonus targeted at 70% of his annual base salary.
Under his employment agreement, effective on or around June 12, 2020, as amended May 30, 2022, Mr. Naccarato is entitled to an annual base salary of $400,000. Mr. Naccarato is also eligible to participate in our annual incentive bonus plans, with an annual cash incentive bonus targeted at 70% of his annual base salary, and annual equity incentive bonus targeted at 70% of his annual base salary.
Under his employment agreement, effective on or around June 12, 2020, as amended May 30, 2022, Mr. Nogalo is entitled to an annual base salary of $345,000. Mr. Nogalo is also eligible to participate in our annual incentive bonus plans, with an annual cash incentive bonus targeted at 70% of his annual base salary, and annual equity incentive bonus targeted at 70% of his annual base salary.
Under his employment agreement, effective on or around June 12, 2020, as amended May 30, 2022, Mr. Dionisi is entitled to an annual base salary of $325,762. Mr. Dionisi is also eligible to participate in our annual incentive bonus plans, with an annual cash incentive bonus targeted at 70% of his annual base salary, and annual equity incentive bonus targeted at 70% of his annual base salary.
Agreements with Named Executive Officers and Payments upon Termination or Change of Control
Opco has entered into an employment agreement with each of Mr. Marwah, Mr.Naccarato and Mr. Nogalo. In addition, Opco had entered into employment agreements with Mr. McQuade and Mr. Dionisi, which agreements terminated effective upon their respective retirement dates. The payments provided upon termination or a change of control under each Named Executive Officers employment agreement are summarized below.
Michael McQuade, Chief Executive Officer
As discussed above, Michael McQuade retired as Chief Executive Officer and was replaced by Michael Garcia as Chief Executive Officer in June 2022. If Mr. McQuades employment had been terminated prior to his retirement, howsoever caused, (a) Algoma would have paid to Mr. McQuade any base salary and vacation pay earned by, and remaining payable to, him up to the termination date or as otherwise may be required pursuant to the Employment Standards
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Act, 2000 (the ESA); (b) Mr. McQuade would have been provided with any benefits, perquisites and allowances to which he is entitled pursuant to the applicable plans and policies up to the termination date or as otherwise may be required pursuant to the ESA; (c) unless otherwise specifically set out in any plan or agreement, Mr. McQuades participation in all bonus or incentive plans would have terminated immediately on the termination date; and (d) any awards to, or entitlements of, Mr. McQuade to long-term incentive compensation would have been determined in accordance with the Omnibus Incentive Plan.
If Mr. McQuades employment had been terminated for cause, in addition to Algomas obligations set out above, subject to Algomas compliance with the ESA, he would have had no entitlement to any payment in lieu of notice, severance, damages and, further, all benefits, perquisites, allowances and other entitlements would have ceased on the termination date except for any entitlement pursuant to any health and welfare or insurance benefit which may have been payable in accordance with the applicable plans or policies as of the termination date or as may have been required by the ESA.
If Mr. McQuades employment had been terminated without cause, in addition to Algomas obligations set out above, (a) Algoma would have, as severance, paid to Mr. McQuade an amount equal to his base salary as at the termination date; (b) except for all short-term and long-term disability insurance or any other benefits or entitlements which could not be continued by the applicable plans or policies, Algoma would have continued all of the benefits in which Mr. McQuade was participating as at the termination date for the severance period; and (c) if Mr. McQuade had been terminated by Algoma during the three month period immediately preceding or on the date of or within six months after a change of control, he would have received an annual bonus in an amount fixed at his full target for the fiscal year during which the change of control occured; or where termination was not during the three month period immediately preceding nor on the date nor within six months after a change of control, he would have received an annual bonus in an amount fixed at his full target for the fiscal year in which the termination date occurred prorated for the period that he was actively employed during such fiscal year.
In the event Mr. McQuades employment had been terminated as a result of his death or disability, Algomas obligations would have been as set out above. In the event of his disability, Algoma would have provided him with 30 calendar days written notice of termination or termination pay in lieu of notice and severance pay, if applicable, and, in the event of his death or disability, there would have been a continuation of any health and welfare or insurance benefit which may be payable in accordance with the applicable plans or policies as of the termination date or as may be required by the ESA.
