REC Silicon, a Norway-based silicon material manufacturing company, reported a revenue of $19.9 million for the second quarter (Q2) of 2025, an 83% year-over-year (YoY) decline from $36.4 million.

The revenue decrease was attributed to reduced polysilicon sales as the company continues to liquidate inventories, alongside planned maintenance outages at its Butte operations.

REC Silicon recorded a positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $4.9 million, compared to a negative $1.5 million in Q2 2024 from continuing operations, reversing the loss of $4.6 million reported in Q1 2025.

This turnaround was driven primarily by a $13.1 million non-cash gain related to the modification of a long-term lease at the Moses Lake facility.

Earnings per share came in at a loss of $0.02, compared to a loss of $0.12 in the same quarter last year.

The company ended the quarter with a cash balance of $8.3 million, down $8.5 million from March 2025.

Operating cash flows were negative at $15.7 million during the quarter, driven by working capital movements. Interest payments totaled $7.2 million, and costs associated with discontinued operations were also incurred.

Investing activities accounted for $1.5 million in outflows, mainly related to capital expenditures, while financing activities contributed $8.7 million through new borrowings.

“The company’s financial challenges continue due to lower-than-expected sales and pressure from operating expenses and interest payments. Negative impacts have also been felt from existing tariffs, channel inventories, project delays, and demand uncertainty from key markets and customers. These external factors are expected to continue to negatively impact revenues and cash flow. The company’s focus will continue to be on the fundamentals of selling more, stabilizing production operations and continuing to seek cost reduction opportunities, however, the need for additional capital is expected,” said Kurt Levens, CEO at REC Silicon.

First Half

For the first half (1H) of 2025, revenues totaled $41.2 million, significantly lower than $78.3 million in the same period of 2024.

The total net loss for 1H 2025 was $31.8 million compared to a loss of $91.2 million in 1H 2024, with discontinued operations contributing $8 million to the losses.

Operational Highlights

REC Silicon’s Butte operations contributed revenues of $19.8 million in Q2 2025, a sequential decline from $21.4 million in Q1, largely due to lower polysilicon sales.

Silicon gas sales volumes in Q2 2025 reached 570 metric tons (MT), slightly up from 560 MT in Q1 2025 but lower than 654 MT in the corresponding quarter of 2024, indicating ongoing softness in global demand.

Average selling prices fell 2.5% due to market conditions. EBITDA from the Butte facility was negative $300,000, primarily because of a planned maintenance outage.

The Moses Lake facility, which closed its granular polysilicon operations earlier this year, recorded no revenues but contributed $9.6 million to EBITDA due to the lease modification gain. The other segments, which include corporate and administrative expenses, posted a negative EBITDA of $4.4 million.

Silicon gas production was 1,146 MT, with sales totaling 1,130 MT for 1H 2025, compared to 1,504 MT sold during the first half of 2024, underlining a continuing decline in demand. Polysilicon sales volumes fell sharply to 240 MT in 1H 2025 from 914 MT in 1H 2024, consistent with the company’s ongoing exit from the polysilicon business.

Outlook

The company continues to face uncertainty due to global trade actions, tariffs, and concerns about market access, which are delaying expansions and sales growth, particularly in silane and polysilicon markets.

Demand for silane remains weak, especially in the semiconductor memory sector, while polysilicon sales volumes continue to decline as inventories are cleared.

Commenting on the market situation, Levens said, “Silicon gas shipments are in a range that we have settled in for the last three quarters. We are still having trade-related effects due to tariffs and trade actions on our products. Expected opportunities for volume expansion are being delayed or suspended. Semi memory market demand is still soft compared to prior periods and is affecting underlying demand, particularly for silane.”

For Q3 2025, the company has set a shipment target of 550MT to 600 MT of silicon gases, broadly in line with recent quarters. Levens added that cost reduction efforts remain a priority, stating, “Our cost reduction efforts in Moses Lake continue, and material progress was made over Q1. We expect to continue incremental reductions through the remainder of the year as we finish and negotiate prior commitments.”

The company also reported that the Butte operation has continued to optimize for cost reduction and has achieved targets, particularly on manufacturing overhead.

REC Silicon reported a revenue of $29.7 million in Q4 2024, a 26.5% YoY decline from $40.4 million.