NASDAQ:CENX Century Aluminum Q2 2024 Earnings Report $58.91 -1.67 (-2.76%) Closing price 05/8/2026 04:00 PM EasternExtended Trading$58.53 -0.38 (-0.64%) As of 05/8/2026 07:59 PM Eastern Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Massive. Learn more. ProfileEarnings HistoryForecast Century Aluminum EPS ResultsActual EPS-$0.03Consensus EPS $0.02Beat/MissMissed by -$0.05One Year Ago EPSN/ACentury Aluminum Revenue ResultsActual Revenue$560.80 millionExpected Revenue$530.90 millionBeat/MissBeat by +$29.90 millionYoY Revenue GrowthN/ACentury Aluminum Announcement DetailsQuarterQ2 2024Date8/8/2024TimeN/AConference Call DateThursday, August 8, 2024Conference Call Time5:00PM ETConference Call ResourcesConference Call AudioConference Call TranscriptSlide DeckPress Release (8-K)Quarterly Report (10-Q)Earnings HistoryCompany ProfileSlide DeckFull Screen Slide DeckPowered by Century Aluminum Q2 2024 Earnings Call TranscriptProvided by QuartrAugust 8, 2024 ShareLink copied to clipboard.Key Takeaways Century delivered a strong Q2 with adjusted EBITDA of $34 million and 15% sequential sales growth to $561 million, driven by higher metal prices and regional premiums. The company reduced outstanding debt by nearly $50 million in the quarter, ending Q2 with a liquidity position of $343 million (including $41 million in cash). For Q3, management projects adjusted EBITDA of $65–75 million, reflecting an expected $30–40 million boost from higher lagged LME/pricing and a $10 million shipment timing tailwind. Aluminum and alumina prices rose in Q2 on strong green‐economy demand (notably solar and transmission) and ongoing supply constraints, underpinning confidence in long‐term demand growth from electrification and light‐weighting. Operationally, Iceland’s 20 MW energy curtailment was lifted and full production resumed by quarter end, while Jamalco quickly restored refinery output post‐hurricane and secured alternative port arrangements following conveyor damage. AI Generated. May Contain Errors.Conference Call Audio Live Call not available Earnings Conference CallCentury Aluminum Q2 202400:00 / 00:00Speed:1x1.25x1.5x2xTranscript SectionsPresentationParticipantsPresentationSkip to Participants Operator00:00:00Good afternoon. Thank you for attending today's Century Aluminum Company second quarter 2024 earnings conference call. My name is Forum, and I will be your moderator for today's call. All lines will remain muted during the presentation portion of the call, with an opportunity for questions and answers at the end. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. It is now my pleasure to pass the conference over to our host, Ryan Crawford, with Century Aluminum. Mr. Crawford, you may proceed. Ryan CrawfordHead of Investor Relations at Century Aluminum Company00:00:30Thank you, operator. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the conference call. I'm joined here today by Jesse Gary, Century's President and Chief Executive Officer, Jerry Bialek, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Peter Trpkovski, Senior Vice President of Finance and Treasurer. After our prepared comments, we will take your questions. As a reminder, today's presentation is available on our website at www.centuryaluminum.com. We use our website as a means of disclosing material information about the company and for complying with Regulation FD. Turning to slide one, please take a moment to review the cautionary statements shown here with respect to forward-looking statements and non-GAAP financial measures contained in today's discussion. With that, I'll hand the call to Jesse. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:01:26Thanks, Ryan, and thanks to everyone for joining. I'll start the call today by reviewing our second quarter performance and providing some thoughts on the current market environment before turning it over to Jerry for the detailed financial results and then taking your questions. Our team produced excellent results in the second quarter, with Adjusted EBITDA of $34 million. Jerry will give you the full details here, but we are really pleased with the continued strong operating performance across our plants. Overall, improving aluminum prices, both at the LME and regional premium level, drove increased profitability in the quarter and will continue to benefit our third quarter financial performance as the strong LME prices observed in the second quarter begin to roll through our lagged contractual pricing and financial results. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:02:16We also reduced our outstanding debt by nearly $50 million in the quarter, driving strong liquidity of over $340 million. Turning to slide 5, aluminum prices rose during the second quarter as stronger global demand, especially in China, drove both LME and regional premiums higher. Demand was strongest in areas relating to the green economy, especially in solar energy and other renewable and energy transmission applications. More recently, aluminum prices have retreated as broad macro concerns have weighed on markets. Over the longer term, we are confident that global trends towards electrification and light weighting will continue to drive increased demand for aluminum. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:03:00When paired with inventory levels that remain near historic lows and little expected in years, it is easy to see why aluminum markets remain in steep contango, and we continue to believe our assets are well-placed to benefit from short aluminum markets in the U.S. and Europe. Turning to alumina, the API rose significantly during the quarter, with Q2 prices averaging 19% higher than Q1 levels and reaching over $500 per ton in June. These prices reflect a continued tight market for alumina, as production issues in Australia and China led to a lack of available spot cargoes during the quarter and drove prices higher. Alumina prices have remained near their highs so far in the third quarter as supply remains constrained. Given this constrained alumina market, we were very pleased with Jamalco's strong operational performance during the second quarter. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:03:59As previously noted, our Jamalco operations make us roughly net neutral to API pricing as a company when combined with our long-term commercial contracts that are linked to the price of aluminum. Jamalco produced its targeted 1.2 million tons per annum production rate in the second quarter. Over the longer term, while we expect global alumina prices to largely follow aluminum prices, we suspect that alumina will continue to remain exposed to supply-driven volatility as refineries without a dedicated source of bauxite remain exposed to the seaborne bauxite market and supply from difficult geopolitical locations. In addition, Chinese regulators announced earlier this year that Chinese alumina refineries would be subject to more stringent energy and emission efficiency standards. We believe these actions will act to constrain Chinese alumina production growth over the near to medium term. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:04:56Turning to the global trading environment, the U.S. and E.U. governments each took additional actions towards nearshoring industrial and strategic mineral production during the quarter that will impact global aluminum flows and supply into our key markets in the U.S. and Europe. In May, I joined President Biden at the White House, where he announced an expansion of the Section 301 tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese goods, including many aluminum products. Similarly, in June, the E.U. announced additional tariffs of up to 38% on Chinese electric vehicles. In July, the U.S. announced a new smelted and cast requirement that ensures that aluminum that was smelted and cast in Russia, China, and certain other countries cannot be transformed into downstream aluminum products in Mexico in order to avoid the 10% Section 232 duties. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:05:52Finally, as we anticipated on our last call, in May, the U.S. Department of Commerce imposed significant anti-dumping duties on aluminum extrusions entering the U.S. from 14 countries, including China, Mexico, Colombia, and Vietnam. The duties, which went into effect immediately, have started to support domestic extrusion demand and correspondingly domestic billet demand. As a reminder, we did hold back some second half billet volumes for spot sales this year in anticipation of improving U.S. market conditions and a more constructive pricing environment. We've started to see some uptick here on the demand side and continue to expect this will be positive for U.S. billet pricing over the balance of the year and into 2025. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:06:40These trade actions, especially when viewed together with the substantial trade measures already in place in the U.S. and EU markets, including the Section 232 tariffs and the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and other existing aluminum tariffs, show the significant value of Century's U.S. and EU-based production footprint. This allows us to provide short supply chains and better service to our customers, but to also benefit from better pricing environments in these markets. Turning to operations, we saw strong and stable performance across our operating locations in the second quarter. In Iceland, as expected, the previously announced 20-megawatt energy curtailment was lifted during the second quarter, and Grundartangi returned to full production by quarter end. Our team did an excellent job restoring production quickly and efficiently once the power curtailment ended. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:07:34As we have seen in many smelters around the world, restoring production following a curtailment is not easy, and I'd like to congratulate the Grundartangi team on a job well done. We expect normal production levels from Grundartangi in Q3. At the Grundartangi cast house, we continue to produce trials and to qualify our new Natur-Al green billets with our key customers over Q2 and Q3. We remain very excited to begin supplying this much-needed Natur-Al low-carbon billet into the European market. In the U.S., energy prices continue to be constructive, driven by natural gas prices near $2. Operations at Sebree and Mount Holly remain stable, which is a testament to our operating teams during these very hot summer months. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:08:23At Jamalco, as previously announced, we were unfortunately impacted by Hurricane Beryl when the Category 4 storm made landfall near our port facilities at Rocky Point in Clarendon Parish in early July. The hurricane brought heavy storm surge, significant rain, and high winds to both our operations and surrounding communities, and we are working with local officials in Clarendon and other parishes to assist those in need. While we were fortunate to not suffer any significant injuries or damage to the refinery operations, we did temporarily curtail operations at the refinery as part of our standard hurricane preparation procedures. The Jamalco team did a remarkable job restoring operations once the storm had passed and the refinery had returned to full production levels. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:09:12In addition, while Jamalco's production facilities escaped significant damage, the port facility was impacted by the storm, where a portion of the alumina conveyor was damaged and is undergoing repair. While those repairs are being completed, Jamalco has secured alternative port arrangements to ensure continued alumina shipments to its customers. Finally, we made good progress on our growth projects during the second quarter. While we don't have any significant updates at this time, we continue to work diligently on evaluating each and would expect to be able to provide a further update on our third quarter call. Jerry will now walk you through the quarter and our Q3 outlook. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:09:53Thank you, Jesse. Let's turn to Slide 7 to review second quarter results. On a consolidated basis, second quarter global shipments were approximately 168,000 tons, slightly lower than last quarter due to typical timing fluctuations. Realized prices increased versus prior quarter, driven by higher metal prices and regional delivery premiums, resulting in net sales of $561 million, a 15% increase sequentially. Looking at Q2 operating results, Adjusted EBITDA attributable to Century was $34 million. This was a sequential increase of $9 million, mainly driven by higher realized metal prices and regional premiums. Adjusted net income was $1 million, or $0.01 per share. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:10:42The main adjusting items were add backs of $4 million for share-based compensation and $2 million for the unrealized impact of forward contracts, partially offset by a $2 million deduction for lower of cost or net realizable value on inventory. We improved liquidity to $343 million by the end of the quarter. This is the strongest liquidity position in nearly a decade and consists of $41 million in cash and $302 million available on our credit facility. Turning to Slide 8 to explain second quarter sequential improvement in Adjusted EBITDA. In total, Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $34 million. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:11:25Realized LME of $2,288 per ton was up $98 versus prior quarter, while realized U.S. Midwest premium of $416 per ton was up $7, and European Delivery Premium of $284 per ton was up $61. Together, higher metal prices and regional premiums contributed an incremental $22 million compared with the prior quarter. Aluminum production costs were mixed as higher LME market prices increased power costs for our Iceland smelter by $4 million. As a reminder, the power expense for our Iceland smelter is mostly linked to LME prices. Realized coke prices decreased $31 per ton, and realized pitch prices decreased $35 per ton. Together, other raw material prices improved by $3 million, helping offset the power headwind. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:12:23The lower shipment volume was a $7 million headwind to Adjusted EBITDA. The decreased volume was due to normal fluctuations in shipment timing. We expect these shipments in Q3, and therefore no change to our full year volume expectations. As discussed last quarter, we completed the deferred pot relining activities related to the Iceland power curtailment. These activities drove an incremental $5 million of expense in Q2 that will not repeat. With that, let's turn to slide nine for a look at cash flow. We began the quarter with $93 million in cash. Adjusted EBITDA contributed $34 million. Capital expenditures totaled $16 million, $11 million of which relates to the completion of the Grundartangi cast house project. We reduced short-term borrowings on our revolving credit facilities, with both our U.S. and Iceland revolvers paid down to 0 balance at quarter end. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:13:22We experienced normal working capital flows. At the end of quarter two, we had $41 million in cash. Let's turn to slide 10, and I'll give you some insight into our expectations for the third quarter. For Q3, the lagged LME of $2,440 per ton is expected to be up about $153 versus Q2 realized prices. The Q3 lagged US Midwest premium is forecast to be $425 per ton, up $10. The European delivery premium is expected at $320 per ton, or up about $35 per ton versus the second quarter. Taken together, the LME and delivery premium changes are expected to increase Q3 EBITDA by approximately $30-$40 million versus Q2 levels. We expect power prices to be a $5 million headwind. