UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016

or

For the transition period from __________ to __________

Commission File Number: 1-7677

 

LSB INDUSTRIES, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

 

 

 

Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (405) 235-4546

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

 

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.  ☐    Yes  ☒    No

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.  ☐    Yes  ☒    No

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required 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 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 if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company.  See definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).  ☐    Yes  ☒    No

The aggregate market value of the Registrant’s voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the Registrant, computed by reference to the price at which the voting common stock was last sold as of June 30, 2016, was approximately $246 million.  As a result, the Registrant is an accelerated filer as of December 31, 2016.  For purposes of this computation, shares of the Registrant’s common stock beneficially owned by each executive officer and director of the Registrant were deemed to be owned by affiliates of the Registrant as of June 30, 2016.  Such determination should not be deemed an admission that such executive officers and directors of our common stock are, in fact, affiliates of the Registrant or affiliates as of the date of this Form 10-K.

As of February 17, 2017, the Registrant had 28,405,883 shares of common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Registrant’s proxy statement for its annual meeting of stockholders will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the end of its 2016 fiscal year, are incorporated by reference in Part III.

 

 

 

 

 

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PART I

ITEM 1.  BUSINESS

Our Company

All references to "LSB Industries,” “LSB,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to LSB Industries, Inc. and its subsidiaries, except where the context makes clear that the reference is only to LSB Industries, Inc. itself and not its subsidiaries. Notes referenced throughout this document refer to consolidated financial statement footnote disclosures that are found in Item 8.

The Company was formed in 1968 as an Oklahoma corporation and became a Delaware corporation in 1977. We are a manufacturer and distributor of nitrogen fertilizer and other nitrogen products principally in North America. Our principal customers are cooperatives, independent fertilizer distributors, farmers and industrial users. Our principal nitrogen products are:

We manufacture and distribute our products in four facilities: three owned facilities located in El Dorado, Arkansas (the “El Dorado Facility”), Cherokee, Alabama (the “Cherokee Facility”), and Pryor, Oklahoma (the “Pryor Facility”), and one facility we operate on behalf of Covestro AG (“Covestro”) in Baytown, Texas (the “Baytown Facility”).

The following table summarizes net sales information relating to our products:

 

 

Prior to July 1, 2016, we manufactured and sold a range of heating, ventilation and air conditioning products and related services (the “Climate Control Business”). These products were primarily used in commercial, institutional and residential new building construction and renovations. On July 1, 2016, we sold the Climate Control Business for a total of $364 million before customary adjustments set forth in the Stock Purchase Agreement, as detailed more fully in Item 7 of this report.

For information regarding revenues, operating profits or losses and total assets for the Company for the past three fiscal years, see the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this report.

Strategy

We pursue a strategy of balancing the sale of product as fertilizer into the agriculture markets at spot prices and developing industrial and mining customers that purchase substantial quantities of products, primarily under contractual obligations and/or pricing arrangements that provide for the pass through of raw material and other manufacturing costs.  We believe that this product and market diversification strategy allows us to have consistent levels of production and helps mitigate the volatility risk inherent in the prices of our raw material feedstocks and/or the changes in demand for our products.  For 2016, approximately 54% of our sales were to the industrial and mining markets and approximately 44% of our sales were to the agricultural markets, primarily at the market price at the time of sale.

The strategy of developing industrial and mining customers is to moderate the risk inherent in the agricultural markets where spot sales prices of our agricultural products may not have a correlation to the natural gas feedstock costs but rather reflect market conditions for like and competing nitrogen sources.  This volatility of sales pricing in our agricultural products can compromise our ability to recover our full cost to produce the product in this market.  Additionally, the lack of sufficient non-seasonal agricultural sales volume to operate our manufacturing facilities at optimum levels can preclude us from balancing production and storage capabilities.  Looking forward, we are pursuing profitable growth.  Our strategy calls for continued emphasis on the agricultural sector, while remaining committed to further developing industrial customers who assume the volatility risk associated with the raw material costs and mitigate the effects of seasonality in the agricultural sector.

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Our strategy also includes evaluating investment in expansion projects, along with reliability and efficiency improvement projects, that we believe will generate the best returns for our stockholders taking into consideration the risk and return on investment.  This strategy motivated our decision to build the ammonia plant at the El Dorado Facility and to construct a new nitric acid plant and concentrator at the El Dorado Facility.  All three projects have been completed.  We believe that we will benefit from these projects through reduced feedstock costs, expanded capacity, improved efficiency and enhanced product mix flexibility.

Key Initiatives for 2017

We believe our future results of operations and financial condition will depend significantly on our ability to successfully implement the following key initiatives:

We may not successfully implement any or all of these initiatives.  Even if we successfully implement the initiatives, they may not achieve the beneficial results that we expect or desire.

Market Conditions

As discussed in more detail under “Key Industry Factors” of “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” (“MD&A”) contained in Item 7 of this report, agricultural fertilizer demand is a significant driver of our sales volumes.  This demand is influenced by the number of acres planted of crops, principally corn, that require fertilizer to grow and to enhance yield.  Corn prices affect the number of acres of corn planted in a given year, and the number of acres planted will influence nitrogen fertilizer consumption, likely affecting ammonia, UAN and urea prices.  Weather also has an effect on fertilizer application and consumption.  

The 2016 corn crop produced 15.1 billion bushels with an average yield of 174.6 bushels per acre, increases of approximately 11% and 4% respectively compared to 2015.  This increase in production and yield has increased 2016 ending stocks of corn to record levels.  However, current estimates call for a reduction in 2017 corn acres planted of approximately 3 million acres to between 90 to 91 million acres. We believe that combined with the United States (“U.S.”) continuing to be a net exporter of corn in 2017, should reduce the stocks-to-use ratios and have a positive impact on the price of corn. As a result, the fundamentals are positive for nitrogen fertilizers that are necessary to grow and enhance the yield per acre for most major crops.

In our industrial markets, our sales volumes are typically driven by changes in general economic conditions, energy prices, and our contractual arrangements with certain large customers. Our mining products are generally sold into the coal, metals and mineral mining and aggregates markets with the majority of those sales being sold into the coal markets.  As such, U.S. annual coal production will drive sale volumes of our mining products and over the past several years, U.S. coal production has been negatively impacted by low natural gas prices among other things. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (“EIA”) reported, that annual coal production

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for 2016 was estimated to be down 17% from 2015.  However, they are estimating annual coal production to increase 7% for 2017 and remain stable into 2018 which should provide better market conditions for the sales of our mining products. In addition, the metals and mineral mining markets have been and continue to be negatively impacted by commodity price decreases which have curtailed their activity and negatively impacted our sales into that market.

Natural gas is the basic feedstock for the production of ammonia and therefore natural gas prices have a significant impact on the production cost of our ammonia.  Given the current relatively low price of natural gas in North America and the expectation that pricing of natural gas will remain relatively low for the foreseeable future, North American ammonia producers are the low-cost producers of ammonia that is consumed in North America and the expectation is that will continue.

That low cost of production led to a number of new announced brownfield and greenfield nitrogen expansion projects in the U.S. Many of those projects have now been cancelled or put on hold.  However, a number of the announced expansion projects have either been completed and begun production or are under construction and will go into production during 2017. These expansion projects are expected to increase ammonia production in the U.S. by approximately 5 million tons annually in addition to expansion of other upgraded nitrogen products.  This additional domestic ammonia and other upgraded product production is expected to replace product that is currently being imported into North America.  However, the amount and timing of new nitrogen production could have a negative effect on selling prices of nitrogen based products in 2017.

Agricultural Products

We produce UAN, HDAN, and ammonia, all of which are nitrogen-based fertilizers.  Farmers and ranchers decide which type of nitrogen-based fertilizer to apply based on the crop planted, soil and weather conditions, regional farming practices and relative nitrogen fertilizer prices.  Our agricultural markets include a high concentration of pastureland and row crops, which favor our products.  We sell these agricultural products to farmers, ranchers, fertilizer dealers and distributors primarily in the ranch land and grain production markets in the U.S.  We develop our market position in these areas by emphasizing high quality products, customer service and technical advice.  During the past few years, we have been successful in expanding outside our traditional markets by delivering to distributors on the Tennessee and Ohio rivers by barge, and by delivering to certain Western States by rail.  

Our agricultural business establishes long-term relationships with wholesale agricultural distributors and retailers and also sells directly to agricultural end-users through our network of 11 wholesale and retail distribution centers. In addition, we have an agreement with a third-party purchaser (Coffeyville Resources Nitrogen Fertilizers, LLC, “CVR”), to market and sell a portion of our UAN.  Demand for sales under this agreement is based on the expected needs of the purchaser’s customers.  The agreement provides the exclusive right (but not the obligation) to purchase, at market prices, substantially all of the UAN produced at the Pryor Facility in excess of the needs of the Pryor Facility or its affiliates up to 30,000 tons per year.  The term of the agreement runs through June 2019 with annual renewal options, but may be terminated earlier by either party pursuant to the terms of the agreement.  See our discussion above concerning broadening the distribution of our AN products under “Key Initiatives for 2017”.

We sell most of our agricultural products at the current spot market price in effect at the time of shipment, although we periodically enter into forward sales commitments for some of these products.  Sales of our industrial and mining products are generally made to customers pursuant to sales contracts or pricing arrangements on terms that include the cost of raw material feedstock as a pass-through component in the sales price.  These contractual sales stabilize the effect of commodity cost changes and fluctuations in demand for these products due to the cyclicality of the end markets.