In addition, for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, if Mr. McQuades employment had been terminated for any reason other than for cause, he would have been entitled to an annual bonus calculated at target (that is, 100% of his base salary) or the annual bonus achieved pursuant to the terms of his employment agreement, whichever is greater, but prorated based on the number of completed months of employment during such fiscal year with Algoma prior to the termination date. Furthermore, if Mr. McQuades employment had been terminated on or before December 31, 2021, other than for cause or as a result of his resignation, he would have been entitled to a one-time retention bonus of up to a maximum of $240,000.
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Upon Mr. McQuades resignation, Algomas obligations were as set out above. During the three-month notice period between his resignation and the termination date, he continued to be paid the base salary and such wages as required by the ESA and was entitled to participate in any benefits, additional perquisites and such other benefits as required by the ESA. Mr. McQuade also received an annual bonus in an amount fixed at his full target for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023, prorated for the period that Mr. McQuade was actively employed during such fiscal year.
Rajat Marwah, Chief Financial Officer
If Mr. Marwahs employment is terminated for cause, he will receive the sum of his accrued but unpaid base salary, earned but unused vacation pay, earned but unpaid Variable Compensation Incentive Plan (VCIP) payments, and reimbursement for unreimbursed business expenses properly incurred (collectively, the Accrued Amounts). Algoma will have no other obligations to Mr. Marwah, save and except for any obligations under the ESA.
If Mr. Marwahs employment is terminated without cause (other than in the event of a change of control, as discussed further below), Mr. Marwah will receive, in the form of base salary continuance, (a) if his service is less than five years, 12 months base salary; or (b) if his service is five years or more, 24 months base salary (the Salary Continuance Period).
In the event of a change of control, if Mr. Marwahs employment is terminated without cause, or he resigns due to constructive dismissal, within, if it is a direct consequence of an anticipated change of control, six months prior to a change of control or within one year following a change of control, he will be entitled to severance in an amount equal to: (a) 1.5 times the total amount of base salary that otherwise was to have been provided during the Salary Continuance Period, to a maximum payment of 30 months base salary; and (b) a pro rata VCIP payment for the period up to the termination date and then, for the 24 month period after the termination date, a VCIP payment at full target under the VCIP.
In certain circumstances, Mr. Marwah will receive amounts payable prior to the termination date in accordance with the VCIP and will be entitled to receive a pro rata VCIP payment at full target under the plan for the partial fiscal year up to the termination date. During the Salary Continuance Period or until he obtains alternate employment, Mr. Marwah will, (a) subject to and in accordance with the terms of the applicable benefit plan, receive medical, dental and life insurance coverage; and (b) subject to and in accordance with the terms of the applicable retirement plan, participate in the retirement plans. Mr. Marwah will also receive short or long-term disability benefit coverage during the period corresponding to the statutory notice period as required under the ESA.
In the event Mr. Marwahs employment is terminated following his death or disability, no compensation will be owed by Algoma to him or his estate other than the Accrued Amounts, if any, and any amounts that may be owing under the ESA.
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In the event Mr. Marwah resigns, Algoma will be entitled to accept his resignation effective immediately and pay to Mr. Marwah his applicable salary and any earned VCIP payment during a 13-week resignation notice period, in which case Algoma will continue his benefits only as required under the ESA. He will also be entitled to any unpaid VCIP incentive payment confirmed for a prior fiscal period. Any awards to, or entitlements of, Mr. Marwah to long-term incentive compensation will be determined in accordance with the Companys Omnibus Incentive Plan.
John Naccarato, Vice President Strategy & General Counsel
If Mr. Naccaratos employment is terminated for cause, he will receive the sum of his Accrued Amounts and Algoma will have no other obligations to Mr. Naccarato, save and except for any obligations under the ESA.
If Mr. Naccaratos employment is terminated without cause (other than in the event of a change of control, as discussed further below), Mr. Naccarato will continue to receive his base salary during the Salary Continuance Period.
