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Century Aluminum (CENX) Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Sales Lag

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Century Aluminum Company (CENX - Free Report) reported a profit of $44.3 million or 43 cents per share in third-quarter 2022 compared with a loss of $52.4 million or 58 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

Barring one-time items, adjusted loss was 34 cents per share, which was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 63 cents.

 

Century Aluminum Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

Century Aluminum Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Century Aluminum Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Century Aluminum Company Quote

 

Revenues and Shipments

The company generated net sales of $637.2 million in the reported quarter, up around 10% year over year. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $665.5 million.

Shipments of primary aluminum were 173,725 tons, down around 11% year over year. Shipments also declined 19% sequentially due to lower volumes from the Hawesville plant related to the earlier announced curtailment of production at the facility.

Financials

At the end of the quarter, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $64.8 million, up roughly 13% year over year.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $57.2 million in the nine months ended Sep 30, 2022 against net cash used of $12.1 million in the year-ago period.

Outlook

Century Aluminum stated that although the global energy crisis and difficult industry conditions continued to present challenges in the third quarter, it remains well-placed to operate its businesses through this commodity cycle and benefit from the long-term trends towards value-added aluminum products. It has taken several measures to lower cost structure, reduce its exposure to market energy prices and improve liquidity. The company believes that these actions will help it execute on its long-term strategies and create value for shareholders.

Price Performance

Shares of Century Aluminum have dropped 38.2% in the past year compared with a 22.4% decline of the industry.

 

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

 

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Century Aluminum currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Other top-ranked stocks worth considering in the basic materials space include Albemarle Corporation (ALB - Free Report) , Commercial Metals Company (CMC - Free Report) and Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (RS - Free Report) .

Albemarle, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has a projected earnings growth rate of 420.3% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALB's current-year earnings has been revised 5.8% upward in the past 60 days. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Albemarle’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 24.2%, on average. ALB has gained around 20% in a year.

Commercial Metals currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CMC's current-year earnings has been revised 3.8% upward in the past 60 days.

Commercial Metals’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 19.7%, on average. CMC has gained around 38% in a year.

Reliance Steel, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has a projected earnings growth rate of 29.7% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RS's current-year earnings has been revised 0.1% upward in the past 60 days.

Reliance Steel’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 13.6%, on average. RS has gained around 18% in a year.

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