Century Aluminum (CENX) Q1 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates

Century Aluminium Company CENX reported a net loss of $2.7 million or 3 cents per share in first-quarter 2020, narrower than a net loss of $34.6 million or 39 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. The bottom line was hurt by $3.7 million of non-cash exceptional items.

Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings were a penny per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 8 cents.

Revenues and Shipments

The company generated revenues of $421.2 million in the first quarter, down 14% year over year. Nevertheless, the figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $419 million.

Shipments of primary aluminum were 202,905 tons, down 1.7% year over year.

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

Financials

At the end of the quarter, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $147.6 million, up from $22.2 million a year ago.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $34.6 million during the quarter.

Outlook

Century Aluminum stated that it does not expect a build of finished goods’ inventory in the future. The company is seeing meaningful reductions in the price of key inputs, such as alumina and wholesale electric power. It also noted that it has adequate liquidity for the foreseeable future, even if commodity prices remain at current levels.

Price Performance

Century Aluminum’s shares have tumbled 42.9% in the past year compared with the industry’s 32.7% decline.

 

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Equinox Gold Corp. EQX, Franco-Nevada Corporation FNV and Kinross Gold Corporation KGC.

Equinox Gold currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and has a projected earnings growth rate of 231% for 2020. The company’s shares have gained 52.3% in a year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Franco-Nevada has a projected earnings growth rate of 22% for 2020. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company’s shares have rallied 101.3% in a year.

Kinross has a projected earnings growth rate of 52.9% for 2020. The company’s shares have surged 123.2% in a year. It currently has a Zacks Rank #2.

Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential

The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.

Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +50%, +83% and +164% in as little as 2 months. The stocks in this report could perform even better.

See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Kinross Gold Corporation (KGC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Century Aluminum Company (CENX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Equinox Gold Corp. (EQX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.