Industrial Acids and Other Chemical Products

We manufacture and sell industrial acids and other chemical products primarily to the polyurethane, paper, fibers, emission control, and electronics industries.  In addition, we produce and sell blended and regular nitric acid and industrial and high purity ammonia for many specialty applications, including the reduction of air emissions from power plants. In addition, in November 2015, one of our subsidiaries, El Dorado Chemical Company (“EDC”) and Koch Fertilizer entered into an ammonia purchase and sale agreement under which Koch Fertilizer agreed to purchase, with minimum purchase requirements, the ammonia that is in excess of EDC’s internal needs as the result of the El Dorado expansion project completed in the second quarter of 2016.  We began selling ammonia under this agreement during June 2016.

We operate the Baytown Facility on behalf of Covestro and we believe it is one of the newest, largest and most technologically advanced nitric acid manufacturing units in the U.S.  The majority of the Baytown Facility’s production is sold to Covestro pursuant to a long-term contract (the “Covestro Agreement”). This agreement: (a) allows us to pass-through most of the costs of producing the nitric acid that Covestro purchases, including the cost of ammonia; (b) to receive management fees for managing the operations and marketing nitric acid at the Baytown Facility and; (c) to receive a portion of any carbon credits that are sold. The term of this agreement runs until June 2021 with options for renewal.

Our industrial business competes based upon service, price and location of production and distribution sites, product quality and performance and provides inventory management as part of the value-added services offered to certain customers.  See our discussion above concerning broadening the distribution of our Nitric Acid products under “Key Initiatives for 2017”.

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Mining Products

Our mining products are LDAN and AN solution.  We sell LDAN and AN solution directly to explosive distributors, mining companies and aggregate companies who sell into the coal mining, metals mining and construction industries.  We have signed long-term contracts with customers that provide for the sale of LDAN of approximately 70,000 tons per year under various natural gas-cost-plus-a-fixed-dollar-amount pricing arrangements.    

Dependence on Limited Number of Customers

As discussed in various risk factors under Item 1A, historically, we have relied on a limited number of customers. Information relating to our significant customers for each of the last three years appears in Note 1 to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this report.

Raw Materials

The products we manufacture are primarily derived from natural gas and ammonia.  These raw material feedstocks are commodities and subject to price fluctuations.

Natural gas is the primary raw material for producing ammonia, UAN and other products at our El Dorado, Cherokee and Pryor Facilities. When operating at optimum on-stream rates, the El Dorado Facility would purchase approximately 15.5 million MMBtus to produce approximately 450,000 tons of ammonia; the Cherokee Facility would purchase approximately 6 million MMBtus of natural gas per year in order to produce approximately 180,000 tons of ammonia; and the Pryor Facility would purchase approximately 7 million MMBtus of natural gas to produce approximately 235,000 tons of ammonia.

The chemical facilities’ natural gas feedstock requirements are generally purchased at spot market price.  Periodically, we enter into volume purchase commitments and/or futures/forward contracts to lock in the cost of certain of the expected natural gas requirements.  As of December 31, 2016, we had volume purchase commitments with a fixed cost for natural gas of approximately 2.4 million MMBtus at an average cost of $3.20 per MMBtu. These commitments are for firm purchases during the first quarter of 2017 and represent approximately 41% of our total exposed natural gas usage required for that period.  In January 2017, we increased our volume purchase commitments with a fixed cost for natural gas to approximately 3.4 million MMBtus at an average cost of $3.28 per MMBtu. With the additional commitments, which now extend through June 2017, we have approximately 53% of our total exposed natural gas usage requirements at an average price of $3.28 for the first quarter of 2017 and 20% of our total exposed natural gas usage requirements at an average price of $3.35 for the second quarter of 2017.

The Baytown Facility normally purchases approximately 135,000 tons of ammonia per year. However, under our long-term contract for that facility, we pass through the full cost of the ammonia leaving us with no exposure to ammonia price fluctuations.

See further discussion relating to the outlook for our business under “Key Industry Factors” in our MD&A contained in this report.

Seasonality

We believe fertilizer products sold to the agricultural industry are seasonal while sales into the industrial and mining sectors generally are not.  The selling seasons for agricultural products are primarily during the spring and fall planting seasons, which typically extend from March through June and from September through November in the geographical markets in which the majority of our agricultural products are distributed.  As a result, we typically increase our inventory of fertilizer products prior to the beginning of each planting season in order to meet the demand for our products.  In addition, the amount and timing of sales to the agricultural markets depend upon weather conditions and other circumstances beyond our control.

Regulatory Matters

We are subject to extensive federal, state and local environmental laws, rules and regulations as discussed under “Environmental, Health and Safety Matters" of this Item 1 and various risk factors under Item 1A.

Competition

We operate in a highly competitive market with many other larger chemical companies, such as Agrium Inc., CF Industries Holdings, Inc., Chemtrade Logistics Inc., CVR Partners, LP, OCI Partners LP, Dyno Nobel, The Gavilon Group, Helm AG, Koch Industries, Norfalco, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, Praxair, Inc., Quad Chemical Corporation, Trammo Inc. and Yara International (some of whom are our customers), many of whom have greater financial and other resources than we do.  We believe that competition within the markets we serve is primarily based upon service, price, location of production and distribution sites, and product quality and performance.

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Additional Foreign and Domestic Operations and Export Sales

For each of the last three years, all of our net sales and long-lived assets relate to domestic operations. In addition, net sales to non-U.S. customers were minimal.

Employees

As of December 31, 2016, we employed 610 persons, 195 of whom are represented by unions under agreements that expire in July of 2018 through November of 2019.

Environmental, Health and Safety Matters

Our facilities and operations are subject to numerous federal, state and local environmental laws and to other laws regarding health and safety matters (the “Environmental and Health Laws”). In particular, the manufacture, production and distribution of our products are activities that entail environmental and public health risks and impose obligations under the Environmental and Health Laws, many of which provide for certain performance obligations, substantial fines and criminal sanctions for violations. Certain Environmental and Health Laws impose strict liability as well as joint and several liability for costs required to remediate and restore sites where hazardous substances, hydrocarbons or solid wastes have been stored or released. We may be required to remediate contaminated properties currently or formerly owned or operated by us or facilities of third parties that received waste generated by our operations regardless of whether such contamination resulted from the conduct of others or from consequences of our own actions that were in compliance with all applicable laws at the time those actions were taken. In connection with certain acquisitions, we could acquire, or be required to provide indemnification against, environmental liabilities that could expose us to material losses. In certain instances, citizen groups also have the ability to bring legal proceedings against us if we are not in compliance with environmental laws, or to challenge our ability to receive environmental permits that we need to operate. In addition, claims for damages to persons or property, including natural resources, may result from the environmental, health and safety effects of our operations.

There can be no assurance that we will not incur material costs or liabilities in complying with such laws or in paying fines or penalties for violation of such laws.  Our insurance may not cover all environmental risks and costs or may not provide sufficient coverage if an environmental claim is made against us. The Environmental and Health Laws and enforcement policies thereunder have in the past resulted, and could in the future result, in significant compliance expenses, cleanup costs (for our sites or third-party sites where our wastes were disposed of), penalties or other liabilities relating to the handling, manufacture, use, emission, discharge or disposal of hazardous or toxic materials at or from our facilities or the use or disposal of certain of its chemical products.  Historically, our subsidiaries have incurred significant expenditures in order to comply with the Environmental and Health Laws and are reasonably expected to do so in the future. We will also be obligated to manage certain discharge water outlets and monitor groundwater contaminants at our chemical facilities should we discontinue the operations of a facility.  

Available Information

We file or furnish annual, quarterly and current reports and other documents with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (as amended, the “Exchange Act”). The public may read and copy any materials that we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E, Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0030. Also, the SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers, including us, that file electronically with the SEC. The public can obtain any documents we file with the SEC at www.sec.gov.  

We also make available free of charge through our Internet website (www.lsbindustries.com) our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and, if applicable, amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. In addition to the reports filed or furnished with the SEC, we publicly disclose material information from time to time in press releases, at annual meetings of stockholders, in publicly accessible conferences and investor presentations, and through our website.  The information included in our website does not constitute part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

ITEM 1A.  RISK FACTORS

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service our debt and may be required to take other actions to satisfy the obligations under our debt agreements or to redeem our preferred stock, which may not be successful.

Our ability to make scheduled payments on our debt obligations and on our redemption obligations for the Series E cumulative redeemable Class C preferred stock (“Series E Redeemable Preferred”) depends on our financial condition and operating performance, prevailing economic and competitive conditions, and certain financial, business and other factors, some of which may be beyond our control. We may not be able to maintain a level of cash flows sufficient to pay the principal and interest on our debt, including the

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$375 million principal amount of our Senior Secured Notes (the “Senior Secured Notes”), or if and when applicable, the outstanding amount of the Working Capital Revolver Loan or to pay the cumulative dividends and redemption payment on the Series E Redeemable Preferred should the holder choose to redeem it.

If cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt, dividend or preferred stock redemption obligations, we could face substantial liquidity problems and will need to seek additional capital through the issuance of debt, the issuance of equity, asset sales or a combination of the foregoing. If we are unsuccessful, we will need to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures, or to dispose of other assets or operations, seek additional capital, or restructure or refinance debt or redeemable equity. These alternative measures may not be successful, may not be completed on economically attractive terms, or may not be adequate for us to meet our debt or preferred stock redemption obligations when due. Additionally, our debt agreements and the operating agreements associated with our Series E Redeemable Preferred limit the use of the proceeds from many dispositions of assets or operations. As a result, we may not be permitted to use the proceeds from these dispositions to satisfy our debt or preferred stock redemption obligations.

