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Century (CENX) Up 31.9% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Continue?

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It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Century Aluminum (CENX - Free Report) . Shares have added about 31.9% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Century due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

Century Aluminum’s Q4 Earnings and Sales Miss Estimates

Century Aluminum reported net loss of $35.5 million or 40 cents per share in fourth-quarter 2020, wider than net loss of $4.8 million or 5 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. The bottom line in the reported quarter was affected by $4.9 million of exceptional items.

Barring one-time items, adjusted loss was 32 cents per share, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 26 cents.

Revenues and Shipments

The company generated net sales of $389.1 million in the fourth quarter, down 10.7% year over year. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $414.8 million.

Shipments of primary aluminum were 194,940 tons, down around 4% year over year.

FY20 Results

Loss (as reported) for full-year 2020 was $1.38 per share compared with a loss of 91 cents per share a year ago. Net sales declined 12.6% year over year to $1,605.1 million.

Financials

At the end of the year, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $81.6 million, up more than two fold year over year.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $42.9 million for 2020.

Outlook

Century Aluminum stated that there is an improvement in demand across various intermediate and end markets. Moreover, manufacturing activities continue to be strong in the United States. A number of factors have also led to strong prices and product premiums, and its operations are stable with production at expected levels of cost and efficiency. The financial results in the fourth quarter were in line with expectations. Strength in its profitability and cash flow is likely to get reflected in results for the upcoming quarters, the company noted.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

It turns out, estimates revision have trended downward during the past month.


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