Westwater Resources - Earnings Call - Q2 2025

Executive Summary

• Q2 2025 was operationally constructive but financially pre‑revenue with continued net losses; Kellyton Phase I remained on budget ($245M) and cumulative spend reached ~$124M, 85% of equipment received, and initial micronizing/spheroidizing units commissioned.
• Liquidity improved: quarter-end cash was $6.7M, rising to ~$12.5M post quarter on Aug 11; financing tracks advanced (ongoing $150M debt syndication and EXIM LOI with formal application post quarter).
• Convertible notes provided $10M of bridge capital (June $5M; August $5M) with fixed conversion prices ($0.63 and $0.83) or 92% of 5‑day VWAP; monthly installment flexibility; covenants include 9.99% ownership cap and $2.25M minimum cash balance.
• No formal revenue/EPS guidance or consensus estimates were available from S&P Global for Q2; comparison to Street cannot be established. Values retrieved from S&P Global where presented [GetEstimates – unavailable].

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

• Construction execution: 85% of Phase I equipment received; transition to grid power completed; first two commercial micronizing/shaping mills commissioned, supporting on‑time operational readiness.
• Customer qualification progress: qualification line produced CSPG samples exceeding 1 metric ton for pre‑production cell trials; cycle times and flow rates improved, building operator expertise ahead of full-scale start-up.
• Financing optionality: dual-track funding progressed—$150M debt syndication sustained lender engagement, and EXIM LOI advanced to formal application post quarter, creating flexibility in the capital stack.
• Management confidence: “We remain confident in the strength of our project… well‑positioned to play a leading role in strengthening the domestic battery supply chain,” said Executive Chairman Terence Cryan.

What Went Wrong

• Pre‑revenue status and continued losses: Q2 remained pre‑revenue with a net loss and negative EPS, reflecting construction-phase economics [GetFinancials; see tables]. Values retrieved from S&P Global.
• Financing timing uncertainty: macro tariff news and lender shifts extended debt syndication timing; management refrained from providing specific closing dates.
• Feedstock risks: protests at the existing supplier earlier in 2025 highlighted supply chain vulnerabilities; management pursued non‑Chinese backup sources under NDA to mitigate future risk.
• Going concern qualification in the FY2024 audit underscores funding dependence until Phase I financing is secured.

Transcript

Speaker 3

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the Westwater Resources, Inc. second quarter 2025 business update conference call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode, and the conference is being recorded. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To join the question queue, you may press star, then one on your telephone keypad. Should you need assistance during this conference call, you may signal an operator by pressing star and then zero. I would like to turn the conference over to Frank Bakker, President and CEO. Please go ahead, sir.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Moderator, and good morning to everyone joining us for today's business update call. I am joined by Terence Cryan, our Executive Chairman, and Steve Cates, our Chief Financial Officer. We appreciate your time and interest in Westwater Resources. Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that today's discussion will include forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current expectations regarding a variety of factors, including project demands and pricing for natural graphite, anticipated timelines, and costs associated with the Gallatin Graphite Plant and Coosa Graphite Deposit, as well as upcoming capital raising activities. As always, these statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, which are detailed in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Please also refer to the cautionary statement included in our August 14th press release.

Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in today's remarks. Today, I'm pleased to provide an update on Westwater Resources' progress during the first half and second quarter of 2025. At our Gallatin Graphite Plant, we continued construction at a measured pace. As of June 30, we've incurred about $124 million of the total expected $245 million cost for phase one construction. During the first half and second quarter, we advanced several key work streams, including our transition to grid power, as well as installation of all our commercial-scale micronizing and shaping mills, of which we commissioned two units during the quarter. Also during the quarter and throughout the first half of the year, we continued to operate the qualification line at the Gallatin Graphite Plant. This has been an important step in both advancing customer engagement and preparing our team for commercial operations.

Using our qualification line, we have produced Coated Spherical Purified Graphite samples in excess of one metric tonne for customer pre-production sales trials and testing. In quarter two, we took that a step further, implementing enhancements to improve cycle times and graphite flow rates, which is allowing us to optimize the line performance. The product coming from this line is representative of what we will produce at mass scale, meaning we can now provide customers with bulk batches ranging from one to ten metric tonnes for their qualification activities, even while phase one construction is still underway. Just as important, the qualification line serves as hands-on training for our operations team. This experience is setting us up to move quickly and efficiently when it's time for commissioning and startup of the plant, ensuring we hit the ground running when we reach full commercial production.

That said, we remain laser-focused on securing the capital needed to complete the build. During the quarter, the syndication process on the $150 million debt financing continued, and I'm pleased to report that shortly after the quarter's end, we formally submitted our loan application to the Export-Import Bank of the United States, which represents a potential complementary funding source alongside our debt syndicate. Of course, like many companies operating in today's environment, we have felt the impact of broader capital, market volatility, and trade policy shifts. We are encouraged by the level of engagement from our financing partners, and we believe the Gallatin project remains strongly aligned with both U.S. policy priorities and growing market demand for domestic battery-grade graphite. From a balance sheet perspective, we ended the quarter with $6.7 million in cash, which includes proceeds from our $5 million convertible note issuance in June.