Further, if we suffer or appear to suffer from a lack of available liquidity, the evaluation of our creditworthiness by counterparties and rating agencies and the willingness of third parties to do business with us could be materially and adversely affected. In particular, our credit ratings could be lowered, suspended or withdrawn entirely at any time by the rating agencies.  Downgrades in our long-term debt ratings generally cause borrowing costs to increase and the potential pool of investors and funding sources to decrease and could trigger liquidity demands pursuant to the terms of contracts, leases or other agreements. Any future transactions by us, including the issuance of additional debt, the sale of any operating assets, or any other transaction to manage our liquidity, could result in temporary or permanent downgrades of our credit ratings.

We may pursue various transactions and initiatives to address our highly leveraged balance sheet and significant cash flow requirements.

If our existing financing sources are insufficient for our financing needs, or if we are unable to refinance debt and redemption obligations as they become due, we may be required to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures, dispose of assets or operations, seek additional capital, restructure or refinance debt, or undertake a combination of some or all of these. Any transactions and initiatives that we may pursue may have significant adverse effects on our business, capital structure, ownership, liquidity, credit ratings and results of operations. These measures may not be successful, may not produce the desired outcome if completed, may not be completed on economically attractive terms, and may not be adequate for us to meet our debt or redemption obligations when due. This could ultimately adversely affect us, our debtholders, and our shareholders in a material manner.

Despite continuing investment to upgrade and replace equipment on an ongoing basis, the age of our chemical manufacturing facilities increases the risk for unplanned downtime, which may be significant.

Our business is comprised of operating units of various ages and levels of automated control. While we have continued to make significant annual capital improvements, potential age or control related issues have occurred in the past and may occur in the future, which could cause damage to the equipment and ancillary facilities. As a result, we have experienced and may continue to experience additional downtime at our chemical facilities in the future.

The equipment required for the manufacture of our products is specialized, and the time for replacement of such equipment can be lengthy, resulting in extended downtime in the affected unit. Although we use various reliability and inspection programs and maintain a significant inventory of spare equipment, which are intended to mitigate the extent of production losses, unplanned outages may still occur. As a result, these planned and unplanned downtime events at our chemical facilities have in the past and could in the future adversely affect our operating results, liquidity and financial condition.

LSB is a holding company and depends, in large part, on receiving funds from its subsidiaries to fund our indebtedness.

Because LSB is a holding company and operations are conducted through its subsidiaries, LSB’s ability to meet its obligations depends, in large part, on the operating performance and cash flows of its subsidiaries and the ability of its subsidiaries to make distributions and pay dividends to LSB.

Our substantial level of indebtedness, including dividend requirements relating to our preferred stock, could limit our financial and operating activities, and adversely affect our ability to incur additional debt to fund future needs.

We currently have a substantial amount of indebtedness and dividend requirements relating to our preferred stock.  As a result, this level could, among other things:

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Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our operating results, financial condition, and liquidity.

Our debt agreements and our preferred stock contain covenants and restrictions that limit flexibility in operating our businesses. A breach of these covenants or restrictions could result in an event of default under one or more of our debt agreements or contracts at different entities within our capital structure, including as a result of cross acceleration or default provisions.

Our debt agreements and our preferred stock contain various covenants and other restrictions that, among other things, limit flexibility in operating our businesses. A breach of any of these covenants or restrictions could result in a significant portion of our debt becoming due and payable or could result in significant contractual liability. Our ability to comply with certain of our covenants and restrictions can be affected by events beyond our control. These covenants and other restrictions limit our ability to, among other things:

We have not paid dividends on our outstanding common stock in many years.

We have not paid cash dividends on our outstanding common stock in many years, and we do not currently anticipate paying cash dividends on our outstanding common stock in the near future.  Although our Board has not made a decision whether or not to pay dividends on our common stock in 2017, it is unlikely we will pay dividends on our common stock until we have repaid or refinanced our debt and our preferred stock.  In addition, there are certain limitations contained in our loan and securities purchase agreements that may limit our ability to pay dividends on our outstanding common stock.

Future issuances or potential issuances of our common stock or preferred equity could adversely affect the price of our common stock and our ability to raise funds in new stock offerings and could dilute the percentage ownership or voting power of our common stockholders.

Future sales of substantial amounts of our common stock, preferred stock or equity-related securities in the public market, or the issuance of a substantial amount of our common stock as the result of the exercise of our outstanding warrants, the conversion of our outstanding convertible preferred stocks, or the perception that such sales or conversions could occur, could adversely affect prevailing trading prices of our common stock and could dilute the value of common stock held by our existing stockholders.  No prediction can be made as to the effect, if any, that future sales of common stock, preferred stock, or equity-related securities, exercises of our warrants or conversions of, our outstanding preferred stocks into shares of common stock, or the availability of shares of common stock for future sale will have on the trading price of our common stock.  Such future sales, exercises, or conversions could also significantly reduce the percentage ownership and voting power of our existing common stockholders.

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Deterioration of global market and economic conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

A slowdown of, or persistent weakness in, economic activity caused by a deterioration of global market and economic conditions could adversely affect our business in the following ways, among others: conditions in the credit markets could impact the ability of our customers and their customers to obtain sufficient credit to support their operations; the failure of our customers to fulfill their purchase obligations could result in increases in bad debts and affect our working capital; and the failure of certain key suppliers could increase our exposure to disruptions in supply or to financial losses. We also may experience declining demand and falling prices for some of our products due to our customers’ reluctance to replenish inventories. The overall impact of a global economic downturn on us is difficult to predict, and our business could be materially adversely impacted.

In addition, conditions in the international market for nitrogen fertilizer significantly influence our operating results. The international market for fertilizers is influenced by such factors as the relative value of the U.S. currency and its impact on the importation of fertilizers, foreign agricultural policies, the existence of, or changes in, import or foreign currency exchange barriers in certain foreign markets and other regulatory policies of foreign governments, as well as the U.S. laws and policies affecting foreign trade and investment.

Seasonality can adversely affect our business

If seasonal demand is less than we expect, we may be left with excess inventory that will have to be stored (in which case our results of operations will be negatively affected by any related increased storage costs) or liquidated (in which case the selling price may be below our production, procurement and storage costs). The risks associated with excess inventory and product shortages are exacerbated by the volatility of natural gas and nitrogen fertilizer prices and the relatively brief periods during which farmers can apply nitrogen fertilizers. If prices for our products rapidly decrease, we may be subject to inventory write-downs, adversely affecting our operating results. If seasonal demand is greater than we expect, we may experience product shortages, and customers of ours may turn to our competitors for products that they would otherwise have purchased from us.

Ammonia can be very volatile and extremely hazardous. Any liability for accidents involving ammonia or other products we produce or transport that cause severe damage to property or injury to the environment and human health could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions. In addition, the costs of transporting ammonia could increase significantly in the future.

We manufacture, process, store, handle, distribute and transport ammonia, which can be very volatile and extremely hazardous. Major accidents or releases involving ammonia could cause severe damage or injury to property, the environment and human health, as well as a possible disruption of supplies and markets. Such an event could result in civil lawsuits, fines, penalties and regulatory enforcement proceedings, all of which could lead to significant liabilities. Any damage to persons, equipment or property or other disruption of our ability to produce or distribute our products could result in a significant decrease in operating revenues and significant additional cost to replace or repair and insure our assets, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. We periodically experience minor releases of ammonia related to leaks from our equipment. Similar events may occur in the future.

In addition, we may incur significant losses or costs relating to the operation of our railcars used for the purpose of carrying various products, including ammonia. Due to the dangerous and potentially toxic nature of the cargo, in particular ammonia, on board railcars, a railcar accident may result in fires, explosions and pollution. These circumstances may result in sudden, severe damage or injury to property, the environment and human health. In the event of pollution, we may be held responsible even if we are not at fault and we complied with the laws and regulations in effect at the time of the accident.  Litigation arising from accidents involving ammonia and other products we produce or transport may result in our being named as a defendant in lawsuits asserting claims for large amounts of damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

A major factor underlying the current high level of demand for our nitrogen-based fertilizer products is the production of ethanol. A decrease in ethanol production, an increase in ethanol imports or a shift away from corn as a principal raw material used to produce ethanol could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.

A major factor underlying the solid level of demand for our nitrogen-based fertilizer products is the production of ethanol in the United States and the use of corn in ethanol production. Ethanol production in the United States is highly dependent upon a myriad of federal statutes and regulations, and is made significantly more competitive by various federal and state incentives and mandated usage of renewable fuels pursuant to the federal renewable fuel standards (“RFS”). To date, the RFS has been satisfied primarily with fuel ethanol blended into gasoline. However, a number of factors, including the continuing “food versus fuel” debate and studies showing that expanded ethanol usage may increase the level of greenhouse gases in the environment as well as be unsuitable for small engine use, have resulted in calls to reduce subsidies for ethanol, allow increased ethanol imports and to repeal or waive (in whole or in part) the current RFS, any of which could have an adverse effect on corn-based ethanol production, planted corn acreage and

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fertilizer demand. Therefore, ethanol incentive programs may not be renewed, or if renewed, they may be renewed on terms significantly less favorable to ethanol producers than current incentive programs.

