U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SLCA) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

And I’m not sure what kind of credit we’d get even if we did consolidation there. And so there’s no good sort of pure play currency out there today that can facilitate the consolidation. So I think that’s been one of the challenges, Stephen, and going out and taking on debt to do consolidation, I think is a bit challenging just given the unpredictability of the oil field.

Stephen Gengaro: Great, thanks. The other follow up to that was simply when you look at the landscape, at least what you’ve seen so far, is consolidation more likely in the oil patch or in the ISP business?

Bryan Shinn: Well, in the ISP side, it’s a little bit tough because there really aren’t a lot of players. It’s a much smaller field. I would say just because of the numbers, consolidation is probably more likely in the oil field, but valuation expectations have to get to a more reasonable place and the consolidators have to have the right currency. I think those of us in the services space are perhaps not like those in the operator world where, they have a ton of cash and they can just use that cash to go out and do some of these consolidations and they have an appropriately valued share price as well. I think we’re in a bit of a different spot there, so it makes it much harder to get something done in terms of consolidation, in my opinion.

Stephen Gengaro: Okay, great. Thank you for the details.

Bryan Shinn: Thanks, Stephen.

Operator: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our question-and-answer session. I’ll turn the floor back to Mr. Shinn for any final comments.

Bryan Shinn: Thanks, operator. As we look to close out this year of record profitability for U.S. Silica, we remain confident in our strategy and we believe that our industry-leading business segments, market and capital discipline, operating cash flow visibility, and commitment to further strengthening our balance sheet will deliver substantial value for our shareholders and other stakeholders in the coming quarters. Speaking of which, we appreciate you joining our call today and look forward to speaking with all of you again next quarter. Everyone stay safe and be well.

Operator: Thank you. This concludes today’s conference call. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.