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:14:18Collectively, we expect our key raw materials to be about flat. The previously discussed timing of shipment volume will be a quarter-over-quarter tailwind of approximately $10 million. Finally, we expect a headwind of about $5 million related to a summer seasonality and administrative expenses as we continue to progress on our growth projects. All factors considered, our outlook for Q3 Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in a range of between $65-$75 million. The financial impact of Hurricane Beryl would be adjusted in results and is reflected as such in our Q3 outlook. We look forward to your questions today, and we'll now turn the call over to the operator. Operator00:15:05Thank you. If you would like to ask a question, please press Star, followed by one on your telephone keypad. If, for any reason, you would like to remove that question, please press Star followed by two. Again, to ask a question, press Star one. As a reminder, if you are using a speakerphone, please remember to pick up your handset before asking your question. Our first question comes from the line of Lucas Pipes with B. Riley Securities. Lucas, your line is now open. Lucas PipesProfessional Stock Analys at B. Riley Securities00:15:34Thank you very much, operator. Good afternoon, everyone. Jesse, I wanted to get your perspective on the power markets. There's been a lot of excitement out there on the need for power in AI. We saw a very constructive PJM auction last week. You are long power at Hawesville with about 500 MW, and so I wondered how you think about the optionality around that power infrastructure today, and if there has been any interest from third parties. Thank you very much. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:16:11Yeah. Hi, Lucas. Thanks for the question. You know, obviously, we, as you know, are constantly looking at the power markets, both here in the U.S. and Europe and really around the world, watching for trends and what's going on out there. Obviously, we are aware of a lot of the storyline around the AI build-out and, you know, really quite substantial estimates of energy required to power all of that. With our own assets, of course, we're always looking at all alternatives and especially with our curtailed assets, in order to figure out how we maximize value. And so I guess what I would just say with Hawesville is we continue to think it's a great option on higher aluminum prices in the future. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:17:00But in the end, we'll maximize value of that asset, and whatever form that may come in is what we'll pursue. Lucas PipesProfessional Stock Analys at B. Riley Securities00:17:11Jesse, I appreciate that color. That's helpful. Thank you. I'll follow up on 45X. It's been pretty quiet in terms of kind of incremental guidance from Treasury. One, have you any update from your side, anything that you might be able to share at this point in terms of a timeline for additional guidance? And then two, there has been increased attention to the new smelter development, and are you able to move forward with that development in the absence of kind of full clarification from Treasury on what is gonna be included in 45X? Thank you very much. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:18:00Sure. Thanks, Lucas. Yeah, as you might imagine, we continued to engage with the administration on 45X in many of the same ways that we've talked about on previous calls. You know, we think both the timing of the ultimate final regulations, as well as the inclusion of raw materials in the ultimate calculations are very important for the U.S. industry. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:18:22... and so we continue to have those discussions. I don't really have an updated timeline, for you at this time. But I would just say we continue to be very engaged, and we're very thankful from the administration, for their continued engagement on this matter. I think everyone recognizes the importance of the aluminum industry in the United States and is moving forward with that in mind. Lucas PipesProfessional Stock Analys at B. Riley Securities00:18:51All right, well, we'll stay tuned. Jesse, I'll try to squeeze one last one in. With the Mount Holly restart of the last 25%, can you speak a little bit to the margin profile of those incremental volumes? Would those be kind of above, below, in line with your current EBITDA margin profile? Thank you very much. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:19:12Sure. Good, good question, Lucas. As I mentioned in my prepared remarks, you know, we continue to do work on that project. And we continue to monitor macro conditions as well, and put all of those things together in terms of looking at the timing of that restart. But to your specific question on margins, as we've probably talked about in the past, those last tons, those incremental tons out of a smelter are always the most profitable tons. As you continue to spread what are really, you know, compared to other industries, pretty large fixed costs over those incremental tons, and get the benefit from that from a margin perspective. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:19:53So as I said in the past, it's really a project we would like to do, and it's one that we continue to get ready for, and when the time is right, you know, we remain confident in our ability to execute that. Lucas PipesProfessional Stock Analys at B. Riley Securities00:20:09Jesse, I appreciate the color. I'll turn it over for now. All the best of luck. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:20:14Thanks a lot, Lucas. Operator00:20:17Thank you for your question. Our next question comes from the line of Katja Jancic with BMO. Katja, your line is now open. Katja JancicStock Analyst at BMO Capital Markets00:20:26Hi, thank you for taking my questions. Maybe starting on Jamalco, there were some reports that the refinery declared force majeure. Can you talk a bit more if that is correct, and why would that be if the volumes or the shipments are normal? Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:20:45Yeah, that is, that is correct, Katja. And of course, you declare force majeure for a variety of reasons. As we've said, our main port of export, which is Rocky Point, is out of commission right now, and we are running through an alternative port right now. And so the force majeure really related to that setup going forward. But as I said, the plant is back to full production, and we continue to have those alternative port solutions in place and to export alumina off the island. Katja JancicStock Analyst at BMO Capital Markets00:21:24The shipments are going as normal right now? Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:21:30Yeah, we don't expect a material impact to our results or to Jamalco's results going forward. You can't say they're exactly as normal when they're running out of an alternative port, but we're continuing to make exports from the island. Katja JancicStock Analyst at BMO Capital Markets00:21:51Okay, and then maybe- Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:21:52And- Katja JancicStock Analyst at BMO Capital Markets00:21:52On to, as a follow-up to Lucas's question about Hawesville. Have you looked at... You know, there's obviously a lot of questions about the power. And have you looked at if that would be an option from a perspective, would the utility or your agreement with the utility allow that? Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:22:17Yeah, as you might recall, Katja, both Kentucky plants have fairly unique energy arrangements, where through a variety of contractual arrangements, we have access to what is essentially the wholesale markets in MISO. And so, you know, that's been a very advantageous arrangement for us, and it's provided us with a lot of flexibility over time. And so as we look at both the future of Hawesville from a variety of perspectives, we continue to think that flexibility will be advantageous for us, you know, kind of no matter what the outcome ultimately is. Katja JancicStock Analyst at BMO Capital Markets00:22:58Okay. Thank you very much. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:23:01Thanks, Katya. Operator00:23:04Thank you for your question. Our next question comes from the line of Timna Tanners with Wolfe Research. Timna, now your line is now open. Timna TannersManaging Director and Senior Equity Research at Wolfe Research00:23:13Yeah, thank you, and good afternoon. Wanted to ask a little bit more about the situation at Jamalco. Is it, is it entirely benign, like doesn't have impact on Q3? And, is there any insurance collectibles on an issue like this or, just wondering a little more color? Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:23:32Sure. Yeah, I mean, we were definitely impacted, right? That's what we said in the press release, and that's what we've, you know, said on the phone call. As we said, you know, a portion of the alumina conveyor at the port was blown away. At the plant itself, we really haven't had any impact other than sort of taking the plant down as part of our hurricane preparations and then bringing it back up. But like I said, we're back at full production today. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:23:57So, you know, while we, of course, would have preferred that the hurricane skirted the island to the south more than it did, I think the team has really done a good job making it work while we get the repairs done at our port at Rocky Point and sort of making these alternative shipping arrangements work. You know, there is, of course, some impacts. You know, we lost some volume while we took the plant down for a few days and while we brought it back up, but it's really not material overall to our financial results. Timna TannersManaging Director and Senior Equity Research at Wolfe Research00:24:33... Okay, thank you for that. Back to Mount Holly, is it fair to say that, you know, if we're here past the middle of the year and you're still mulling it over, that we probably wouldn't see a restart imminently? Or can you give us a little bit more color about what you're looking for to make that decision? Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:24:52Yeah. So as with any restart, anywhere in the world, we look at a variety of factors. Whether the market is calling for that volume at the time, what the return profile is on the CapEx that would go in to enable the restart, what global aluminum prices are, what the Midwest premium is, what value-added premiums are. And so it's, you know, really multivariable analysis. And what we've been focused on is just bringing down the time to restart once we do make that decision. And so as I talked about in previous calls, that's shortening supply chains for things we need, making sure we have the materials, making sure we can get the people, making sure we have the energy, all of those things that we've been working on over the past few months. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:25:39And then when the time is right, you know, we'll be ready to act. But I think, as I said on the last call, kind of no matter what the decision is, I don't think you'll see a lot of CapEx requirements from us on that project, in 2024. Timna TannersManaging Director and Senior Equity Research at Wolfe Research00:25:56Got it. Thanks. If I could, just one high-level question. I'm just curious what you're thinking about the broader alumina-aluminum markets. I know you had some prepared remarks on this, but it's been really baffling to see aluminum go up and straight back down, alumina continue to march forward, and it's a great thing that you have the Jamalco as a hedge now. But, I mean, how sustainable is this? Or what have we seen in the past about how long this lasts? If I recall, it's not usually that long, but just wondering if there could be any action to, you know, see a change in the dynamic here that's so, you know, so unusual. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:26:31Yeah, it's a good point. You know, we haven't seen this relatively high alumina price to aluminum price, which is, you know, somewhere in the mid-20%, today, on what we would call an LME percentage basis. And so, you know, we do think that should be supportive to the aluminum price, from here. And, you know, the shortages in the aluminum market are quite real, today. It is quite tight out there, and that's really what's been driving up the price, and that's for some structural reasons. You know, we've seen shutdowns in Australia. We've seen increasing regulation of alumina production in China. And so the market is relatively tight for alumina. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:27:22Over time, you know, I said we're in the mid-20%s now, the relationship of alumina to aluminum. Traditionally, that's more in the mid-teens%. So it really is quite a high relationship and really should be supportive of the aluminum price from here. Timna TannersManaging Director and Senior Equity Research at Wolfe Research00:27:38Okay, that's it for me. Thanks for the thoughts. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:27:41Great. Thanks, Tina. Operator00:27:45Thank you for your question. At this time, there are no additional questions registered, so as a brief reminder, it is star one on your telephone keypad.Read moreParticipantsExecutivesGerald BialekEVP and CFOJesse GaryPresident and CEORyan CrawfordHead of Investor RelationsAnalystsKatja JancicStock Analyst at BMO Capital MarketsLucas PipesProfessional Stock Analys at B. Riley SecuritiesTimna TannersManaging Director and Senior Equity Research at Wolfe ResearchPowered by Earnings DocumentsSlide DeckPress Release(8-K)Quarterly report(10-Q) Century Aluminum Earnings HeadlinesCentury Aluminum (CENX) Valuation Check After A Strong Year Of Share Price MomentumMay 9 at 1:49 AM | finance.yahoo.comCENX Q1 2026 Earnings TranscriptMay 8 at 3:48 PM | finance.yahoo.com$30 stock to buy before Starlink goes public (WATCH NOW!)In the next 3 minutes… James Altucher – legendary investor and venture capitalist… And someone who’s known for playing his cards “close to the vest”… Is going to give you the name and ticker symbol of a company he believes will skyrocket thanks to the coming Starlink IPO…May 9 at 1:00 AM | Paradigm Press (Ad)Century Aluminum Company (CENX) Q1 2026 Earnings Call TranscriptMay 7 at 11:00 PM | seekingalpha.comCentury Aluminum Non-GAAP EPS of $1.63 misses by $0.14, revenue of $649.2M beats by $16.13MMay 7 at 4:30 PM | seekingalpha.comCentury Aluminum Company Reports First Quarter 2026 ResultsMay 7 at 4:05 PM | globenewswire.comSee More Century Aluminum Headlines Get Earnings Announcements in your inboxWant to stay updated on the latest earnings announcements and upcoming reports for companies like Century Aluminum? Sign up for Earnings360's daily newsletter to receive timely earnings updates on Century Aluminum and other key companies, straight to your email. Email Address About Century AluminumCentury Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) is a primary aluminum producer that develops and operates smelters designed to supply low-carbon, high-purity aluminum products to a range of industrial and commercial markets. Established in 1995, the company has grown to become a significant North American aluminum producer with an expanding international footprint. Century Aluminum is headquartered in the United States