Century Aluminum reports an 87% hike in annual net sales for FY2022 amid sluggish shipment volume

On February 23, Century Aluminum declared its financial results ended December 31, 2022, revealing an increase in annual net sales by 87.45 per cent from US$2,212.50 million in FY21 to US$2,777.30 million in FY2022. But that during Q4 2022 stood down by 16.84 per cent at US$529.9 million versus US$637.2 million in Q4 FY21.

Century’s annual net sales increased in FY22 despite the downfall in shipments by 14,956 tonnes Y-o-Y from 783,637 tonnes to 768,691 tonnes. In Q4, the shipments stood at 169,471 tonnes, down by 2.45 per cent from 173,725 tonnes.

Thus, the rise in net sales could be attributed to inflation and the LME aluminum global price hike. But due to the plunge in the metal price towards the end of the year, Century’s net sales in Q4 recorded a fall.

Century posted a higher net loss for the fourth quarter, totalling US$113.5 million compared to US$44.3 million in the previous quarter. However, in the full year, it stood at US$14.1 million, reflecting an improvement of $153.0 million Y-o-Y from US$167.1 million.

Adjusted EBITDA for the entire year was US$143.8 million, a decrease of $30.4 million compared to the prior year, primarily driven by increased power prices and lower shipment volume.

The company undertook many cost savings programmes, which were partially offset by high power prices and other raw material cost pressure. Century also announced the completion of Mt. Holly restart project, reaching 75 per cent of total production capacity.

Century also mentioned its project expansion into low-carbon billet production for Grundartangi, Iceland smelter. The project is on budget and on time for completion, with shipments expected to begin in the first quarter of FY2024.

Jesse Gary, President and Chief Executive Officer of Century Aluminum, said: “As we enter 2023, we have begun to see an abatement in the high-cost environment that marked much of 2022. Global energy prices have reduced markedly since last summer, most significantly in the energy markets in which our U.S. smelters operate. At the same time, aluminum prices have remained buoyant, as long-term decarbonization trends continue to drive growth in global aluminum demand. Combined, these trends leave our businesses well situated to deliver excellent performance in 2023.”

“In Iceland, our billet casthouse project at Grundartangi remains on schedule for completion by year-end and we are seeing strong demand for our first deliveries of Natur-Al green billet products in the first quarter of 2024,” continued Mr. Gary. “We are very proud of the excellent job the Grundartangi team has done progressing this project safely and on-budget during the challenging market conditions we experienced in 2022.”

For Q1 2023, the company projects Adjusted EBITDA to range between US$10 million and US$15 million based on improved power and other input costs but partially offset by lagged LME, delivery premiums, volume and mix.