In the event of a change of control, if Mr. Naccaratos employment is terminated without cause, or he resigns due to constructive dismissal, within, if it is a direct consequence of an anticipated change of control, six months prior to a change of control or within one year following a change of control, he will be entitled to severance in an amount equal to: (a) 1.5 times the total amount of base salary that otherwise was to have been provided during the Salary Continuance Period, to a maximum payment of 30 months base salary; and (b) a pro rata VCIP payment for the period up to the termination date and then, for the 24 month period after the termination date, a VCIP payment at full target under the VCIP.
In certain circumstances, Mr. Naccarato will receive amounts payable prior to the termination date in accordance with the VCIP and will be entitled to receive a pro rata VCIP payment at full target under the plan for the partial fiscal year up to the termination date. During the Salary Continuance Period or until he obtains alternate employment, Mr. Naccarato will, (a) subject to and in accordance with the terms of the applicable benefit plan, receive medical, dental and life insurance coverage; (b) subject to and in accordance with the terms of the applicable retirement plan, participate in the retirement plans; and (c) receive a continuation of the applicable perquisites set out in his employment agreement. Mr. Naccarato will also receive short or long-term disability benefit coverage during the period corresponding to the statutory notice period as required under the ESA.
In the event Mr. Naccaratos employment is terminated following his death or disability, no compensation will be owed by Algoma to him or his estate other than the Accrued Amounts, if any, and any amounts that may be owing under the ESA.
In the event Mr. Naccarato resigns, Algoma will be entitled to accept his resignation effective immediately and pay to Mr. Naccarato his applicable salary and any earned VCIP payment during a 13-week resignation notice period, in which case Algoma will continue his benefits only as required under the ESA. He will also be entitled to any unpaid VCIP incentive payment confirmed for a prior fiscal period. Any awards to, or entitlements of, Mr. Naccarato to long-term incentive compensation will be determined in accordance with the Companys Omnibus Incentive Plan.
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Mark Nogalo, Vice President Maintenance & Operating Services
If Mr. Nogalos employment is terminated for cause, he will receive the sum of his Accrued Amounts and Algoma will have no other obligations to Mr. Nogalo, save and except for any obligations under the ESA.
If Mr. Nogalos employment is terminated without cause, Mr. Nogalo will continue to receive his base salary during the Salary Continuance Period.
In the event of a change of control (other than in the event of a change of control, as discussed further below), if Mr. Nogalos employment is terminated without cause, or he resigns due to constructive dismissal, within, if it is a direct consequence of an anticipated change of control, six months prior to a change of control or within one year following a change of control, he will be entitled to severance in an amount equal to: (a) 1.5 times the total amount of base salary that otherwise was to have been provided during the Salary Continuance Period, to a maximum payment of 30 months base salary; and (b) a pro rata VCIP payment for the period up to the termination date and then, for the 24 month period after the termination date, a VCIP payment at full target under the VCIP.
In certain circumstances, Mr. Nogalo will receive amounts payable prior to the termination date in accordance with the VCIP and will be entitled to receive a pro rata VCIP payment at full target under the plan for the partial fiscal year up to the termination date. During the Salary Continuance Period or until he obtains alternate employment, Mr. Nogalo will, (a) subject to and in accordance with the terms of the applicable benefit plan, receive medical, dental and life insurance coverage; and (b) subject to and in accordance with the terms of the applicable retirement plan, participate in the retirement plans. Mr. Nogalo will also receive short or long-term disability benefit coverage during the period corresponding to the statutory notice period as required under the ESA.
In the event Mr. Nogalos employment is terminated following his death or disability, no compensation will be owed by Algoma to him or his estate other than the Accrued Amounts, if any, and any amounts that may be owing under the ESA.
In the event Mr. Nogalo resigns, Algoma will be entitled to accept his resignation effective immediately and pay to Mr. Nogalo his applicable salary and any earned VCIP payment during a 13-week resignation notice period, in which case Algoma will continue his benefits only as required under the ESA. He will also be entitled to any unpaid VCIP incentive payment confirmed for a prior fiscal period. Any awards to, or entitlements of, Mr. Nogalo to long-term incentive compensation will be determined in accordance with the Companys Omnibus Incentive Plan.