There are a number of important limitations and exceptions to the covenants and restrictions contained in our debt agreements and our preferred stock.

In addition, certain failures to make payments on significant contract obligations when due constitute a cross-default of some of our debt instruments, including the indenture governing our Senior Secured Notes (the “Senior Secured Notes Indenture”). A breach of any of these covenants or restrictions could result in an event of default under one or more of our debt agreements at different entities within our capital structure, including as a result of cross acceleration or default provisions. Upon the occurrence of an event of default under one of these debt agreements, our lenders or noteholders could elect to declare all amounts outstanding under that debt agreement to be immediately due and payable and/or terminate all commitments to extend further credit. Such actions by those lenders or noteholders could cause cross defaults or accelerations under our other debt. If we were unable to repay those amounts, the lenders or noteholders could proceed against any collateral granted to them to secure such debt. In the case of a default under debt that is guaranteed, holders of such debt could also seek to enforce the guarantees. If lenders or noteholders accelerate the repayment of all borrowings, we would likely not have sufficient assets and funds to repay those borrowings. Such occurrence could result in our or our applicable subsidiary going into bankruptcy, liquidation or insolvency.

Our business and customers are sensitive to adverse economic cycles.

Our business can be affected by cyclical factors such as inflation, currency exchange rates, global energy policy and costs, global market conditions and economic downturns in specific industries. Certain sales are sensitive to the level of activity in the agricultural, mining, automotive and housing industries. Further, material economic changes that adversely affect our natural gas working interests or lower natural gas prices may require us to write down the carrying value of our natural gas working interests. Therefore, substantial changes could adversely affect our operating results, liquidity, financial condition and capital resources.

Weather conditions adversely affect our business.

The agricultural products produced and sold by us have been in the past, and could be in the future, materially affected by adverse weather conditions (such as excessive rain or drought) in the primary markets for our fertilizer and related agricultural products.  Some scientists have concluded that increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere may produce climate changes that have significant physical effects, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, droughts and floods and other climatic events.  These climate changes might also occur as the result of other phenomena that human activity is unable to influence, including changes in solar activity and volcanic activity.  Regardless of the cause, if any of these unusual weather events occur during the primary seasons for sales of our agricultural products (March-June and September-November), this could have a material adverse effect on our agricultural sales and our financial condition and results of operations.

There is intense competition in the markets we serve.

Substantially all of the markets in which we participate are highly competitive with respect to product quality, price, distribution, service, and reliability. We compete with many companies, domestic and foreign, that have greater financial, marketing and other resources.  Specifically, the overall nitrogen market is expected to be affected as a result of the number of announced and started nitrogen expansion projects in the U.S.  Competitive factors could require us to reduce prices or increase spending on product development, marketing and sales, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition.

We compete with many U.S. producers and producers in other countries, including state-owned and government-subsidized entities. Some competitors have greater total resources and are less dependent on earnings from chemical sales, which make them less vulnerable to industry downturns and better positioned to pursue new expansion and development opportunities. Our competitive position could suffer to the extent we are not able to expand our own resources sufficiently either through investments in new or existing operations or through acquisitions, joint ventures or partnerships. An inability to compete successfully could result in the loss of customers, which could adversely affect our sales and profitability.

A substantial portion of our sales are dependent upon a limited number of customers.

For 2016, six customers accounted for approximately 39% of our consolidated net sales.  One of these customers is Covestro, which sales are pursuant to the Covestro Agreement under which one of our subsidiaries operates a nitric plant located within Covestro’s chemical manufacturing complex as discussed above under Industrial Acids and Other Chemical Products of Item 1 - Business. This agreement: (a) allows us to pass-through most of the costs of producing the nitric acid that Covestro purchases, including the cost of ammonia; (b) to receive management fees for managing the operations and marketing nitric acid at the Baytown Facility and; (c) to receive a portion of any carbon credits that are sold.  The loss of, or a material reduction in purchase levels by, one or more of these

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customers could have a material adverse effect on our business and our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity if we are unable to replace a customer with other sales on substantially similar terms.

Cost and the lack of availability of raw materials could materially affect our profitability and liquidity.

Our sales and profits are heavily affected by the costs and availability of primary raw materials.  These primary raw materials are subject to considerable price volatility. Historically, when there have been rapid increases in the cost of these primary raw materials, we have sometimes been unable to timely increase our sales prices to cover all of the higher costs incurred. While we periodically enter into futures/forward contracts to economically hedge against price increases in certain of these raw materials, there can be no assurance that we will effectively manage against price fluctuations in those raw materials.

Natural gas represents the primary raw material feedstock in the production of most of our chemical products. Although we enter into contracts with certain customers that provide for the pass-through of raw material costs, we have a substantial amount of sales that do not provide for the pass-through of raw material costs. Also, the spot sales prices of our agricultural products may not correlate to the cost of natural gas but rather reflect market conditions for similar and competing nitrogen sources.  This lack of correlation can compromise our ability to recover our full cost to produce the products in this market. As a result, in the future, we may not be able to pass along to all of our customers the full amount of any increases in raw material costs.  Future price fluctuations in our raw materials may have an adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

We do not operate our natural gas working interest properties and have no, or very limited, ability to exercise influence over operations of these properties or their associated cost.

Additionally, we depend on certain vendors to deliver natural gas and other key components that are required in the production of our products.  Any disruption in the supply of natural gas and other key components could result in lost production or delayed shipments.

The price of natural gas in North America and worldwide has been volatile in recent years and has declined on average due in part to the development of significant natural gas reserves, including shale gas, and the rapid improvement in shale gas extraction techniques, such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. Future production of natural gas from shale formations could be reduced by regulatory changes that restrict drilling or hydraulic fracturing or increase its cost or by reduction in oil exploration and development prompted by lower oil prices and resulting in production of less associated gas. Additionally, increased demand for natural gas, particularly in the Gulf Coast Region, due to increased industrial demand and increased natural gas exports could result in increased natural gas prices.

We have suspended in the past, and could suspend in the future, production at our chemical facilities due to, among other things, the high cost or lack of availability of natural gas and other key components, which could adversely affect our competitiveness in the markets we serve. Accordingly, our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations could be materially affected in the future by the lack of availability of natural gas and other key components and increase costs relating to the purchase of natural gas and other key components.

We may have inadequate insurance.

While we maintain liability, property and business interruption insurance, including certain coverage for environmental contamination, it is subject to coverage limits and policies that may exclude coverage for some types of damages.  Although there may currently be sources from which such coverage may be obtained, the coverage may not continue to be available to us on commercially reasonable terms or the possible types of liabilities that may be incurred by us may not be covered by our insurance.  In addition, our insurance carriers may not be able to meet their obligations under the policies, or the dollar amount of the liabilities may exceed our policy limits. Even a partially uninsured claim, if successful and of significant magnitude, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

Furthermore, we are subject to litigation for which we could be obligated to bear legal, settlement and other costs, which may be in excess of any available insurance coverage. While we maintain insurance, there can be no assurance that our insurance will prove to be adequate. If we are required to incur all or a portion of the costs arising out of any litigation or investigation as a result of inadequate insurance proceeds, if any, our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity could be materially adversely affected.  For further discussion of our litigation, please see “Other Pending, Threatened or Settled Litigation” in Note 11 to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this report.

Loss of key personnel could negatively affect our business.

We believe that our performance has been and will continue to be dependent upon the efforts of our principal executive officers. We cannot promise that our principal executive officers will continue to be available. Although we have employment agreements with certain of our principal executive officers, including Jack E. Golsen, Daniel D. Greenwell, and Mark T. Behrman, we do not have employment agreements with all of our key personnel. The loss of some of our principal executive officers could have a material

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adverse effect on us. We believe that our future success will depend in large part on our continued ability to attract and retain highly skilled and qualified personnel.

Terrorist attacks and other acts of violence or war, and natural disasters (such as hurricanes, pandemic health crises, etc.), have negatively affected and could negatively affect U.S. and foreign companies, the financial markets, the industries where we operate, our operations and our profitability.

Terrorist attacks in the U.S and elsewhere and natural disasters (such as hurricanes or pandemic health crises) have in the past negatively affected, and can in the future negatively affect our operations.  We cannot predict further terrorist attacks and natural disasters in the U.S. and elsewhere.  These attacks or natural disasters have contributed to economic instability in the U.S. and elsewhere, and further acts of terrorism, violence, war or natural disasters could further affect the industries where we operate, our ability to purchase raw materials, our business, results of operations and financial condition.  In addition, terrorist attacks and natural disasters may directly affect our physical facilities, especially our chemical facilities, or those of our suppliers or customers and could affect our sales, our production capability and our ability to deliver products to our customers. In the past, hurricanes affecting the Gulf Coast of the U.S. have negatively affected our operations and those of our customers.  As previously noted, some scientists have concluded that increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere may produce climate changes that have significant physical effects, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, droughts and floods and other climatic events.  If any such effects, whether anthropogenic or otherwise, were to occur in areas where we or our clients operate, they could have in adverse effect on our assets and operations.  The consequences of any terrorist attacks or hostilities or natural disasters are unpredictable, and we may not be able to foresee events that could have an adverse effect on our operations.

Cyber security risks could adversely affect our business operations.

