The Company also sells industrial gases to a variety of industry customers, predominantly to users in, or involved with, the US Military. In July 2016, the Company was awarded, as prime contractor, a five-year fixed price contract, including a five-year renewal option which has been exercised, awarded to it by the United States Defense Logistics Agency (“DLA”) for the management and supply of refrigerants, compressed gases, cylinders and related items to US Military commands and installations, Federal civilian agencies and foreign militaries. Primary users include the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Our contract with DLA expires in July 2026.
Results of Operations
Three-month period ended March 31, 2023 as compared to the three-month period ended March 31, 2022
Revenues for the three-month period ended March 31, 2023 were $77.2 million, a decrease of $7.1 million or 8.4% from the $84.3 million reported during the comparable 2022 period. The decrease was attributable to both lower selling prices and volume of certain refrigerants sold.
Cost of sales for the three-month period ended March 31, 2023 was $46.9 million or 61% of sales. The cost of sales for the three-month period ended March 31, 2022 was $38.5 million or 46% of sales. The increase in the cost of sales percentage from 46% to 61% is primarily due to higher cost of sales during the first quarter of 2023 as the purchase price of certain refrigerants increased during 2022.
Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses for the three-month period ended March 31, 2023 were $7.0 million, an increase of $0.2 million from the $6.8 million reported during the comparable 2022 period due to an increase in professional fees.
Amortization expense for both of the three-month periods ended March 31, 2023 and 2022 was $0.7 million.
Interest expense for the three-month period ended March 31, 2023 was $1.8 million, compared to the $7.3 million reported during the comparable 2022 period. Interest expense was higher during the first quarter of 2022 due to the extinguishment of term loan debt, as described in “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below. In addition, interest expense was lower during the first quarter of 2023 due to reduced debt resulting from the Company paying down approximately $48 million of debt between April 2022 and December 2022.
The Company’s income tax expense for the three-month period ended March 31, 2023 and March 31, 2022 was $5.3 million and $1.4 million, respectively. The Company’s effective tax rate for the three-month period ended March 31, 2023 and March 31, 2022 was 25.3% and 4.6%, respectively. The key drivers of increased income tax expense and increased effective tax rate are increased profitability and fully utilized NOLs that can no longer reduce taxable income. For the three-month period ended March 31, 2023 and March 31, 2022, income tax expense for federal and state income tax purposes was determined by applying statutory income tax rates to pre-tax income after adjusting for certain items.
The net income for the three-month period ended March 31, 2023 was $15.5 million, a decrease of $14.1 million from the $29.6 million of net income reported during the comparable 2022 period, primarily due to lower revenues, as described above
Liquidity and Capital Resources
At March 31, 2023, the Company had working capital, which represents current assets less current liabilities, of $140.1 million, an increase of $15.9 million from the working capital of $124.2 million at December 31, 2022. The increase in working capital is primarily attributable to continued profitability and the timing of borrowings, accounts receivable and inventory.
Inventories and trade receivables are principal components of current assets. At March 31, 2023, the Company had inventories of $137.0 million, a decrease of $8.4 million from $145.4 million at December 31, 2022. The Company’s ability to sell and replace its inventory on a timely basis and the prices at which it can be sold are subject, among other things, to current market conditions and the nature of supplier or customer arrangements and the Company’s ability to source CFC and HCFC based refrigerants (which are no longer being produced) and HFC refrigerants (virgin production currently in the process of being phased down) and HFO refrigerants.
At March 31, 2023, the Company had trade receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts, of $38.8 million, an increase of $17.9 million from $20.9 million at December 31, 2022, mainly due to increased sales. The Company’s trade receivables are concentrated with various wholesalers, brokers, contractors and end-users within the refrigeration industry that are primarily located in the continental United States. The Company has historically financed its working capital requirements through cash flows from operations, the issuance of debt and equity securities, and bank borrowings.