Century Aluminum’s Q4 2018 shipments up 9% QoQ driven by restarts at Hawesville and Sebree

Century Aluminum Company announced fourth quarter and full year 2018 results. The company reported net loss of $65.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. Adjusted net loss was 40.7 million compared to adjusted net income of $2.3 million for Q3 2018.

Adjusted EBITDA for Q4 2018 was $(18.1) million driven by the historically high alumina price relative to the metal price.  Cash position at quarter end was $38.9 million and revolver availability was $156.9 million.

Shipments of primary aluminium were 199,466 tonnes compared with 182,926 tonnes shipped in Q3 2018, reflecting the impact of the Hawesville and Sebree restarts.  Net sales were $486.9 million compared with $481.8 million for Q3 2018.

For the full year 2018, Century reported a net loss of $66.2 million. The adjusted net loss for the full year 2018 was $13.0 million compared to adjusted net income of $34.7 million for the full year 2017. Adjusted EBITDA was $86.0 million compared with $167.5 million in 2017 driven by the historically high alumina price relative to the metal price.

Shipments of primary aluminium were 749,850 tonnes compared with 743,198 tonnes shipped in 2017, reflecting the impact of the Hawesville restart partially offset by the equipment failure at Sebree.  Net sales were $1,893.2 million compared with $1,589.1 million for 2017.

Michael Bless, President and Chief Executive Officer said: “The global deficit in primary aluminium in 2018 was over 1.5 million tonnes, consisting of a surplus in China and a deficit of over 2 million tonnes in the remainder of the world.  This global deficit level is expected to repeat in 2019.  Demand continues to be strong in our markets in the U.S. and Europe.  The alumina price remains materially above historical levels, correlating to 23% of the metal price during the fourth quarter; we continue to assess alumina’s fair value as 17% or below.  Bottom line, we believe industry conditions should be attractive for Century during 2019, especially once the geopolitical picture for commodities generally becomes clearer.”

Bless continued, “We made good progress in our operations during the last several months.  The restart of the idled capacity at Hawesville remains on schedule and on budget, with the startup of the last of the curtailed potlines nearing completion.  The next step will be the determination of the rebuild schedule for the two potlines that have been continuously operating.  Most important, the team at Hawesville has accomplished this complex process without a serious safety incident; this laudable achievement is the result of meticulous planning and training, followed by attention to detail during the execution phase.  At Mt. Holly, we concluded a two-year extension to the 75 percent market power based contract; we remain determined and fully committed to finding a path to achieving full market access, which would enable a return to full production.”