In an effort designed to help shareholders, Century Aluminum (CENX) says it will spend $60 million in the coming months to buy back shares of its own stock.
The company, which has seen its stock price fall more than 50 percent since May, said Thursday the program would begin immediately. The stock rose 12 percent on the news.
"We believe that the repurchase program is in the best interests of our shareholders," Century CEO Logan Kruger, said in a statement.
Century owns an aluminum smelter in Ravenswood, which was closed in February 2009 at the height of the recent recession.
The company has said it remains interested in reopening the Ravenswood plant, but it waiting on aluminum prices to rebound as well as the negotiation of favorable power and labor contracts before it considers restarting the plant.
In the past year, Century has faced sharp criticism for eliminating health care coverage to retirees of the Ravenswood plant.
The company says those changes to the West Virginia retiree health care plan have saved the company upwards of $22 million so far this year.
U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., has been sharply critical of the company's decision and has asked federal labor officials to look into the matter.
Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has said any talks the company has with the state about restarting the Ravenswood plant would include discussions of reinstating retiree health care coverage.
Administration spokeswoman Kimberly Osborne said Tuesday that Tomblin continues to urge the company to revisit the issue of retiree health assistance.
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