Century Aluminum Co (NASDAQ: CENX) saw its shares surge by over 5% in pre-market trading on November 5th, 2024, after the company reported better-than-expected earnings results for the third quarter of 2024.
The aluminum producer reported an adjusted earnings per share of $0.63 for the quarter ended September 30th, beating Wall Street's consensus estimate of $0.28. The company's adjusted EBITDA for the quarter stood at $104 million, benefiting from improved aluminum prices and updated guidance on the 45X tax credit.
Driving the strong performance was robust global demand for aluminum, fueled by trends towards electrification and lightweighting in various industries. Century Aluminum expects this favorable market environment to continue, projecting an adjusted EBITDA between $70 million and $80 million for the fourth quarter.
Moreover, the company has received significant interest in its Hawesville facility for potential redevelopment, indicating the possibility of future value realization from its assets. Jesse Gary, President and CEO of Century Aluminum, stated that the company has initiated a formal process to evaluate strategic alternatives for the site.
While the company faced challenges, such as a safety incident at its Mt. Holly smelter and potential power curtailments in Iceland, the overall positive earnings performance and optimistic outlook seem to have outweighed these concerns, driving the stock's pre-market surge.
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