Robert Dionisi, Chief Commercial Officer
As discussed above, Mr. Dionisi retired from his position as Chief Commercial Officer on April 30, 2022. Mr. Dionisi is succeeded by Mr. Rory Brandow as Vice President Sales.
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Pension Plan Benefits
Defined Benefit Plans
The following table provides certain information regarding the pension plans of Algoma, which will provide for payments or benefits at, following, or in connection with the retirement of a Named Executive Officer, excluding defined contribution plans.
Name |
Number of years credited service as of March 31, 2022 (#) |
Annual benefits payable (C$) | Opening present value of defined benefit obligation as of April 1, 2021 (C$) |
Compensatory change (C$) |
Non- compensatory change (C$) |
Closing present value of defined benefit obligation (C$) |
||||||||||||||||||||||
At year end |
At age 65 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michael McQuade, CEO |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||||
Rajat Marwah, CFO |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||||
John Naccarato, VP Strategy & General |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||||
Mark Nogalo, VP Maintenance & Operating Services |
34.4 | 117,700 | 119,700 | 1,725,400 | 46,200 | (148,500 | ) | 1,623,100 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Robert Dionisi, CCO |
35.00 | 119,700 | 119,700 | 1,685,100 | Nil | (97,900 | ) | 1,587,200 |
Defined Contribution Plans
The following table provides certain information regarding the pension plans of Algoma, which will provide for payments or benefits at, following or in connection with retirement of a Named Executive Officer, excluding defined benefit plans.
Name |
Accumulated value as of April 1, 2021 (C$) |
Compensatory (C$) |
Expected accumulated value at year ending March 31, 2022 (C$) |
|||||||||
Michael McQuade, CEO |
66,362 | Nil | 95,572 | |||||||||
Rajat Marwah, CFO |
275,542 | Nil | 302,453 | |||||||||
John Naccarato, VP Strategy & General Counsel |
52,481 | Nil | 83,756 | |||||||||
Mark Nogalo, VP Maintenance & Operating Services |
N/A | N/A | N/A | |||||||||
Robert Dionisi, CCO |
N/A | N/A | N/A |
All Other Compensation - Benefits and Perquisites
The Named Executive Officers are, or in the case of Mr. McQuade and Mr. Dionisi, were until their termination dates, eligible to participate in benefits available generally to salaried employees, including benefits under Algomas health and welfare plans and arrangements, and vacation pay or other benefits under Algomas medical insurance plan. Perquisites and benefits are not significant elements of compensation for the Named Executive Officers.
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C. Board Practices
Composition of our Board of Directors
Under the restated articles of Algoma (the Restated Articles), Algomas board is to consist of a minimum of three and a maximum of 20 directors. The Restated Articles do not provide for the board of directors to be divided into classes. Our current board of directors is comprised of ten directors.
Pursuant to the Restated Articles, the shareholders of Algoma may remove any director before the expiration of his or her term of office by special resolution, which requires a special majority requirement of two-thirds of the votes cast in favor of the resolution. In that event, the shareholders may elect, or appoint by ordinary resolution, another individual as director to fill the resulting vacancy. If the shareholders do not appoint a director to fill the vacancy contemporaneously with removal, then either the directors or the shareholders by ordinary resolution may appoint an additional director to fill that vacancy.
The directors of Algoma may remove a director before the expiration of his or her period of office if the director is convicted of an indictable offence or otherwise ceases to qualify as a director and the directors may appoint a director to fill the resulting vacancy.
Director Term Limits and Other Mechanisms of Board Renewal
Our board of directors has not adopted director term limits or other automatic mechanisms of board renewal. Rather than adopting formal term limits, mandatory age-related retirement policies and other mechanisms of board renewal, our nominating and governance committee will seek to maintain the composition of our board of directors in a way that provides, in the judgment of our board, the best mix of skills and experience to provide for our overall stewardship. Our nominating and governance committee is also expected to conduct a process for the assessment of our board, each committee and each director regarding such directors or committees effectiveness and performance, and to report evaluation results to our board.
