Century lifts Q3 aluminum shipments as Iceland expansion fires up

US producer Century Aluminum reported it shipped 374 million pounds (169,645t) of primary aluminium in the third quarter, up from 337 million pounds (152,862t) in the year-earlier period.

That was a function of the commissioning of the expansion of the Nordural smelter in Iceland which started in September. The capacity lift from 90,000tpy to 220,000tpy is on course to be completed by the end of this year.

On the debit side, the loss of one potline at the company's Ravenswood smelter in West Virginia cost the company 8,000t of production. The company had been in the process of shutting down the plant when strike action looked imminent but in the event an eleventh-hour deal was reached with the United Steelworkers Union, but not before one of four potlines was closed. It has since been reactivated.

Century reported Q3 net income of $173.9m, compared with a net loss of $20.1m in the year-earlier period. The big swing factor was the company's hedge book, which contributed an after-tax gain of $134.6m in Q3 2006, reflecting the accounting for mark-to-market adjustments against forward contracts.