Fairmont Santrol reported that first quarter 2015 revenue totaled $301.5 million, up 2 percent from $294.9 million for the same period in 2014. Overall sales volumes increased to 2.3 million tons for the quarter, an 8 percent increase compared with 2.1 million tons in the first quarter of 2014.
The increase in volumes in the first quarter of 2015 over the prior year period was primarily due to continued strong demand resulting from increased proppant intensity and improved service levels driven by better weather conditions and improved rail service compared with last year.
For the first quarter, net income was $30.8 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, compared with net income of $34.5 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, for the same period a year ago. Adjusted earnings per diluted share were $0.19, compared with adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.21 for the first quarter of 2014.
Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was $75.1 million, down 9 percent from first quarter 2014 Adjusted EBITDA of $82.1 million. Adjusted EBITDA was impacted by a decline in contribution margin in its Proppant Solutions segment and an increase in year-over-year SG&A expenses driven mostly by costs associated with being a public company.
Total Proppant Solutions volumes for the first quarter of 2015 rose to 1.8 million tons, up 12 percent compared to the prior year period. Raw sand volumes were 1.5 million tons, up 18 percent from the prior year period. Coated proppant volumes were 0.29 million tons, down 10 percent from the prior year period driven primarily by a decrease in demand for pre-cured resin-coated proppants.
Proppant Solutions revenue totaled $272.9 million in the first quarter, a 2 percent increase compared with $266.5 million in the same period a year ago. The year-over-year increase in volumes exceeded the increase in revenue due to the decline in resin-coated volumes and the effect of price decreases in the first quarter, primarily on resin-coated products.
Contribution margin for Proppant Solutions decreased to $83.8 million this quarter from $89.0 million in the first quarter of 2014 due to the decline in volume and selling prices for resin-coated proppants, partially offset by an increase in contribution margin in both its Northern White and Texas Gold product lines. Changes in selling prices for raw sand did not have a significant impact on contribution margin in the first quarter of 2015 compared with the prior year period, according to the company.