As we continue to increase our dependence on information technologies to conduct our operations, the risks associated with cyber security also increase. We rely on our enterprise resource planning software (“ERP”) and other information systems, among other things, to manage our manufacturing, supply chain, accounting and financial functions. This risk not only applies to us, but also to third parties on whose systems we place significant reliance for the conduct of our business. We have implemented security procedures and measures in order to protect our information from being vulnerable to theft, loss, damage or interruption from a number of potential sources or events. Although we believe these measures and procedures are appropriate, we may not have the resources or technical sophistication to anticipate, prevent, or recover from rapidly evolving types of cyber-attacks. Compromises to our information systems could have an adverse effect on our results of operations, liquidity and financial condition.

Our transportation and distribution activities rely on third party providers, which subject us to risks and uncertainties beyond our control that may adversely affect our operations.

We rely on railroad, trucking, pipeline and other transportation service providers to transport raw materials to our manufacturing facilities, to coordinate and deliver finished products to our storage and distribution system and our retail centers and to ship finished products to our customers. These transportation operations, equipment and services are subject to various hazards, including adverse operating conditions, extreme weather conditions, system failures, work stoppages, delays, accidents such as spills and derailments and other accidents and operating hazards.

In the event of a disruption of existing transportation or terminaling facilities for our products or raw materials, alternative transportation and terminaling facilities may not have sufficient capacity to fully serve all of our customers or facilities. An extended interruption in the delivery of our products to our customers or the supply of natural gas, ammonia or sulfur to our production facilities could adversely affect sales volumes and margins.

These transportation operations, equipment and services are also subject to environmental, safety, and regulatory oversight. Due to concerns related to accidents, terrorism or increasing concerns regarding transportation of potentially hazardous substances, local, provincial, state and federal governments could implement new regulations affecting the transportation of raw materials or our finished products. If transportation of our products is delayed or we are unable to obtain raw materials as a result of any third party’s failure to operate properly or the other hazards described above, or if new and more stringent regulatory requirements are implemented affecting transportation operations or equipment, or if there are significant increases in the cost of these services or equipment, our revenues and cost of operations could be adversely affected. In addition, we may experience increases in our transportation costs, or changes in such costs relative to transportation costs incurred by our competitors.

Future technological innovation could affect our business.

Future technological innovation, such as the development of seeds that require less crop nutrients, or developments in the application of crop nutrients, if they occur, could have the potential to adversely affect the demand for our products and results of operations.

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We are reliant on a limited number of key facilities.

Our fertilizer operations are concentrated in four separate complexes. The suspension of operations at any of these complexes could adversely affect our ability to produce our products and fulfill our commitments, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Moreover, our facilities may be subject to failure of equipment that may be difficult to replace and could result in operational disruptions.

Potential increase of imported agricultural products.

Russia and Ukraine both have substantial capacity to produce and export fertilizer grade AN. Producers in these countries also benefit from below-market prices for natural gas, due to government regulation and other factors. Historically, the U.S. Department of Commerce (“DOC”) has restrained AN imports from Russia and Ukraine with anti-dumping tariffs. On August 26, 2016, however, the DOC revoked these tariffs on Russian AN producers. As a result, we may face more substantial competition from Russian producers of fertilizer grade AN. Though anti-dumping tariffs on Ukrainian AN producers remain in effect, we cannot guarantee whether and for how long these tariffs will remain in place. If the Ukrainian tariff were to be revoked or modified, we could face more competition from Ukrainian AN producers.  

In addition, producers in China have substantial capacity to produce and export urea.  Depending on various factors, including prevailing prices from other exporters, the price of coal, and the price of China’s export tariff, higher volumes of urea from China could be imported into the U.S. at prices that could have an adverse effect on the selling prices of other nitrogen products, including the nitrogen products we manufacture and sell.  

Current and future legislative or regulatory requirements affecting our business may result in increased costs and decreased revenues, cash flows and liquidity or could have other negative effects on our business.

Our business is subject to numerous health, safety, security and environmental laws and regulations. The manufacture and distribution of chemical products are activities that entail health, safety and environmental risks and impose obligations under health, safety and environmental laws and regulations, many of which provide for substantial fines and potential criminal sanctions for violations. Although we believe we have established processes to monitor, review and manage our businesses to comply with the numerous health, safety and environmental laws and regulations, our business in the past has been, and in the future, may be, subject to fines, penalties and sanctions for violations and substantial expenditures for cleanup costs and other liabilities relating to the handling, manufacture, use, emission, discharge or disposal of effluents at or from our chemical facilities. Further, a number of our chemical facilities are dependent on environmental permits to operate, the loss or modification of which could have a material adverse effect on their operations and our results of operation and financial condition.  These operating permits are subject to modification, renewal and revocation. In addition, third parties may contest our ability to receive or renew certain permits that we need to operate, which can lengthen the application process or even prevent us from obtaining necessary permits.  We regularly monitor and review our operations, procedures and policies for compliance with permits, laws and regulations.  Despite these compliance efforts, risk of noncompliance or permit interpretation is inherent in the operation of our business.

The trend in environmental regulation is to place more restrictions and limitations on activities that may affect the environment over time.  As a result, there can be no assurance as to the amount or timing of future expenditures for environmental compliance or remediation, and actual future expenditures may be different from the amounts we currently anticipate.  We try to anticipate future regulatory requirements that might be imposed and plan accordingly to remain in compliance with changing environmental laws and regulations and to minimize the costs of compliance.

Changes to the production equipment at our chemical facilities that are required in order to comply with health, safety and environmental regulations may require substantial capital expenditures.

Explosions and/or losses at other chemical facilities that we do not own (such as the April 2013 explosion in West, Texas) could also result in new or additional legislation or regulatory changes, particularly relating to public health, safety or any of the products manufactured and/or sold by us or the inability on the part of our customers to obtain or maintain insurance as to certain products manufactured and/or sold by us, which could have a negative effect on our revenues, cash flow and liquidity.

In summary, new or changed laws and regulations or the inability of our customers to obtain or maintain insurance in connection with any of our chemical products could have an adverse effect on our operating results, liquidity and financial condition.

We may be required to modify or expand our operating, sales and reporting procedures and to install additional equipment in order to comply with current and possible future government regulations.

The chemical industry in general, and producers and distributors of ammonia and AN specifically, are scrutinized by the government, industry and public on security issues.  Under current and proposed regulations, we may be required to incur substantial additional costs relating to security at our chemical facilities and distribution centers, as well as in the transportation of our products.  These costs could have a material effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity.  The cost of such regulatory changes, if

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significant enough, could lead some of our customers to choose other products to ammonia and AN, which would have a significant adverse effect on our business.

The “Secure Handling of Ammonium Nitrate Act of 2007” was enacted by the U.S. Congress, and subsequently the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) published a notice of proposed rulemaking in 2011.  This regulation proposes to require sellers, buyers, their agents and transporters of solid AN and certain solid mixtures containing AN to possess a valid registration issued by DHS, keep certain records, report the theft or unexplained loss of regulated materials, and comply with certain other new requirements.  We and others affected by this proposal have submitted appropriate comments to DHS regarding the proposed regulation.  It is possible that DHS could significantly revise the requirements currently being proposed. Depending on the provisions of the final regulation to be promulgated by DHS and on our ability to pass these costs to our customers, these requirements may have a negative effect on the profitability of our AN business and may result in fewer distributors who are willing to handle the product.  DHS has not finalized this rule, and has indicated that its next action, and the timing of such an action, is undetermined.

On August 1, 2013, U.S. President Obama issued an executive order addressing the safety and security of chemical facilities in response to recent incidents involving chemicals such as the explosion at West, Texas.  The President directed federal agencies to enhance existing regulations and make recommendations to the U.S. Congress to develop new laws that may affect our business.  In January 2016, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (“CSB”) released its final report on the West, Texas incident.  The CSB report identifies several federal and state regulations and standards that could be strengthened to reduce the risk of a similar incident occurring in the future.  While the CSB does not have authority to directly regulate our business, the findings in this report, and other activities taken in response to the West, Texas incident by federal, state, and local regulators may result in additional regulation of our processes and products.

In January 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) finalized revisions to its Risk Management Program. The revisions include new requirements for certain facilities to perform hazard analyses, third-party auditing, incident investigations and root cause analyses, emergency response exercises, and to publicly share chemical and process information. Compliance with many of rule’s new requirements will be required beginning in 2021. The EPA has temporarily delayed the rule’s effect until March 21, 2017, and has indicated that it may further delay the rule’s implementation. These requirements may have a negative effect on the profitability of our AN business. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) is likewise considering changes to its Process Safety Management standards. In addition, DHS, the EPA, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives updated a joint chemical advisory on the safe storage, handling, and management of AN. While these actions may result in additional regulatory requirements or changes to our operators, it is difficult to predict at this time how these and any other possible regulations, if and when adopted, will affect our business, operations, liquidity or financial results.

Proposed and existing governmental laws and regulations relating to greenhouse gas and other air emissions may subject certain of our operations and customers to significant new costs and restrictions on their operations and may reduce sales of our products.

Our chemical manufacturing facilities use significant amounts of electricity, natural gas and other raw materials necessary for the production of their chemical products that result, or could result, in certain greenhouse gas emissions into the environment. Federal and state legislatures and administrative agencies, including the EPA, are considering the scope and scale of greenhouse gas or other air emission regulation. Legislation and administrative actions have been considered that would regulate greenhouse gas emissions at some point in the future for our facilities, and existing and possible actions have already affected certain of our customers, leading to closure or rate reductions of certain facilities.  

