Tronox Reports Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results

Tronox reported Q3 2026 revenue of $827 million, up 18% from $699 million in Q3 2025 but down 5% from $868 million in Q2 2026. TiO2 revenue rose 19% year over year to $653 million, supported by a 10% volume increase and a 9% increase in average selling prices including mix. Zircon revenue increased 58% to $93 million on a 49% volume increase and a 9% price and mix increase. Sequential demand was softer, as TiO2 revenue declined 7% and zircon revenue declined 4%, both reflecting lower volumes despite pricing gains.

Profitability improved substantially from the comparative periods but remained negative on a GAAP basis. Income from operations was $12 million, compared with a loss from operations of $(43) million in Q3 2025 and $(21) million in Q2 2026. Net loss attributable to Tronox was $(55) million, while adjusted net loss attributable to Tronox was $(54) million. Adjusted EBITDA increased 36% year over year and 38% sequentially to $101 million, while Adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 12.2% from 10.6% in the prior-year quarter and 8.4% in Q2 2026. Management attributed the improvement to price realization and lower corporate costs, partly offset by unfavorable exchange rates, higher production costs, higher freight costs, and lower sequential volumes.

Cash flow was positive in the quarter, with $62 million of cash provided by operating activities, $57 million of capital expenditures, and $5 million of free cash flow. For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, however, free cash flow was $(70) million. Tronox ended the quarter with $136 million of cash and cash equivalents, $509 million of available liquidity, $3.2 billion of total debt, and $3.1 billion of net debt. The net leverage ratio increased to 10.5x on a trailing twelve-month basis from 9.0x at December 31, 2025. The company also paid $(24) million of dividends during the nine-month period.

The Q4 outlook calls for a sequential TiO2 volume decline in the high-single to low double-digit percentage range and moderately softer zircon volumes. Management expects TiO2 pricing gains to hold and zircon pricing to increase sequentially in the mid-single-digit percentage range, but forecasts Q4 Adjusted EBITDA of $80-$90 million, below Q3's $101 million. The guidance reflects approximately $15-20 million of higher input costs and lower TiO2 sales revenue than previously anticipated, tied to the prolonged Middle East conflict. The company expects Q4 positive free cash flow of $20-$45 million but now expects full-year 2026 free cash flow to be a use of approximately $25-$50 million.

Operational and strategic execution remain important. Tronox ramped the Namakwa furnace and West Mine to improve inventory availability, particularly for zircon, while Yanbu experienced unplanned downtime associated with the temporary closure of Saudi Arabia's East-West natural gas pipeline. Management stated that its cost-improvement program is on track to deliver more than $175 million of run-rate savings by the end of 2026. Separately, the company announced a cooperation and investment agreement with JX Advanced Metals under which the companies will fund on a 50/50 basis approximately $32 million in aggregate for rare-earth project studies and a US-based pilot facility.