New York, January 06, 2021 -- Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") has
assigned a B1 rating to TMS International Corp.'s ("TMS
International") proposed $150 term loan B add-on.
At the same time, Moody's affirmed TMS International's
B2 Corporate Family Rating, B2-PD Probability of Default
Rating, B1 rating on its existing senior secured term loan B and
the Caa1 rating on its senior unsecured notes. The ratings outlook
is stable. The proceeds from the term loan add-on will be
used to pay off bridge financing that partly funded the acquisition of
The Stein Companies along with a portion of the company's cash balance
in December 2020. It will also be used to replenish the company's
cash balance, cover fees and expenses and to fund another potential
acquisition.
Assignments:
..Issuer: TMS International Corp.
....Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility,
Assigned B1 (LGD3)
Affirmations:
..Issuer: TMS International Corp.
.... Probability of Default Rating,
Affirmed B2-PD
.... Corporate Family Rating, Affirmed
B2
....Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility,
Affirmed B1 (LGD3)
....Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture,
Affirmed Caa1 (LGD5)
Outlook Actions:
..Issuer: TMS International Corp.
....Outlook, Remains Stable
RATINGS RATIONALE
"The affirmation of TMS International's ratings reflects its resilient
operating performance and free cash flow generation during a difficult
year for the steel sector, which tempers the impact of debt funded
acquisitions and will enable the company to maintain a credit profile
that is commensurate with its B2 corporate family rating," said
Michael Corelli, Moody's Senior Vice President and lead analyst
for TMS International Corp.
TMS International's B2 corporate family rating is supported by its strong
market position, customer and regional diversity, downside
protection afforded by its long-term contracts and its highly variable
cost structure. It also reflects the high margins generated by
its Mill Services Group and its good liquidity. TMS International's
credit profile is constrained by its somewhat elevated financial leverage,
weak interest coverage, exposure to the highly cyclical steel sector
and inconsistent free cash generation due to periodic capital spending
at new mill sites in advance of cash flow generation from those sites.
Steel industry conditions materially deteriorated during most of 2020
due to the impact of the coronavirus on key steel consuming end markets.
The materially lower levels of steel production along with temporarily
idled and permanently closed customer mill sites weighed on TMS International's
Mill Services Group. In addition, declining scrap prices
and lower volumes negatively impacted the operating performance of its
Raw Materials and Optimization Group. However, the company's
variable cost structure enabled it to quickly reduce costs while the downside
protection of its contracts, which include base fees and tiered
pricing that provides higher revenues per ton at lower volumes,
enabled it to temper the impact on its operating performance. As
a result, Moody's expects TMS to report adjusted EBITDA of
about $150 million versus $156 million in 2019. The
operating performance of its core business should strengthen in 2021 as
steel production rises after a weak 2020.
TMS acquired The Stein Companies in December 2020. The Stein Companies
is a US focused steel mill services competitor of TMS and appears to be
a good strategic fit and enhances the company's scale and customer
diversity. The company is also considering another acquisition.
These debt financed acquisitions could raise the company's leverage
profile depending on their post-acquisition operating performance
and the synergies achieved. However, TMS International's
credit metrics should remain commensurate with its rating with a pro forma
leverage ratio (debt/EBITDA) around 5.0x.
TMS has a good liquidity profile with $70.5 million of unrestricted
cash and net availability of $102.9 million on its $125
million asset-based revolving credit facility as of September 2020,
which had no borrowings outstanding and $11.2 million in
letters of credit. The eligible accounts receivable and inventory
that comprise the collateral under the ABL facility supported a gross
borrowing base of $114.1 million. The company plans
to upsize the revolver to $150 million to accommodate its increased
scale after the Stein deal and another potential acquisition and to extend
the maturity to December 2025 from December 2021. Moody's expects
TMS to generate positive free cash flow over the next 12 to 18 months.
However, its free cash generation depends on the extent to which
the company is awarded new contracts and whether business conditions require
investments in working capital.
The stable outlook reflects the expectation that TMS International's
operating performance and credit metrics will strengthen in 2021 as it
uses a portion of its free cash flow to pay down debt.
FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS
TMS International's ratings are not likely to experience upward pressure
in the near term. However, the ratings would be considered
for an upgrade if the company achieves substantially improved operating
results and credit metrics. This would include maintaining a leverage
ratio (Debt/EBITDA) below 4.5x and cash flow from operations above
13% of outstanding debt.
The ratings would be considered for a downgrade if the company experiences
a material reduction in borrowing availability or liquidity, or
if its leverage ratio is sustained above 5.5x or cash flow from
operations below 10% of outstanding debt.
TMS International Corp., headquartered in Pittsburgh,
PA., provides on-site steel mill services such as
scrap management and preparation, semi-finished and finished
material handling, metal recovery, slag handling, processing
and sales, surface conditioning, raw materials procurement
and logistics and raw material cost optimization. The company generated
$1.1 billion in revenues for the twelve months ended September
30, 2020. TMS has been owned by The Pritzker Organization
since late 2013.
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Steel Industry published
in September 2017 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1074524.
Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com
for a copy of this methodology.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and
sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and
Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's
Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004.
For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of
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The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was
issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU and is endorsed
by Moody's Deutschland GmbH, An der Welle 5, Frankfurt
am Main 60322, Germany, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph
3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies.
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The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was
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Michael Corelli, CFA
Senior Vice President
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 1 212 553 0376
Client Service: 1 212 553 1653
Glenn B. Eckert
Associate Managing Director
Corporate Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 1 212 553 0376
Client Service: 1 212 553 1653
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 1 212 553 0376
Client Service: 1 212 553 1653