In response to findings that emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases present an endangerment to public health and the environment, the EPA has adopted regulations pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act to reduce greenhouse gases emissions from various sources. For example, the EPA requires certain large stationary sources to obtain preconstruction and operating permits for pollutants regulated under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration and Title V programs of the Clean Air Act. Facilities required to obtain preconstruction permits for such pollutants are also required to meet “best available control technology” standards that are being established by the states. These regulatory requirements could adversely affect our operations and restrict or delay our ability to obtain air permits for new or modified sources. The EPA has also instituted a mandatory greenhouse gas reporting requirement that began in 2010, which affects all of our chemical manufacturing sites. The EPA has also passed additional regulations that will affect our working interest in natural gas working interest properties. For example, in May 2016, the EPA finalized rules that establish new controls for emissions of methane and volatile organic compounds from new, modified or reconstructed sources in the oil and natural gas sector, including production, processing, transmission and storage activities. Compliance will require enhanced record-keeping practices, the purchase of new equipment, and increased frequency of maintenance and repair activities to address emissions leakage at certain well sites and compressor stations, and also may require hiring additional personnel to support these activities or the engagement of third party contractors to assist with and verify compliance.

Greenhouse gas regulation could: increase the price of the electricity and other energy sources purchased by our chemical facilities; increase costs for natural gas and other raw materials (such as ammonia); potentially restrict access to or the use of certain raw materials necessary to produce our chemical products; and require us to incur substantial expenditures to retrofit our chemical

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facilities to comply with the proposed new laws and regulations regulating greenhouse gas emissions, if adopted.  Federal, state and local governments may also pass laws mandating the use of alternative energy sources, such as wind power and solar energy, which may increase the cost of energy use in certain of our chemical and other manufacturing operations.  For instance, the EPA published a rule, known as the Clean Power Plan, to limit greenhouse gases from electric power plants.  In February 2016, the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the Clean Power Plan while legal challenges to the rule proceed.  Depending on the outcome of those challenges, and how various states choose to implement this rule, the Clean Power Plan could result in greater electric costs, more use of alternative energy sources, and a decreased demand for coal-generated electricity.

The Clean Power Plan is one of many recent developments aimed at limiting greenhouse gas emissions that could adversely affect our clients in the coal industry, and thus limit the market for some of our products.  Enactment of laws or passage of regulations regarding emissions from the combustion of coal by the United States, states, or other countries could also result in electricity generators further switching from coal to other fuel sources or result in additional coal-fueled power plant closures.  For example, the Paris Agreement, which entered into force in November 2016, includes pledges to voluntarily limit or reduce future emissions. The United States is one of over 100 nations that have indicated an intent to comply with the agreement. This agreement could result in additional firm commitments by various nations with respect to future GHG emissions.  These commitments could further disfavor coal-fired generation, particularly in the medium- to long-term.  In addition, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced a moratorium on issuing certain new coal leases on federal land while the Bureau of Land Management undertakes a programmatic review of the federal coal program.  While statements from President Trump indicate that the new administration may take an alternative approach on many of these issues, we cannot at present determine when and how these regulations, agreements, and initiatives will be affected. Pressure from advocacy groups and policies limiting available financing for the development of new coal-fueled power plants could adversely affect the demand for coal in the future, and thus limit the market for some of our products.

Certain of our stockholders control a significant amount of our voting stock, and their interests could conflict with interests of other stockholders.

LSB Funding LLC (“LSB Funding”), our largest voting shareholder and an unrelated third party, owns one share of Series F redeemable Class C preferred stock (the “Series F Redeemable Preferred”), which has voting rights with common stock equal to 16.1% of the total voting power of LSB’s common stock as of February 17, 2017.

Jack E. Golsen, the Executive Chairman of our Board of Directors (the “Board”) and Barry H. Golsen, a member of our Board, entities owned by them, and trusts for which they possess voting or dispositive power as trustee (the “Golsen Holders”) owned as of February 17, 2017, an aggregate of 2,185,517 shares of our common stock and 1,020,000 shares of our voting preferred stock (1,000,000 of which shares have .875 votes per share, or 875,000 votes), which together vote as a class and represent approximately 10.5% of the voting power (prior to conversion of the shares of voting preferred) of our issued and outstanding voting securities as of that date. The series of preferred represented by the 20,000 shares of voting preferred is convertible into an aggregate of 666,666 shares of our common stock.

Pursuant to a Board Representation and Standstill Agreement entered into in connection with LSB Funding’s purchase of preferred stock in December 2015, LSB Funding has the right to designate three directors on our Board, and the Golsen Holders have the right to appoint two directors, subject to reduction in each case in certain circumstances.  This is in addition to their ability to vote generally in the election of directors.  As a result, each of LSB Funding and the Golsen Holders have significant influence over the election of directors to our Board.

The interests of LSB Funding and the Golsen Holders may conflict with interests of other stockholders (as well as with each other). As a result of the voting power and board designation rights of LSB Funding and the Golsen Holders, the ability of other stockholders to influence our management and policies could be limited.

Exploration of Strategic Alternatives

We have initiated a process to explore and evaluate potential strategic alternatives for our business, which may include a sale, a merger with another party or another strategic transaction involving some or all of our assets. There can be no assurance that the exploration of strategic alternatives will result in the identification or consummation of any transaction. In addition, we may incur substantial expenses associated with identifying and evaluating potential strategic alternatives. The process of exploring strategic alternatives may be time consuming and disruptive to our business operations and if we are unable to effectively manage the process, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. We also cannot assure that any potential transaction or other strategic alternative, if identified, evaluated and consummated, will provide greater value to our stockholders than that reflected in our current stock price. Any potential transaction would be dependent upon a number of factors that may be beyond our control, including, among other factors, market conditions, industry trends, the interest of third parties in our business and the availability of financing to potential buyers on reasonable terms.

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We are subject to a variety of factors that could discourage other parties from attempting to acquire us.

Our certificate of incorporation provides for a staggered Board and, except in limited circumstances, a two-thirds vote of outstanding voting shares to approve a merger, consolidation or sale of all, or substantially all, of our assets. In addition, we have entered into severance agreements with our executive officers and some of the executive officers of certain subsidiaries that provide, among other things, that if, within a specified period of time after the occurrence of a change in control of LSB, these officers are terminated, other than for cause, or the officer terminates his employment for good reason, the officer would be entitled to certain severance benefits. Certain of our preferred stock series and debt instruments also provide special rights in a change of control, including in some cases the ability to be repaid in full or redeemed.

We have authorized and unissued (including shares held in treasury) 46,724,170 shares of common stock and 4,090,231 shares of preferred stock as of December 31, 2016. These unissued shares could be used by our management to make it more difficult, and thereby discourage an attempt to acquire control of us.

We have adopted a preferred share purchase plan, which is designed to protect us against certain creeping acquisitions, open market purchases and certain mergers and other combinations with acquiring companies.

The foregoing provisions and agreements are designed to discourage a third-party tender offer, proxy contest, or other attempts to acquire control of us and could have the effect of making it more difficult to remove incumbent management.  In addition, LSB Funding and the Golsen Holders have significant voting power and rights to designate board representatives, all of which may further discourage a third-party tender offer, proxy contest, or other attempts to acquire control of us.

Delaware has adopted an anti-takeover law which, among other things, will delay for three years business combinations with acquirers of 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of publicly-held companies (such as us), unless:

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements contained within this report may be deemed “Forward-Looking Statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 (as amended, the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act.  All statements in this report other than statements of historical fact are Forward-Looking Statements that are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results and performance of the Company to differ materially from such statements.  The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” and similar expressions identify Forward-Looking Statements.  Forward-Looking Statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, the following:

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While we believe, the expectations reflected in such Forward-Looking Statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance such expectations will prove to have been correct.  There are a variety of factors which could cause future outcomes to differ materially from those described in this report, including, but not limited to, the following:  

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Given these uncertainties, all parties are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such Forward-Looking Statements.  We disclaim any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the Forward-Looking Statements contained herein to reflect future events or developments.

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Defined Terms

The following is a list of terms used in this report.

 

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ITEM 1B.  UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

Not applicable.

 

 

 

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ITEM 2.  PROPERTIES

The following table presents our significant properties for 2016:

 

 

Most of our real property and equipment located at our chemical facilities are being used to secure our long-term debt.  All of the properties utilized by our businesses are suitable and adequate to meet the current needs of that business and relate to domestic operations.

 

 

 

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ITEM 3.  LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

See Legal Matters under Note 11 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this report.

ITEM 4.  MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable

 

 

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market Information

Our common stock is trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “LXU”.  The following table shows, for the periods indicated, the high and low intraday sales prices of our common stock.

 

 

Stockholders

As of February 17, 2017, we had approximately 460 record holders of our common stock.

Dividends

We have not paid cash dividends on our outstanding shares of common stock during the two most recent fiscal years but have paid cash dividends on our outstanding series of convertible preferred stock during this period.  See discussion concerning dividends and restrictions in payment of dividends below under “Liquidity and Capital Resources - Dividends” and “- Loan Agreements” of the MD&A contained in Item 7 of this report.

Equity Compensation Plans

Discussions relating to our equity compensation plans under Item 12 of Part III are incorporated by reference to our definitive proxy statement which we intend to file with the SEC on or before May 1, 2017.

Sale of Unregistered Securities

There were no unregistered sales of equity securities in 2016 that have not been previously reported in a Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Current Report on Form 8-K.

