Century Aluminum (CENX) Q4 Earnings Beat, Sales Miss Estimates
Century Aluminum Company CENX reported a net profit of $60.4 million or 59 cents per share in fourth-quarter 2021, against a net loss of $35.5 million or 40 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. The bottom line in the reported quarter was favorably impacted by $43.9 million of exceptional items.
Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings were 17 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 5 cents.
Revenues and Shipments
The company generated net sales of $659.1 million in the fourth quarter, up 69.4% year over year. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $720.7 million.
Shipments of primary aluminum were 200,961 tons, up around 3% year over year.
FY21 Results
Loss (as reported) for full-year 2021 was $1.85 per share compared with a loss of $1.38 a year ago. Net sales increased 37.8% year over year to $2,212.5 million.
Financials
At the end of the year, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $29 million, down 64.5% year over year.
Net cash used in operating activities was $64.7 million for 2021.
Outlook
Century Aluminum stated that aluminum prices remain strong as it entered 2022. Strength in demand continues while supply conditions tighten due to energy shortages globally. It forecasts capital expenditures in the range of $30-35 million for 2022. It also anticipates shipments for this year to be 885,000 tons.
Price Performance
Shares of Century Aluminum have surged 49% in the past year compared with an 18.5% decline of the industry.
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Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Century Aluminum currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Allegheny Technologies Incorporated ATI, Nutrien Ltd. NTR and AdvanSix Inc. ASIX.
Allegheny, currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), has an expected earnings growth rate of 661.5% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATI's earnings for the current year has been revised 45.6% upward in the past 60 days. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Allegheny beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 127.2%. ATI has rallied around 22.2% over a year.
Nutrien, sporting a Zacks Rank #1, has a projected earnings growth rate of 70.1% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NTR's current-year earnings has been revised 16.9% upward in the past 60 days.
Nutrien beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the last four quarters while missing once. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 60.3%, on average. NTR has rallied around 45.8% in a year.
AdvanSix has a projected earnings growth rate of 14.6% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASIX’s current-year earnings has been revised 9.8% upward in the past 60 days.
AdvanSix beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the trailing four quarters, the average being 23.6%. ASIX has surged 32.8% in a year. The company sports a Zacks Rank #1.
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