Polaris Materials reports second quarter results

Polaris Materials Corp. reported preliminary sales volumes for the quarter ended June 30. The company increased full-year sales expectations, and announced the addition of new quarry and logistics management personnel.

Sales volumes in the second quarter (Q2) were 650,000 tons, an increase of 16 percent over the first quarter and consistent with company expectations. Year to date, sales volumes are 1.21 million tons, compared to 1.46 million tons in the first half of 2016.

Polaris Materials says construction activity continues to climb in California, as projects that were delayed owe to exceptional rainfall are now catching-up in the summer months. While Q2 shipments were lower than last year’s Q2, the strong construction demand has drawn down inventories, requiring additional shipments in the second half of the year.

The company reports, “Volumes in our Long Beach terminal were approximately 93,000 tons, up 51 percent from Q2 2016, albeit below our initial expectations for the quarter.”

Polaris Materials expects full year sales volumes to be 3 to 3.2 million tons, and says the increase over last year is primarily driven by improved market share in San Francisco, following the suspension of activities at a local aggregate production facility, as well as increased domestic barge sales.

“Volumes are increasing in San Francisco as our largest Bay Area customer has recently won several significant new contracts,” says the company. “Improvements in San Francisco and British Columbia are offset by the modest reduction to the original Long Beach Terminal sales expectation for 2017.

Current sales expectations for the third quarter are in the range of 1.0 to 1.15 million tons, consistent with the company’s increased full-year expectations.

In other news, Polaris Materials promoted Tyson Mackay to the position of mine manager of the Orca Quarry. Brian Buckley, who has been the interim mine manager, will continue to assist as a consultant. The company also announced it has hired Keven Wasylyshyn for the newly created position of director, supply chain.