Preferred Share Rights Plan

See discussions relating to our preferred share rights plan under Preferred Share Rights Plan of Note 14 to Consolidated Financial Statements contained in this report.

 

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA (1)

 

 

 

 

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ITEM 7.  MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations should be read in conjunction with a review of the other Items included in this Form 10-K and our December 31, 2016 Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this report. Certain statements contained in this MD&A may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. See “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

Overview

General

LSB is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells chemical products for the agricultural, mining, and industrial markets. We own and operate facilities in Cherokee, Alabama, El Dorado, Arkansas and Pryor, Oklahoma, and operate a facility, for Covestro in Baytown, Texas. Our products are sold through distributors and directly to end customers throughout the U.S.

Key Initiatives for 2017

We believe our future results of operations and financial condition will depend significantly on our ability to successfully implement the following key initiatives:

We may not successfully implement any or all of these initiatives.  Even if we successfully implement the initiatives, they may not achieve the beneficial results that we expect or desire.

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Business and Financing Developments - 2016

Sale of Climate Control Business

On July 1, 2016, we completed the sale of our Climate Control Business to a subsidiary of NIBE for a total of $364 million before the customary adjustments set forth in the Stock Purchase Agreement.  As a result, we recognized a pre-tax gain on the sale of approximately $282 million.  At December 31, 2016, our accounts receivable included approximately $2.7 million relating to the sale of our Climate Control Business representing an indemnity escrow balance.  Our current and noncurrent accrued and other liabilities also include approximately $5.5 million related to estimated contingent liabilities, costs in connection with the Transition Services Agreement (“TSA”) and certain severance agreements associated with the sale.  See additional discussion in Note 2 to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this report.

El Dorado Expansion

During the second quarter of 2016, the new ammonia plant at our El Dorado Facility became operational and began producing ammonia at our nameplate capacity of 1,150 tons per day.  However, the ammonia plant experienced unplanned downtime from various causes including a lightning strike, heat exchanger tube leaks and required modifications to the process vent system design to improve safety and reliability.  As a result, our 2016 average on-stream rate for this plant since becoming operational was only 64% but has steadily improved on a quarterly basis with the on-stream rate for fourth quarter of 2016 at 73%.

Since the ammonia plant became operational, the El Dorado Facility has been a net seller of ammonia. All ammonia that the facility has not upgraded into other products is sold to Koch Fertilizer LLC via pipeline under a previously reported three-year offtake agreement.

As discussed below under “Liquidity and Capital Resources,” the final cost of the El Dorado expansion project was approximately $835 million.

During 2016, the El Dorado Facility’s new nitric acid plant required several warranty repairs.  After attempts to repair leaks in the nitric acid plant’s nitrous oxide abatement vessel, it was determined that this abatement vessel would need to be replaced under warranty provisions.  In order to operate the nitric acid plant while a permanent solution was developed, we obtained a consent administrative order from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (“ADEQ”) to allow the facility to by-pass the failed nitrous oxide abatement system and continue to operate the new nitric acid plant until April 2018. We made use of our secondary nitric acid plant at the El Dorado Facility and shipped product from our other facilities to ensure that customer demands were met while we designed and installed the by-pass system. We anticipate that the design, fabrication, and installation of a new nitrous oxide abatement vessel will be complete no later than April 2018 and all costs will be covered under warranty provisions. 

New and Amended Contracts

UAN Purchase and Sale Agreement – We entered into a new UAN purchase and sale agreement with Coffeyville Resources Nitrogen Fertilizers, LLC (“CVR”) that became effective June 1, 2016. Under the agreement, CVR is purchasing all of the UAN produced at Pryor Chemical Company (“PCC”) in excess of the needs of PCC or its affiliates, which shall be no more than 30,000 tons per year. The initial term of the contract is for three years.  This agreement replaced another agreement with a different customer.

LDAN Purchase and Sale Agreement - We amended a purchase and sale agreement with one of our LDAN customers. The amendment reduced the required sales volumes and overall potential shortfall charges. In return, this customer will pay us a fee of $9 million, of which $6 million was received in 2016. The remaining fee of $3 million is due by March 31, 2017.  Income associated with these payments is being deferred and recognized over the contract term.

Redemption of Portion of Series E Redeemable Preferred and Senior Secured Notes

In September 2016, we completed a consent solicitation to effect the certain amendments to the Original 7.75% Indenture (the “Indenture Amendments”) and entered into a Supplemental Indenture (the “Supplemental Indenture”) as discussed in Note 9 to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this report.  As a result, in September 2016, we redeemed 70,232 shares of the Series E Redeemable Preferred Stock for approximately $80 million, which includes $78.3 million related to the liquidation preference of $1,000 per share and accumulated dividends and $1.7 million related to the participation rights value associated with the redeemed shares.  In October 2016, we called debt totaling approximately $107 million (including accrued interest) as follows:

Those payments, along with the Series E Redemption, were funded with proceeds from the sale of our Climate Control Business. See further discussion under “Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

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Key Industry Factors

Supply and Demand

Agricultural

Sales of our agricultural products were approximately 44% of our total net sales for 2016.  The price at which our agricultural products are ultimately sold depends on numerous factors, including the supply and demand for nitrogen fertilizers which, in turn, depends upon world grain demand and production levels, the cost and availability of transportation and storage, weather conditions, competitive pricing and the availability of imports. Additionally, expansions or upgrades of competitors’ facilities and international and domestic political and economic developments continue to play an important role in the global nitrogen fertilizer industry economics. These factors can affect, in addition to selling prices, the level of inventories in the market which can cause price volatility and effect product margins.

One of the key factors that affects demand of our agricultural products is corn prices.  Changes in corn prices can affect the number of acres of corn planted in a given year, and the number of acres planted will drive the level of nitrogen fertilizer consumption, likely effecting prices.  The World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Report (“WASDE”), dated January 12, 2017, estimates U.S. corn production for 2016 of 15.1 billion bushels, up 11% from 2015, reflecting an increase in planted and harvested areas, in addition to higher yields per acre. In addition, this report estimates world corn ending stocks for 2016/2017 at 220.9 million tons, an increase over 2015/2016 ending stocks of approximately 5% and U.S. corn ending stock of 59.8 million tons, an increase of approximately 36% over the prior year.  Despite the increase in ending stocks, the USDA is estimating that U.S. growers will plant 90 to 91 million acres of corn in 2017, a decrease of only approximately 4 million acres from the previous year.  

Given the low price of natural gas in North America over the last several years, North American fertilizer producers have become the global low cost producers for delivered fertilizer products to the Midwest U.S. Several years ago, the market believed that low natural gas prices would continue. That belief, combined with favorable fertilizer pricing, led to the announcement of numerous expansions of existing nitrogen chemical facilities and the construction of new nitrogen chemical facilities. Since those announcements, fertilizer pricing has been in continuous decline and many of the announced expansions and new nitrogen chemical facilities have been cancelled. However, approximately 5 million tons of annual ammonia production capacity has either been added or are expected to be added by the end of 2017. Ammonia production in North America will increase from approximately 15 million tons annually to approximately 20 million tons annually, replacing most of the ammonia that has been imported into North America to cover the annual demand of approximately 21 million tons. Additional domestic supply of ammonia will also change the physical flow of ammonia in North America. However, since most of the added domestic ammonia production will come with additional production capacity for upgraded nitrogen products (Urea, UAN and DEF), North America will continue to import between 2 million to 3 million tons of ammonia annually.  All of this has created uncertainty in the fertilizer markets and has put pressure on all fertilizer prices in North America that, we believe, will last throughout 2017. However, since the fertilizer market is seasonal, selling prices and demand will increase ahead of the spring season and remain until the end of that season with prices typically falling after the spring season.

Industrial

Sales of our industrial products were approximately 42% of our total net sales for 2016.  Our industrial products sales volumes are dependent upon general economic conditions primarily in the housing, automotive, and paper industries. According to the American Chemistry Council, the U.S. economic indicators continue to be mostly positive for these sectors domestically.  Our sales prices generally vary with the market price of our feedstock (ammonia or natural gas, as applicable) in our pricing arrangements with customers.

Mining

Sales of our mining products were approximately 12% of our total net sales for 2016.  Our mining products are LDAN and AN solutions, which are primary used as AN fuel oil and specialty emulsions for surface mining of coal and for usage in quarries and the construction industry.  As reported by the EIA, annual coal production in the U.S. for the full year of 2016 is estimated to be down 17% from 2015 and at its lowest level since 1978 continuing an eight-year decline.  EIA is forecasting a 7% increase in U.S. coal production from coal-fired electricity generation in 2017 and a slight increase from 2017 to 2018.  We believe that coal production in the U.S. continues to face significant challenges from competition from natural gas and renewables.  While we believe, our plants are well-located to support the more stable coal-producing regions in the upcoming years, our current mining sales volumes are being affected by overall lower customer demand for LDAN. We do not expect a significant increase in our mining business in the near term.

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Farmer Economics

The demand for fertilizer is affected by the aggregate crop planting decisions and fertilizer application rate decisions of individual farmers. Individual farmers make planting decisions based largely on prospective profitability of a harvest, while the specific varieties and amounts of fertilizer they apply depend on factors such as their financial resources, soil conditions, weather patterns and the types of crops planted.

