Century Aluminum records increased shipments but sees net sales dip in Q1 2024

Century Aluminum, a global primary aluminium producer with operations in the United States and Iceland, announced its first quarter results of 2024, which ended March 31. The company’s net sales during the period totalled $489.50 million, down by $22.8 million or 4.45 per cent from $512.3 million in Q4 2023.  

However, despite the drop in net sales, Century’s net income attributable to stakeholders surged by $216.8 million to reach $246.8 million in Q1 2024, driven by higher shipments and elevated average global aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange at $2,190 per tonne, up $8 per tonne from the prior quarter.Shipments grew sequentially from 173,871 tonnes to 174,627 tonnes. 

Amid the increase in net income, Century Aluminum experienced an adjusted net loss of $3 million for the first quarter of 2024, impacted by Jamalco equipment failure costs of $4.7 million and share-based compensation costs $3.5 million.

Century Aluminum’s adjusted EBITDA in Q1 2024 was $25 million, down by $32.1 million or 56.22 per cent from $57.1 million in Q4 2023. 

At the end of the quarter, Century Aluminum possessed cash and cash equivalents of $93.5 million and strong liquidity of $302 million. 

In March, Century Aluminum was selected for up to $500 million funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations as part of the Industrial Demonstrations Program (IDP). Century Aluminum will utilise the fund to build the first new US primary aluminium smelter in 45 years, aiming at doubling the size of the current US primary aluminium industry and strengthening domestic economies and its position in the global market.

Commenting on the Q1 results, Century Aluminum’s President and CEO Jesse Gary said, “Operational and safety performance was excellent across Century’s smelter portfolio in the first quarter, reflecting our team’s disciplined focus on execution. This leaves Century well-positioned to benefit from improving market conditions as we enter the second quarter, with LME prices rising significantly during April on improving global demand for aluminum."

Mr Gary continued, “With trade disruptions continuing to proliferate globally on rising geopolitical tensions and near shoring trends, Century’s strategic locations in the US and European markets enables us to provide our customers with reliable supply chains and top-notch customer service. Our recently announced greenfield smelter and secondary casthouse projects in the US and our new primary billet casthouse in Iceland are designed to further build on our advantages in these markets and offer our customers cutting-edge aluminum products.”