and is focused on energy-efficient operations and cost management. The company’s core operations include three primary aluminum smelting facilities located in Hawesville, Kentucky; Mount Holly, South Carolina; and Grundartangi, Iceland. These plants produce a variety of aluminum ingots, billets and sows that serve customers in the automotive, packaging, consumer electronics, building and construction, and industrial equipment sectors. By leveraging access to renewable and low-cost energy sources—particularly in Iceland—Century Aluminum aims to reduce its carbon intensity and support long-term sustainability goals. Over its history, Century Aluminum has navigated commodity price volatility, regulatory shifts and energy market dynamics by securing long-term power contracts and forging strategic partnerships. The company markets its products across North America, Europe and other regions, adhering to stringent technical specifications and environmental standards. Under the leadership of President and CEO Michael C. Bless, Century Aluminum continues to emphasize operational excellence, safety, environmental stewardship and community engagement as it seeks growth opportunities within the global aluminum industry.View Century Aluminum ProfileRead more More Earnings Resources from MarketBeat Earnings Tools Today's Earnings Tomorrow's Earnings Next Week's Earnings Upcoming Earnings Calls Earnings Newsletter Earnings Call Transcripts Earnings Beats & Misses Corporate Guidance Earnings Screener Latest Articles MarketBeat Week in Review – 05/04 - 05/08Rocket Lab Posts Record Q1 Revenue, Raises Q2 GuidanceHims & Hers Earnings Preview: The Novo Nordisk Shift Puts GLP-1 Strategy in FocusWater Infrastructure: Why This Boring Sector Could Get ExcitingAppLovin Pops After Earnings With Growth Catalysts in SightDutch Bros Q1 Earnings: The Newest Starbucks Rival Faces Its First Big Reality CheckThe AI Fear Around Datadog Stock May Have Been Completely Wrong Upcoming Earnings Constellation Energy (5/11/2026)Barrick Mining (5/11/2026)Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (5/11/2026)Simon Property Group (5/11/2026)SEA (5/12/2026)Cisco Systems (5/13/2026)Alibaba Group (5/13/2026)Manulife Financial (5/13/2026)Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (5/13/2026)Takeda Pharmaceutical (5/13/2026) Get 30 Days of MarketBeat All Access for Free Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools. Start Your 30-Day Trial MarketBeat All Access Features Best-in-Class Portfolio Monitoring Get personalized stock ideas. Compare portfolio to indices. Check stock news, ratings, SEC filings, and more. Stock Ideas and Recommendations See daily stock ideas from top analysts. Receive short-term trading ideas from MarketBeat. Identify trending stocks on social media. Advanced Stock Screeners and Research Tools Use our seven stock screeners to find suitable stocks. Stay informed with MarketBeat's real-time news. Export data to Excel for personal analysis. Sign in to your free account to enjoy these benefits In-depth profiles and analysis for 20,000 public companies. Real-time analyst ratings, insider transactions, earnings data, and more. Our daily ratings and market update email newsletter. Sign in to your free account to enjoy all that MarketBeat has to offer. Sign In Create Account Your Email Address: Email Address Required Your Password: Password Required Log In Email Me a Login Link or Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google Forgot your password? Your Email Address: Please enter your email address. Please enter a valid email address Choose a Password: Please enter your password. Your password must be at least 8 characters long and contain at least 1 number, 1 letter, and 1 special character. Create My Account (Free) or Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google By creating a free account, you agree to our terms of service. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
PresentationSkip to Participants Operator00:00:00Good afternoon. Thank you for attending today's Century Aluminum Company second quarter 2024 earnings conference call. My name is Forum, and I will be your moderator for today's call. All lines will remain muted during the presentation portion of the call, with an opportunity for questions and answers at the end. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. It is now my pleasure to pass the conference over to our host, Ryan Crawford, with Century Aluminum. Mr. Crawford, you may proceed. Ryan CrawfordHead of Investor Relations at Century Aluminum Company00:00:30Thank you, operator. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the conference call. I'm joined here today by Jesse Gary, Century's President and Chief Executive Officer, Jerry Bialek, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Peter Trpkovski, Senior Vice President of Finance and Treasurer. After our prepared comments, we will take your questions. As a reminder, today's presentation is available on our website at www.centuryaluminum.com. We use our website as a means of disclosing material information about the company and for complying with Regulation FD. Turning to slide one, please take a moment to review the cautionary statements shown here with respect to forward-looking statements and non-GAAP financial measures contained in today's discussion. With that, I'll hand the call to Jesse. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:01:26Thanks, Ryan, and thanks to everyone for joining. I'll start the call today by reviewing our second quarter performance and providing some thoughts on the current market environment before turning it over to Jerry for the detailed financial results and then taking your questions. Our team produced excellent results in the second quarter, with Adjusted EBITDA of $34 million. Jerry will give you the full details here, but we are really pleased with the continued strong operating performance across our plants. Overall, improving aluminum prices, both at the LME and regional premium level, drove increased profitability in the quarter and will continue to benefit our third quarter financial performance as the strong LME prices observed in the second quarter begin to roll through our lagged contractual pricing and financial results. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:02:16We also reduced our outstanding debt by nearly $50 million in the quarter, driving strong liquidity of over $340 million. Turning to slide 5, aluminum prices rose during the second quarter as stronger global demand, especially in China, drove both LME and regional premiums higher. Demand was strongest in areas relating to the green economy, especially in solar energy and other renewable and energy transmission applications. More recently, aluminum prices have retreated as broad macro concerns have weighed on markets. Over the longer term, we are confident that global trends towards electrification and light weighting will continue to drive increased demand for aluminum. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:03:00When paired with inventory levels that remain near historic lows and little expected in years, it is easy to see why aluminum markets remain in steep contango, and we continue to believe our assets are well-placed to benefit from short aluminum markets in the U.S. and Europe. Turning to alumina, the API rose significantly during the quarter, with Q2 prices averaging 19% higher than Q1 levels and reaching over $500 per ton in June. These prices reflect a continued tight market for alumina, as production issues in Australia and China led to a lack of available spot cargoes during the quarter and drove prices higher. Alumina prices have remained near their highs so far in the third quarter as supply remains constrained. Given this constrained alumina market, we were very pleased with Jamalco's strong operational performance during the second quarter. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:03:59As previously noted, our Jamalco operations make us roughly net neutral to API pricing as a company when combined with our long-term commercial contracts that are linked to the price of aluminum. Jamalco produced its targeted 1.2 million tons per annum production rate in the second quarter. Over the longer term, while we expect global alumina prices to largely follow aluminum prices, we suspect that alumina will continue to remain exposed to supply-driven volatility as refineries without a dedicated source of bauxite remain exposed to the seaborne bauxite market and supply from difficult geopolitical locations. In addition, Chinese regulators announced earlier this year that Chinese alumina refineries would be subject to more stringent energy and emission efficiency standards. We believe these actions will act to constrain Chinese alumina production growth over the near to medium term. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:04:56Turning to the global trading environment, the U.S. and E.U. governments each took additional actions towards nearshoring industrial and strategic mineral production during the quarter that will impact global aluminum flows and supply into our key markets in the U.S. and Europe. In May, I joined President Biden at the White House, where he announced an expansion of the Section 301 tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese goods, including many aluminum products. Similarly, in June, the E.U. announced additional tariffs of up to 38% on Chinese electric vehicles. In July, the U.S. announced a new smelted and cast requirement that ensures that aluminum that was smelted and cast in Russia, China, and certain other countries cannot be transformed into downstream aluminum products in Mexico in order to avoid the 10% Section 232 duties. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:05:52Finally, as we anticipated on our last call, in May, the U.S. Department of Commerce imposed significant anti-dumping duties on aluminum extrusions entering the U.S. from 14 countries, including China, Mexico, Colombia, and Vietnam. The duties, which went into effect immediately, have started to support domestic extrusion demand and correspondingly domestic billet demand. As a reminder, we did hold back some second half billet volumes for spot sales this year in anticipation of improving U.S. market conditions and a more constructive pricing environment. We've started to see some uptick here on the demand side and continue to expect this will be positive for U.S. billet pricing over the balance of the year and into 2025. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:06:40These trade actions, especially when viewed together with the substantial trade measures already in place in the U.S. and EU markets, including the Section 232 tariffs and the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and other existing aluminum tariffs, show the significant value of Century's U.S. and EU-based production footprint. This allows us to provide short supply chains and better service to our customers, but to also benefit from better pricing environments in these markets. Turning to operations, we saw strong and stable performance across our operating locations in the second quarter. In Iceland, as expected, the previously announced 20-megawatt energy curtailment was lifted during the second quarter, and Grundartangi returned to full production by quarter end. Our team did an excellent job restoring production quickly and efficiently once the power curtailment ended. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:07:34As we have seen in many smelters around the world, restoring production following a curtailment is not easy, and I'd like to congratulate the Grundartangi team on a job well done. We expect normal production levels from Grundartangi in Q3. At the Grundartangi cast house, we continue to produce trials and to qualify our new Natur-Al green billets with our key customers over Q2 and Q3. We remain very excited to begin supplying this much-needed Natur-Al low-carbon billet into the European market. In the U.S., energy prices continue to be constructive, driven by natural gas prices near $2. Operations at Sebree and Mount Holly remain stable, which is a testament to our operating teams during these very hot summer months. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:08:23At Jamalco, as previously announced, we were unfortunately impacted by Hurricane Beryl when the Category 4 storm made landfall near our port facilities at Rocky Point in Clarendon Parish in early July. The hurricane brought heavy storm surge, significant rain, and high winds to both our operations and surrounding communities, and we are working with local officials in Clarendon and other parishes to assist those in need. While we were fortunate to not suffer any significant injuries or damage to the refinery operations, we did temporarily curtail operations at the refinery as part of our standard hurricane preparation procedures. The Jamalco team did a remarkable job restoring operations once the storm had passed and the refinery had returned to full production levels. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:09:12In addition, while Jamalco's production facilities escaped significant damage, the port facility was impacted by the storm, where a portion of the alumina conveyor was damaged and is undergoing repair. While those repairs are being completed, Jamalco has secured alternative port arrangements to ensure continued alumina shipments to its customers. Finally, we made good progress on our growth projects during the second quarter. While we don't have any significant updates at this time, we continue to work diligently on evaluating each and would expect to be able to provide a further update on our third quarter call. Jerry will now walk you through the quarter and our Q3 outlook. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:09:53Thank you, Jesse. Let's turn to Slide 7 to review second quarter results. On a consolidated basis, second quarter global shipments were approximately 168,000 tons, slightly lower than last quarter due to typical timing fluctuations. Realized prices increased versus prior quarter, driven by higher metal prices and regional delivery premiums, resulting in net sales of $561 million, a 15% increase sequentially. Looking at Q2 operating results, Adjusted EBITDA attributable to Century was $34 million. This was a sequential increase of $9 million, mainly driven by higher realized metal prices and regional premiums. Adjusted net income was $1 million, or $0.01 per share. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:10:42The main adjusting items were add backs of $4 million for share-based compensation and $2 million for the unrealized impact of forward contracts, partially offset by a $2 million deduction for lower of cost or net realizable value on inventory. We improved liquidity to $343 million by the end of the quarter. This is the strongest liquidity position in nearly a decade and consists of $41 million in cash and $302 million available on our credit facility. Turning to Slide 8 to explain second quarter sequential improvement in Adjusted EBITDA. In total, Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $34 million. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:11:25Realized LME of $2,288 per ton was up $98 versus prior quarter, while realized U.S. Midwest premium of $416 per ton was up $7, and European Delivery Premium of $284 per ton was up $61. Together, higher metal prices and regional premiums contributed an incremental $22 million compared with the prior quarter. Aluminum production costs were mixed as higher LME market prices increased power costs for our Iceland smelter by $4 million. As a reminder, the power expense for our Iceland smelter is mostly linked to LME prices. Realized coke prices decreased $31 per ton, and realized pitch prices decreased $35 per ton. Together, other raw material prices improved by $3 million, helping offset the power headwind. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:12:23The lower shipment volume was a $7 million headwind to Adjusted EBITDA. The decreased volume was due to normal fluctuations in shipment timing. We expect these shipments in Q3, and therefore no change to our full year volume expectations. As discussed last quarter, we completed the deferred pot relining activities related to the Iceland power curtailment. These activities drove an incremental $5 million of expense in Q2 that will not repeat. With that, let's turn to slide nine for a look at cash flow. We began the quarter with $93 million in cash. Adjusted EBITDA contributed $34 million. Capital expenditures totaled $16 million, $11 million of which relates to the completion of the Grundartangi cast house project. We reduced short-term borrowings on our revolving credit facilities, with both our U.S. and Iceland revolvers paid down to 0 balance at quarter end. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:13:22We experienced normal working capital flows. At the end of quarter two, we had $41 million in cash. Let's turn to slide 10, and I'll give you some insight into our expectations for the third quarter. For Q3, the lagged LME of $2,440 per ton is expected to be up about $153 versus Q2 realized prices. The Q3 lagged US Midwest premium is forecast to be $425 per ton, up $10. The European delivery premium is expected at $320 per ton, or up about $35 per ton versus the second quarter. Taken together, the LME and delivery premium changes are expected to increase Q3 EBITDA by approximately $30-$40 million versus Q2 levels. We expect power prices to be a $5 million headwind. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:14:18Collectively, we expect our key raw materials to be about flat. The previously discussed timing of shipment volume will be a quarter-over-quarter tailwind of approximately $10 million. Finally, we expect a headwind of about $5 million related to a summer seasonality and administrative expenses as we continue to progress on our growth projects. All factors considered, our outlook for Q3 Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in a range of between $65-$75 million. The financial impact of Hurricane Beryl would be adjusted in results and is reflected as such in our Q3 outlook. We look forward to your questions today, and we'll now turn the call over to the operator. Operator00:15:05Thank you. If you would like to ask a question, please press Star, followed by one on your telephone keypad. If, for any reason, you would like to remove that question, please press Star followed by two. Again, to ask a question, press Star one. As a reminder, if you are using a speakerphone, please remember to pick up your handset before asking your question. Our first question comes from the line of Lucas Pipes with B. Riley Securities. Lucas, your line is now open. Lucas PipesProfessional Stock Analys at B. Riley Securities00:15:34Thank you very much, operator. Good afternoon, everyone. Jesse, I wanted to get your perspective on the power markets. There's been a lot of excitement out there on the need for power in AI. We saw a very constructive PJM auction last week. You are long power at Hawesville with about 500 MW, and so I wondered how you think about the optionality around that power infrastructure today, and if there has been any interest from third parties. Thank you very much. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:16:11Yeah. Hi, Lucas. Thanks for the question. You know, obviously, we, as you know, are constantly looking at the power markets, both here in the U.S. and Europe and really around the world, watching for trends and what's going on out there. Obviously, we are aware of a lot of the storyline around the AI build-out and, you know, really quite substantial estimates of energy required to power all of that. With our own assets, of course, we're always looking at all alternatives and especially with our curtailed assets, in order to figure out how we maximize value. And so I guess what I would just say with Hawesville is we continue to think it's a great option on higher aluminum prices in the future. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:17:00But in the end, we'll maximize value of that asset, and whatever form that may come in is what we'll pursue. Lucas PipesProfessional Stock Analys at B. Riley Securities00:17:11Jesse, I appreciate that color. That's helpful. Thank you. I'll follow up on 45X. It's been pretty quiet in terms of kind of incremental guidance from Treasury. One, have you any update from your side, anything that you might be able to share at this point in terms of a timeline for additional guidance? And then two, there has been increased attention to the new smelter development, and are you able to move forward with that development in the absence of kind of full clarification from Treasury on what is gonna be included in 45X? Thank you very much. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:18:00Sure. Thanks, Lucas. Yeah, as you might imagine, we continued to engage with the administration on 45X in many of the same ways that we've talked about on previous calls. You know, we think both the timing of the ultimate final regulations, as well as the inclusion of raw materials in the ultimate calculations are very important for the U.S. industry. Gerald BialekEVP and CFO at Century Aluminum Company00:18:22... and so we continue to have those discussions. I don't really have an updated timeline, for you at this time. But I would just say we continue to be very engaged, and we're very thankful from the administration, for their continued engagement on this matter. I think everyone recognizes the importance of the aluminum industry in the United States and is moving forward with that in mind. Lucas PipesProfessional Stock Analys at B. Riley Securities00:18:51All right, well, we'll stay tuned. Jesse, I'll try to squeeze one last one in. With the Mount Holly restart of the last 25%, can you speak a little bit to the margin profile of those incremental volumes? Would those be kind of above, below, in line with your current EBITDA margin profile? Thank you very much. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:19:12Sure. Good, good question, Lucas. As I mentioned in my prepared remarks, you know, we continue to do work on that project. And we continue to monitor macro conditions as well, and put all of those things together in terms of looking at the timing of that restart. But to your specific question on margins, as we've probably talked about in the past, those last tons, those incremental tons out of a smelter are always the most profitable tons. As you continue to spread what are really, you know, compared to other industries, pretty large fixed costs over those incremental tons, and get the benefit from that from a margin perspective. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:19:53So as I said in the past, it's really a project we would like to do, and it's one that we continue to get ready for, and when the time is right, you know, we remain confident in our ability to execute that. Lucas PipesProfessional Stock Analys at B. Riley Securities00:20:09Jesse, I appreciate the color. I'll turn it over for now. All the best of luck. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:20:14Thanks a lot, Lucas. Operator00:20:17Thank you for your question. Our next question comes from the line of Katja Jancic with BMO. Katja, your line is now open. Katja JancicStock Analyst at BMO Capital Markets00:20:26Hi, thank you for taking my questions. Maybe starting on Jamalco, there were some reports that the refinery declared force majeure. Can you talk a bit more if that is correct, and why would that be if the volumes or the shipments are normal? Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:20:45Yeah, that is, that is correct, Katja. And of course, you declare force majeure for a variety of reasons. As we've said, our main port of export, which is Rocky Point, is out of commission right now, and we are running through an alternative port right now. And so the force majeure really related to that setup going forward. But as I said, the plant is back to full production, and we continue to have those alternative port solutions in place and to export alumina off the island. Katja JancicStock Analyst at BMO Capital Markets00:21:24The shipments are going as normal right now? Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:21:30Yeah, we don't expect a material impact to our results or to Jamalco's results going forward. You can't say they're exactly as normal when they're running out of an alternative port, but we're continuing to make exports from the island. Katja JancicStock Analyst at BMO Capital Markets00:21:51Okay, and then maybe- Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:21:52And- Katja JancicStock Analyst at BMO Capital Markets00:21:52On to, as a follow-up to Lucas's question about Hawesville. Have you looked at... You know, there's obviously a lot of questions about the power. And have you looked at if that would be an option from a perspective, would the utility or your agreement with the utility allow that? Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:22:17Yeah, as you might recall, Katja, both Kentucky plants have fairly unique energy arrangements, where through a variety of contractual arrangements, we have access to what is essentially the wholesale markets in MISO. And so, you know, that's been a very advantageous arrangement for us, and it's provided us with a lot of flexibility over time. And so as we look at both the future of Hawesville from a variety of perspectives, we continue to think that flexibility will be advantageous for us, you know, kind of no matter what the outcome ultimately is. Katja JancicStock Analyst at BMO Capital Markets00:22:58Okay. Thank you very much. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:23:01Thanks, Katya. Operator00:23:04Thank you for your question. Our next question comes from the line of Timna Tanners with Wolfe Research. Timna, now your line is now open. Timna TannersManaging Director and Senior Equity Research at Wolfe Research00:23:13Yeah, thank you, and good afternoon. Wanted to ask a little bit more about the situation at Jamalco. Is it, is it entirely benign, like doesn't have impact on Q3? And, is there any insurance collectibles on an issue like this or, just wondering a little more color? Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:23:32Sure. Yeah, I mean, we were definitely impacted, right? That's what we said in the press release, and that's what we've, you know, said on the phone call. As we said, you know, a portion of the alumina conveyor at the port was blown away. At the plant itself, we really haven't had any impact other than sort of taking the plant down as part of our hurricane preparations and then bringing it back up. But like I said, we're back at full production today. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:23:57So, you know, while we, of course, would have preferred that the hurricane skirted the island to the south more than it did, I think the team has really done a good job making it work while we get the repairs done at our port at Rocky Point and sort of making these alternative shipping arrangements work. You know, there is, of course, some impacts. You know, we lost some volume while we took the plant down for a few days and while we brought it back up, but it's really not material overall to our financial results. Timna TannersManaging Director and Senior Equity Research at Wolfe Research00:24:33... Okay, thank you for that. Back to Mount Holly, is it fair to say that, you know, if we're here past the middle of the year and you're still mulling it over, that we probably wouldn't see a restart imminently? Or can you give us a little bit more color about what you're looking for to make that decision? Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:24:52Yeah. So as with any restart, anywhere in the world, we look at a variety of factors. Whether the market is calling for that volume at the time, what the return profile is on the CapEx that would go in to enable the restart, what global aluminum prices are, what the Midwest premium is, what value-added premiums are. And so it's, you know, really multivariable analysis. And what we've been focused on is just bringing down the time to restart once we do make that decision. And so as I talked about in previous calls, that's shortening supply chains for things we need, making sure we have the materials, making sure we can get the people, making sure we have the energy, all of those things that we've been working on over the past few months. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:25:39And then when the time is right, you know, we'll be ready to act. But I think, as I said on the last call, kind of no matter what the decision is, I don't think you'll see a lot of CapEx requirements from us on that project, in 2024. Timna TannersManaging Director and Senior Equity Research at Wolfe Research00:25:56Got it. Thanks. If I could, just one high-level question. I'm just curious what you're thinking about the broader alumina-aluminum markets. I know you had some prepared remarks on this, but it's been really baffling to see aluminum go up and straight back down, alumina continue to march forward, and it's a great thing that you have the Jamalco as a hedge now. But, I mean, how sustainable is this? Or what have we seen in the past about how long this lasts? If I recall, it's not usually that long, but just wondering if there could be any action to, you know, see a change in the dynamic here that's so, you know, so unusual. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:26:31Yeah, it's a good point. You know, we haven't seen this relatively high alumina price to aluminum price, which is, you know, somewhere in the mid-20%, today, on what we would call an LME percentage basis. And so, you know, we do think that should be supportive to the aluminum price, from here. And, you know, the shortages in the aluminum market are quite real, today. It is quite tight out there, and that's really what's been driving up the price, and that's for some structural reasons. You know, we've seen shutdowns in Australia. We've seen increasing regulation of alumina production in China. And so the market is relatively tight for alumina. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:27:22Over time, you know, I said we're in the mid-20%s now, the relationship of alumina to aluminum. Traditionally, that's more in the mid-teens%. So it really is quite a high relationship and really should be supportive of the aluminum price from here. Timna TannersManaging Director and Senior Equity Research at Wolfe Research00:27:38Okay, that's it for me. Thanks for the thoughts. Jesse GaryPresident and CEO at Century Aluminum Company00:27:41Great. Thanks, Tina. Operator00:27:45Thank you for your question. At this time, there are no additional questions registered, so as a brief reminder, it is star one on your telephone keypad.Read moreParticipantsExecutivesGerald BialekEVP and CFOJesse GaryPresident and CEORyan CrawfordHead of Investor RelationsAnalystsKatja JancicStock Analyst at BMO Capital MarketsLucas PipesProfessional Stock Analys at B. Riley SecuritiesTimna TannersManaging Director and Senior Equity Research at Wolfe ResearchPowered by