Natural Gas Prices

Natural gas is the primary feedstock for the production of nitrogen fertilizers at our Cherokee and Pryor Facilities and, with the completion of the construction of the ammonia plant, at our El Dorado Facility beginning in the third quarter of 2016.  In recent years, U.S. natural gas reserves have been increasing significantly due to, among other factors, advances in extracting shale gas, which has reduced and stabilized natural gas prices, providing North America with a cost advantage over certain imports. As a result, our competitive position and that of other North American nitrogen fertilizer producers have been positively affected.

We historically have purchased natural gas in the spot market, through the use of forward purchase contracts, or through a combination of both and have used forward purchase contracts to lock in pricing for a portion of our natural gas requirements. These forward purchase contracts are generally either fixed-price or index-price, short-term in nature and for a fixed supply quantity. We are able to purchase natural gas at competitive prices due to our connections to large distribution systems and their proximity to interstate pipeline systems. Over the past several years, natural gas prices have experienced significant downward fluctuations, which have had a positive effect on our cost of producing nitrogen fertilizer. The following table shows the annual volume of natural gas we purchased and the average cost per MMBtu:

 

 

As of December 31, 2016, we had volume purchase commitments with a fixed cost for natural gas of approximately 2.4 million MMBtus at an average cost of $3.20 per MMBtu. These commitments are for firm purchases during the first quarter of 2017 and represent approximately 41% of our total exposed natural gas usage required for that period.  In January 2017, we increased our volume purchase commitments with a fixed cost for natural gas to approximately 3.4 million MMBtus at an average cost of $3.28 per MMBtu. With the additional commitments, which now extend through June 2017, we have approximately 53% of our total exposed natural gas usage requirements at an average price of $3.28 for the first quarter of 2017 and 20% of our total exposed natural gas usage requirements at an average price of $3.35 for the second quarter of 2017.

Transportation Costs

Costs for transporting nitrogen based products can be significant relative to their selling price. For example, ammonia is a hazardous gas at ambient temperatures and must be transported in specialized equipment, which is more expensive than other forms of nitrogen fertilizers. In recent years, a significant amount of the ammonia consumed annually in the U.S was imported. Therefore, nitrogen fertilizers prices in the U.S. are influenced by the cost to transport product from exporting countries, giving domestic producers who transport shorter distances an advantage.

Key Operational Factors

Facility Reliability

Consistent, reliable and safe operations at our chemical plants are critical to our financial performance and results of operations. The financial effects of planned downtime at our plants, including Turnarounds is mitigated through a diligent planning process that takes into account the availability of resources to perform the needed maintenance, feedstock logistics and other factors. Unplanned downtime of our plants typically results in lost contribution margin from lost sales of our products, lost fixed cost absorption from lower production of our products and increased costs related to repairs and maintenance. All Turnarounds result in lost contribution margin from lost sales of our products, lost fixed cost absorption from lower production of our products, and increased costs related to repairs and maintenance, which repair and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred.

Our Pryor Facility is on a one-year Turnaround cycle and we expect to perform a Turnaround in the fourth quarter of 2017. Annual Turnarounds will continue through 2019 and at that time we expect to move to a two-year Turnaround cycle.

At our El Dorado Facility, historically, we were able to perform Turnaround projects on individual plants without shutting down the entire facility as we have redundancy for most of our produced products. The effect of lost production from those have not been

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significant.  With the completion of the new ammonia plant, the facility will begin to schedule traditional Turnarounds that will require the ammonia plant to be taken out of production and will cause a financial effect from lost production.  This Facility will initially be on a two-year Turnaround cycle with its initial Turnaround scheduled for 2018.

Our Cherokee Facility is on a two-year Turnaround cycle, with the last Turnaround being performed in the third quarter of 2016. The next Turnaround to be performed is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2018 at which time we expect to move to a three-year Turnaround cycle.

Prepay Contracts

We use forward sales of our fertilizer products to optimize our asset utilization, planning process and production scheduling. These sales are made by offering customers the opportunity to purchase product on a forward basis at prices and delivery dates that are agreed upon. We use this program to varying degrees during the year depending on market conditions and our view of changing price environments.  Fixing the selling prices of our products months in advance of their ultimate delivery to customers typically causes our reported selling prices and margins to differ from spot market prices and margins available at the time of shipment.

Consolidated Results for 2016

Our consolidated net sales for 2016 were $374.6 million compared to $437.7 million for 2015. Our consolidated operating loss was $90.2 million compared to $71.2 million for 2015. The items affecting our operating results are discussed below and under “Results of Operations.”

Items Affecting Comparability of Results

On-Stream Rates

The on-stream rates of our plants affect our production, the absorption of fixed costs of each plant and sales of our products. It is a key operating metric that we use to manage our business. In particular, we closely monitor the on-stream rates of our ammonia plants as that is the basic product used to produce all upgraded products. In 2016, we improved the operating rates at both our Cherokee and Pryor ammonia plants.  At our Cherokee Facility, the on-stream rate (excluding the effect from its scheduled Turnaround) for 2016 for our ammonia plant increased to 96% from 94% in 2015.  We expect on-stream rates to continue at this level in 2017. 

At our Pryor Facility, the on-stream rate (excluding the effect from its scheduled Turnaround) for 2016 for our ammonia plant increased to 86% from 83% in 2015.  Although the rate increased, it fell below our expectations. We believe that the capital improvements made to the ammonia plant in 2016 will improve the on-stream rate for 2017 to between 90% and 95%.  We expect on-stream rates to continue at this level in 2017.

The El Dorado Facility’s ammonia plant began production in mid-2016.  It is typical for newly operated plants that are in production to go through a period of optimization (Shakedown) that may require the plant to be taken out of operation for a period of time.  Our reported 2016 on-stream rate for the ammonia plant at El Dorado was 64%.  However, since going into operation, the on-stream rate has steadily improved on a quarterly basis with the on-stream rate for the fourth quarter of 73%. The on-stream rate has continued to improve in the first quarter of 2017 and we believe that the ammonia plant will operate at approximately a 95% on-stream rate for 2017. The plant is currently producing ammonia in excess of 1,300 tons per day, which is above its nameplate capacity of 1,150 tons per day.  

Selling Prices

During 2016, selling prices for our agricultural products declined significantly over 2015 selling prices.  Average selling prices for our ammonia, UAN and HDAN decreased 34%, 30% and 28%, respectively compared to 2015 average selling prices. The decreases in overall agricultural products selling prices were caused by lower corn prices in 2016 compares to 2015, lower natural gas prices year-over-year and the addition of nitrogen production capacity being added globally in 2016 and 2017 and this additional supply’s expected effect on the supply/demand balance in the U.S.

Depreciation Expense

During 2016 and 2015, depreciation expense was $59.4 million and $35.9 million, respectively.  The increase is primarily due to our El Dorado expansion project being completed and placed into service during the second quarter of 2016.

Certain Startup, One-Time, Warranty and Other Expenses

During 2016, the El Dorado Facility’s new ammonia plant became operational.  We estimate that our operating costs were $5.1 million higher during the first half of 2016, as a result of start-up and commissioning activities related to the new ammonia plant.

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The El Dorado Facility’s new nitric acid plant incurred certain expenses after start-up for which we believe a portion will be covered under our warranty provisions.  The estimated impact on our operating results for 2016 was approximately $8 million to $9 million.

During 2016, EDC incurred a one-time fee of $12.1 million related to consulting services associated with the reduction of assessed property values for the El Dorado projects real and personal property for both the nitric acid plant, nitric acid concentrator plant and the ammonia plant.  We expect material property tax savings in future periods through a reduction of property taxes paid.

During 2015, we incurred certain one-time corporate SG&A costs relating to severance agreements with former executives of $2.0 million.

Debt and Interest Expense

For 2016 and 2015, interest expense was $30.9 million and $7.4 million, net of capitalized interest of $15.0 million and $30.6 million, respectively.  Interest was capitalized based upon construction in progress of the El Dorado expansion project, which was completed during the second quarter of 2016.  In addition, interest expense increased $4.5 million relating to the 12% Senior Secured Notes sold in November 2015 and repaid in October 2016 and $2.2 million, as a result of the debt modification associated with the Consent Solicitation in 2016.  

Loss on Extinguishment of Debt

As discussed above under “Business and Financing Developments – 2016”, in October 2016, we called debt totaling $106.9 million (including accrued interest) to redeem all of the outstanding $50 million of the 12% Senior Secured Notes due 2019 at the original redemption price of 106% plus accrued interest and $50 million of the 7.75% Senior Secured Notes due 2019 at the original redemption price of 103.875% plus accrued interest. As a result of this transaction, we recognized a loss on extinguishment of debt of approximately $8.7 million.   

Impairment of Natural Gas Properties (2015 only)

As previously reported during third quarter of 2015, we recognized a non-cash impairment charge of $39.7 million to write-down the carrying value of our working interest in natural gas properties in the Marcellus Shale region to the estimated fair value.  In addition, we recognized a $3.5 million non-cash impairment charge to reduce the carrying value of certain plant assets related to unused ammonia production equipment at our Pryor Facility.

 

 

Results of Operations

The following Results of Operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014 and accompanying notes and the discussions under “Overview” and “Liquidity and Capital Resources” included in this MD&A.

We present the following information about our results of operations. Net sales to unaffiliated customers are reported in the consolidated financial statements and gross profit represents net sales less cost of sales.  Net sales are reported on a gross basis with the cost of freight being recorded in cost of sales.

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Year Ended December 31, 2016 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2015

The following table contains certain financial information relating to our continuing operations:

 

 

The following tables provide key operating metrics for the Agricultural Products: