Century Aluminum Company Reports Quarterly Net Loss of $0.3 Million

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Century Aluminum Company-the second largest producer of primary aluminum in the U.S. has announced results for the first quarter of the current year. The company reported net loss of $0.3 Million for the quarter. The company had posted net income of $35.8 million during the prior quarter. The adjusted net loss for Q1 2018 was $3.5 million as compared with adjusted net income of $24.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2017.

For the first quarter of 2018 ended March 31, Century Aluminum reported adjusted EBITDA of $21.8 million, falling significantly from Q4 last year. The Q4 ’17 adjusted EBITDA had totaled $60.2 million. The notable decline was mainly on account of higher raw material costs, though partially offset by higher LME and regional premiums. Sales recorded marginal increase from $433.8 million in fourth quarter of 2017 to $454.5 million in Q1 this year. The total shipments of primary aluminum recorded minor decline to total 187,238 tonnes. It must be noted that Century had shipped 189,000 tons in the prior quarter.

Michael Bless, President and Chief Executive Officer, Century Aluminum stated that industry fundamentals continue to remain generally strong. Most regions are reporting aggressive demand growth. The implementation of Section 232 tariffs by the U.S. administration has created opportunity for fairly-traded environment in the U.S. after a long time. Consequently, the company had recently decided to invest significantly in upgrades of its U.S. mills. Furthermore, he hoped that exemptions from tariffs will be limited.

Century Aluminum foresees significant opportunity in the U.S. market over the coming years. It has already announced restart of three potlines at Hawesville facility, which is expected to get completed by 2019. Mr. Bless noted that the downward trend in alumina prices is likely to continue through rest of 2018.