Noranda reports first quarter results

First Quarter 2014 Highlights and Recent Events

• Total segment profit was $10.7 million compared to $36.3 million in first quarter 2013
• First quarter 2014 weather-related segment profit impact totaled $14.9 million
• Average realized Midwest transaction price per pound shipped was $0.95, compared to $1.03 in first quarter 2013
• Net Cash Cost was $0.90 per pound, or $0.79 per pound excluding weather-related impact; first quarter 2013 Net Cash Cost was $0.81 per pound
• Excluding special items, EPS was a $0.24 loss in first quarter 2014 and reported EPS was a $0.25 loss
• Cash and cash equivalents totaled $51.2 million and total available liquidity was $191.1 million, calculated as of March 31, 2014

Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation today reported results for first quarter 2014.

"Unusually extreme winter weather negatively affected first quarter production costs and operating results in our alumina and primary aluminum units," said Layle K. (Kip) Smith, Noranda's President and Chief Executive Officer.

First Quarter 2014 Results

Sales for first quarter 2014 were $311.6 million, compared to $313.2 million in fourth quarter 2013 and $338.4 million in first quarter 2013. The extreme winter weather conditions minimally impacted shipments to external customers during first quarter 2014.

• Sequentially (comparing first quarter 2014 to fourth quarter 2013), sales decreased $1.6 million, or 1%. The favorable impacts of a higher realized Midwest Transaction Price on primary aluminum and flat-rolled product revenues and a seasonal increase in flat-rolled product volumes were offset by lower external volumes in the Alumina and Primary segments.

• Year-over-year (comparing first quarter 2014 to first quarter 2013), sales decreased $26.8 million, or 8%, due primarily to lower realized prices in the Alumina, Primary Aluminum, and Flat-Rolled Products segments, where selling prices are linked to the LME aluminum price.

Total first quarter 2014 segment profit was $10.7 million, compared to $20.8 million in fourth quarter 2013 and $36.3 million in first quarter 2013.

• Sequentially, segment profit decreased $10.1 million largely due to unusually extreme winter conditions, which had a $14.9 million negative sequential impact on the Alumina and Primary Aluminum segments. That negative impact included $3.6 million from a first quarter 2014 weather-driven spike in natural gas prices and $11.3 million from higher production costs. At the Company's alumina refinery, unusually extreme cold temperatures created process instability which caused unfavorable usage rates for key production materials. Similar conditions at the Company's aluminum smelter hampered electrical efficiency, decreased metal purity, increased anode production costs and drove higher maintenance and overtime costs. The impact of extreme weather on production costs was partially offset in the Primary Aluminum segment by higher realized Midwest Transaction Prices and by savings under the Company's CORE productivity program.

Year-over-year, segment profit decreased $25.6 million, driven primarily by the combination of lower aluminum prices of $16.1 million and the $14.9 million negative impact from extreme winter weather conditions. These negatives were partially offset by the favorable impact of lower prices for certain raw materials and by savings under the Company's CORE productivity program.

Reported first quarter 2014 results were a $16.8 million net loss ($0.25 loss per diluted share), compared to a $17.7 million fourth quarter 2013 net loss ($0.26 loss per diluted share) and $0.6 million first quarter 2013 net income ($0.01 income per diluted share).

Excluding special items, Noranda's first quarter 2014 results were a net loss of $16.1 million ($0.24 loss per diluted share), compared to a net loss of $8.5 million ($0.12 loss per diluted share) in fourth quarter 2013 and a net loss of $1.3 million ($0.02 loss per diluted share) in first quarter 2013. The $7.6 million sequential increase in net loss (excluding special items) primarily reflects a $10.1 million ($6.9 million after-tax) decrease in segment profit. The $14.8 million year-over-year increase in net loss (excluding special items) primarily reflects a $25.6 million decrease in segment profit ($17.5 million after-tax).