Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

So, for now, that’s where we stand. And what we intend to do is, once that guidance comes out, which, again, the Treasury Department says they expected to do before the end of the year, we’ll hold a follow-up call where we can discuss that in more detail.

Lucas Pipes : I really appreciate this discussion. I do have further questions, but now I’ll move on to a different theme. I really appreciate that color. And when I look to kind of value-add products and the billet premium for 2024, have those negotiations started? Have they been completed? And could you maybe comment on what you would expect in terms of that billet premium in the current environment for 2024?

Jesse Gary : Sure, Lucas. Thanks. Another good question. So, both for the U.S. and, of course, as we discussed, our new Grundartangi cast house will also come online and begin producing billet early next year. We’ve really just started to discuss 2024 sales. The season has started a bit later this year than maybe it has in past years, which, I think, reflects probably a bit of the general market dynamic that we see. As I mentioned, there have obviously been a bunch of macro drivers that have resulted in both LME and regional delivery premiums reaching sort of two and half-year lows. But of course, until we really get very far in those discussions, it’s hard to predict what 2024 premiums might be. But we’ll definitely include those on our Q4 call when we give you the rest of our 2024 guidance.

And I would definitely expect, definitely for the U.S., we would have those premiums set. Going forward for Europe, that market is more the quarterly market. So, you’ll see us start to reflect Philippines and Europe more on a quarterly basis because it can change from quarter-to-quarter, whereas the U.S. is more of an annual market.

Lucas Pipes : Got it. That’s helpful. Really quickly on Mt. Holly. Good to see that contract come through. If I recall correctly, Mt. Holly is running at 75% utilization. Have there been discussions about increasing this cost of service power allocation to Mt. Holly so that the plant can run at 100%?

Jesse Gary : Yes. And actually, that’s something that we negotiated as part of this contract is we do have the right to call the additional power that would be necessary in order to restart the remaining 25% of the Mt. Holly pods. So, as we monitor the market conditions, we have that option on — within a notice period that would work with a restart to call that power. So, securing the power won’t be a roadblock to restarting those pods in Mt. Holly.

Lucas Pipes : And the power, would it be at the same cost of service rate? Or would there be a different tariff of sorts?

Jesse Gary : Yes. The option was in the contract, is linked to — there was actually a few different tariff schedules that we will take power on front and center toward that contract, but the option is linked to one of those rates, that’s in the rest of the Mt. Holly contract package.

Lucas Pipes : All right. I really appreciate all the color and wish you and the team best of luck.

Jesse Gary : Thanks, Lucas.

Operator: Our next question is from Timna Tanners with Wolfe Research. Your line is now open.

Timna Tanners : I hope everyone can you hear me okay.

Jesse Gary : You sound great, Timna. Thanks.

Timna Tanners : Okay. Super. Just have to check. So, I had a couple of questions. I thought I would hone in on the situation in Jamalco. As far as it was interesting, it was material enough to file for insurance recovery, but I didn’t — I might have missed it. In the press release, there’s an announcement about it. And wanted to know a little bit more about the incident. You said it was the second time this has happened. Do you feel like you’ve sufficiently addressed the situation so that won’t recur?