Board Committees
Audit Committee
We maintain an audit committee consisting of a minimum of three and a maximum of five independent directors.
Our audit committee consists of Messrs. Schultz, Harshaw, Sgro and Gouin. Mr. Gouin serves as the chairperson of the committee. Our board of directors has determined that each member of our audit committee is independent within the meaning of the Nasdaq corporate governance rules, National Instrument 52-110 Audit Committees (NI 52-110) and the Exchange Act, and free from any relationship that, in the view of the board of directors, could be reasonably expected to interfere with the exercise of his independent judgment as a member of the committee.
Each member of the audit committee has direct experience relevant to the performance of his responsibilities as an audit committee member. All members of our audit committee are financially literate (which is defined as the ability to read and understand a set of financial statements that present a breadth and level of complexity of accounting issues that are generally comparable to the breadth and complexity of the issues that can reasonably be expected to be raised by Algomas financial statements). In addition, one member of the audit committee is required to have accounting or related financial management expertise, qualifying as an audit committee financial expert as defined by the SEC rules, which our board of directors has determined is Mr. Schultz.
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Our board of directors has adopted an audit committee charter setting forth the responsibilities of the committee, which are consistent with the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (the BCA), NI 52-110, the SEC rules, and the Nasdaq corporate governance rules. These responsibilities include:
| reviewing, approving and recommending for board approval Algomas financial statements, including any certification, report, opinion or review rendered by the external auditor, the annual information form, and the related managements discussion and analysis and press release; |
| receiving periodically management reports assessing the adequacy and effectiveness of Algomas disclosure controls and procedures; |
| reviewing and making recommendations to the board in respect of the mandate of Algomas disclosure committee and reviewing the disclosure committees quarterly reports pertaining to its activities for the previous quarter; |
| preparing all disclosure and reports as may be required to be prepared by the committee by any applicable law, regulation, rule or listing standard; |
| reviewing material prepared by management regarding Algomas financial strategy considering current and future capital and operating plans and budgets, Algomas capital structure, including debt and equity components, current and expected financial leverage, interest rate and foreign currency exposures and in the committees discretion, making recommendations to the board; |
| reviewing managements process to identify, monitor and manage the significant risks associated with the activities of Algoma, as well as the steps taken by management to report such risks; |
| reviewing the effectiveness of the internal control systems for monitoring compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
| assessing the qualifications and independence of the external auditor and being directly responsible for the appointment, compensation, retention and oversight of the work of any registered public accounting firm engaged (including resolution of disagreements between management of Algoma and the auditor regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or performing other audit, review or attest services for Algoma; |
| obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the external auditor describing (a) the external auditors internal quality-control procedures and (b) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the external auditors firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues; |
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| reviewing the scope, plan and results of the external auditors audit and reviews, including the auditors engagement letter, the post-audit management letter, if any, and the form of the audit report, and reviewing the scope and plan of the work to be done by the internal audit group and the responsibilities, budget, audit plan, activities, organizational structure and staffing of the internal audit group as needed; |
| setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
| identifying and informing the board of matters that may significantly impact on the financial condition or affairs of the business, including irregularities in Algomas business administration, and, where applicable, suggesting corrective measures to the board; |
| reviewing the quality and integrity of Algomas financial reporting processes, both internal and external, in consultation with the external auditor; |
| developing and recommending to the board for approval policies and procedures for the review, approval or ratification of related party transactions, overseeing the implementation of and compliance with the such policies regarding related party transactions and reviewing and approving all related party transactions required to be disclosed pursuant to applicable rules prior to us entering into such transactions; |
| reviewing with management, the external auditors, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters as the committee or the board deems necessary or appropriate, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by applicable accounting boards, the SEC or other regulatory authorities; |
| establishing and overseeing the effectiveness of procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by Algoma relating to accounting, auditing matters, internal accounting controls or the management of our business under Algomas whistleblower policy, including the confidential, anonymous submission by employees of Algoma of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters; and |
| performing any other activities as the Committee or the board deems necessary or appropriate. |
Human Resources and Compensation Committee
We maintain a human resources and compensation committee consisting of at least three independent directors.
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Our human resources and compensation committee consists of three directors, each of whom is independent within the meaning of the Nasdaq corporate governance rules, National Policy 58-201 Corporate Governance Guidelines and the Exchange Act (collectively, the Applicable Rules), and each of whom satisfies any additional compensation committee membership requirements of the Applicable Rules. The members of our human resources and compensation committee are Messrs. Schultz, Gouin and Pratt. Mr. Schultz serves as the chairperson of the committee. In affirmatively determining the independence of any director who serves on the human resources and compensation committee, the board considered all factors specifically relevant to determining whether a director has a relationship to Algoma which is material to that directors ability to be independent from management in connection with the duties of a committee member, including, but not limited to: (i) the source of compensation of such director, including any consulting, advisory or other compensatory fee paid by Algoma to such director; and (ii) whether such director is affiliated with Algoma, a subsidiary of Algoma or an affiliate of a subsidiary of Algoma.
Each member of the human resources and compensation committee has direct experience relevant to his responsibilities in executive compensation.
Our board of directors has adopted a human resources and compensation committee charter setting forth the responsibilities of the committee, which are consistent with the Applicable Rules and include:
| reviewing and making recommendations to the board with respect to the compensation of directors of Algoma; |
| reviewing and making recommendations to the board with respect to the corporate goals and objectives relevant to the compensation of the Chief Executive Officer and evaluating the Chief Executive Officers performance in light of those goals and objectives; |
| reviewing and making recommendations to the board with respect to the compensation of the Chief Executive Officer and, based on the recommendation of the Chief Executive Officer, the other members of the executive management group, including salary, incentive compensation plans, equity-based plans, the terms of any employment agreements, severance arrangements and change of control arrangements or provisions, and any special or supplemental benefits; |
| recommending awards under the incentive compensation and equity-based compensation plans of Algoma; and |
| from time to time, as appropriate, reviewing Algomas policies on salary administration, pay and employment equity, basic incentive and total cash compensation, retirement benefits, and long-term incentives and recommending changes to the board if appropriate. |
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Nominating and Governance Committee
We maintain a nominating and governance committee consisting of at least three independent directors.
Our nominating and governance committee consists of three directors, each of whom is independent within the meaning of the Applicable Rules, and each of whom satisfies any additional nominating and governance committee membership requirements of the Applicable Rules. The members of our nominating and governance committee are Gale Rubenstein, Eric Rosenfeld and Mary Anne Bueschkens. Ms. Rubenstein serves as the chairperson of the committee.
Our board of directors has adopted a nominating and governance committee charter setting forth the responsibilities of the committee, which are consistent with the Applicable Rules and include:
| reporting to the chair of the board with an assessment of the boards and managements performance; |
| considering recommendations from the Chief Executive Officer concerning the hiring and termination of senior executives, and ensuring that the Chief Executive Officer engages senior management with the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience to manage Algomas affairs in a sound and responsible manner; |
| seeking individuals qualified (in the context of the needs of Algoma, any formal criteria established by the board and any obligations under Algomas contractual arrangements) to become members of the board for recommendation to the board; |
| reviewing the competencies, skills and personal qualities required of board members, as a whole, in light of relevant factors, including (i) the objective of adding value to Algoma in light of the opportunities and risks facing Algoma and Algomas strategies; (ii) the need to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that a majority of the board is comprised of individuals who meet the independence requirements of the applicable regulatory, stock exchange and securities law requirements or other guidelines; and (iii) any policies of the board with respect to board member diversity, tenure, retirement and succession and board member commitments; and |
| reviewing the appropriateness of the governance practices of Algoma and recommending any proposed changes to the board for approval. |
Disclosure Committee
We maintain a disclosure committee consisting of Algomas Chief Executive Officer (Michael Garcia), Chief Financial Officer (Rajat Marwah), Vice President Strategy & General Counsel (John Naccarato), and such other members of senior management o