Following the quarter, we completed a follow-on transaction with the same institutional investor for an additional $5 million. As a result, we currently have just over $12 million in cash on hand. We have remained disciplined in our spending so far this year, including taking a measured approach on construction at Gallatin that ensures we maintain forward momentum while remaining disciplined with the cash on hand. Looking ahead, we are staying focused on execution with strong tailwinds, secured customer interest, and a clear path to production. We are proud to be leading the development of one of the U.S. first domestic sources of battery-grade natural graphite. Now I will turn it over to our Chief Financial Officer, Steve Cates, for a deeper dive into our financing efforts. Steve?

Speaker 0

Thanks, Frank. As Frank mentioned, financing phase one at Gallatin is a top priority, and we've continued to make progress on multiple fronts. On the debt syndication side, we're advancing a $150 million secured facility with a group of lenders led by a global financial institution. We've completed an update to our third-party technical due diligence, hosted site visits, and advanced loan diligence and documentation. I'm encouraged by where we are today and have active engagement with lenders in the syndication. In parallel, just after the end of the quarter, we submitted our formal loan application to the Export-Import Bank of the United States. This kicks off their due diligence process. The application requests funding that could cover more than 50% of the $150 million we're raising and at an attractive cost of capital. The EXIM track is entirely separate from the debt syndication, but we view it as complementary.

Together, these two paths give us optionality, flexibility, and stability in our capital stack, positioning us to complete phase one financing in a way that supports both project completion and long-term growth. Another piece of the financing picture is feedstock security. As many of you know, there were temporary disruptions at our supplier earlier this year, which did slow things down. While those issues were resolved in the second quarter, we accelerated efforts to lock in a non-Chinese backup supplier. Over the relatively near term, we expect to be finalizing the backup supply of feedstock. Long term, our strategy is to vertically integrate through our Coosa Graphite Deposit. Right now, the priority is staying flexible and doing what it takes to keep Gallatin moving forward.

With strong demand signals from the market, support from federal policy, and multiple active funding paths, we're confident in our ability to get this project financed and into production. While financing is critical, it's just one piece of the bigger picture. We're continuing to make steady progress on construction, procurement, and advancing the next phase of our domestic graphite strategy. Frank, back over to you.

Speaker 1

Thanks, Steve. We are generally excited about where things are headed. There is real momentum behind our projects, and it's clear that domestic graphite production isn't just important, it's essential. With strong policy tailwinds, clear market demand, and real progress on both construction and financing, we believe Westwater Resources is in the right place at the right time. We are staying focused on what matters most: execution, transparency, and long-term value creation for our shareholders. The opportunity ahead is big, and we are ready to meet it. Thanks for your continued support. We look forward to sharing more progress with you next quarter. Operator, over to you.

Speaker 3

Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. To join the question queue, you may press star, then one on your telephone keypad. You will hear a tone acknowledging your request. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing any keys. To withdraw your question, please press star, then two. We will pause momentarily as questioners join the queue. Our first question comes from Heiko Illa with HC Wainwright. Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Hey, Frank, hello, Steve. Thanks for taking my questions. Hello. Can you hear me? Yes. Perfect. Okay. Out of curiosity, this week the big talk on Wall Street is interest rate cuts. A cut in September is now almost fully priced in. How much of this do you think will show up in your financing package once it gets announced? I assume the lower rates should translate at least reasonably well, assuming the financing is signed after the cuts are official, right?

Speaker 0

Hi, Heiko. This is Steve. Yeah, thanks for the question. No, I think as a project finance, lowering rates is always beneficial and will always be welcome as we think about the lower cost of capital. I would anticipate the lower cuts to be helpful in our long-term growth and the final financing that we put in place.

Speaker 4

Fair enough. Just to clarify, there's been two of these $5 million packages, the recent convertible notes. Do they have an option or a willingness to do another one, or is that just one and then the stars aligned, they did one more, but there is no plan for anything else?

Speaker 0

I would say I think the convertible note, you know, was a good thing for investors. We were able to raise money without impacting our stock price. I think it shows our ability to raise money in the capital markets, which helps de-risk the loan project as far as from a lender perspective and the sponsor's ability to add capital to the balance sheet. We'll remain to be opportunistic and keep evaluating if there is potential for follow-ons.

Speaker 4

Awesome. Thank you so much. I'll get back in queue.

Speaker 0

Great.

Speaker 3

Our next question comes from Ray Keldy, a private investor. Please go ahead.

Speaker 2

Yes, Steve. I'd like to know what our position is now with Turkey and the project that was in the past but was settled, I thought, in Turkey, and an amount of money, I think of $300 million, was settled. Is there any settlement from that in our direction?

Speaker 0

That was settled, I believe, several years ago now. We're 100% focused on graphite, 100% focused on our phase one financing. We don't have a presence in Turkey anymore.

Speaker 2

We don't have any claim on the factory that was built in Turkey, and the agreements with Turkey were nullified by Turkey and then settled by arbitration. I don't understand. You don't, there's no money from that?

Speaker 0

No, we received some money back that we disclosed when that arbitration was settled several years ago. We're 100% focused on graphite right now, so there's nothing from that.

Speaker 2

Can you tell me what that amount was?

Speaker 0

I believe it was around $3 million, if I remember correctly.

Speaker 2

Okay, as long as there's a follow-up on it. I wasn't aware of it. Thank you.

Speaker 0

Thank you.

Speaker 3

Thank you. Once again, if you have a question, please press star, then one. Ladies and gentlemen, if you have a question, please press star and one. As we have no further questions at this time, we will now conclude the question and answer session. This brings to a close today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating and have a pleasant day.