Alcoa Corporation (NYSE: AA; ASX: AAI) today reported results for the third quarter 2024 that reflect the acquisition of Alumina Limited in addition to sequential increases in net income, adjusted net income and Adjusted EBITDA excluding special items.
Financial Results and Highlights
M, except per share amounts | 3Q24 | 2Q24 | 3Q23 | ||||||
Revenue | $ | 2,904 | $ | 2,906 | $ | 2,602 | |||
Net income (loss) attributable to Alcoa Corporation | $ | 90 | $ | 20 | $ | (168 | ) | ||
Income (loss) per share attributable to Alcoa Corporation common shareholders1 | $ | 0.38 | $ | 0.11 | $ | (0.94 | ) | ||
Adjusted net income (loss) | $ | 135 | $ | 30 | $ | (202 | ) | ||
Adjusted income (loss) per common share1 | $ | 0.57 | $ | 0.16 | $ | (1.14 | ) | ||
Adjusted EBITDA excluding special items | $ | 455 | $ | 325 | $ | 70 | |||
1 For 3Q24, undistributed earnings of $1 and undistributed adjusted earnings of $2 were allocated to preferred stock under the two-class method. |
- Net income increased sequentially to $90 million, or $0.38 per common share
- Adjusted net income increased sequentially to $135 million, or $0.57 per common share
- Adjusted EBITDA excluding special items increased sequentially to $455 million
- Completed the acquisition of Alumina Limited on August 1, 2024
- Announced an agreement for the sale of 25.1% interest in the Ma’aden joint ventures
- Announced progress toward a strategic cooperation agreement with a partner to support continued San Ciprián operations
- Paid quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per share of stock, totaling $26 million (including newly issued shares for the acquisition of Alumina Limited)
- Finished the third quarter 2024 with cash balance of $1.3 billion
“During the third quarter, we maintained our pace of delivering on strategic actions. We gained flexibility after closing the Alumina Limited acquisition and announced the sale of our interest in the Ma’aden joint ventures,” said Alcoa President and CEO William F. Oplinger. “Positive markets and our focus on continuous improvement led to stronger results for the third quarter, while we continue to execute initiatives to further enhance our operations.”
Third Quarter 2024 Results
- Production: Alumina production decreased 4 percent sequentially to 2.44 million metric tons primarily due to the full curtailment of the Kwinana refinery completed in June 2024. In the Aluminum segment, production increased 3 percent sequentially to 559,000 metric tons primarily due to continued progress on the Alumar smelter restart.
- Shipments: In the Alumina segment, third-party shipments of alumina decreased 9 percent sequentially primarily due to decreased trading. In Aluminum, total shipments decreased 6 percent sequentially primarily due to decreased trading and the timing of shipments.
- Revenue: The Company’s total third-party revenue was flat sequentially at $2.9 billion. In the Alumina segment, third-party revenue increased 9 percent on a 22 percent increase in average realized third-party price, partially offset by lower shipments. In the Aluminum segment, third-party revenue decreased 5 percent primarily due to lower shipments.
- Net income attributable to Alcoa Corporation was $90 million, or $0.38 per common share. Sequentially, the results reflect increased alumina prices and lower raw material costs. Additionally, the results reflect the benefit of the absence of Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest for the full quarter.
- Adjusted net income was $135 million, or $0.57 per common share, excluding the impact from net special items of $45 million. Notable special items include a mark-to-market loss of $31 million related to energy contracts, restructuring charges of $14 million related to remediation and demolition costs at closed locations, and a restructuring charge of $12 million for contract termination costs at a closed location, partially offset by the tax and noncontrolling interest impact of these items.
- Adjusted EBITDA excluding special items was $455 million, a sequential increase of $130 million primarily due to higher alumina prices and lower raw material costs.
- Cash: Alcoa ended the quarter with a cash balance of $1.3 billion. Cash provided from operations was $143 million. Cash used for financing activities was $84 million primarily related to $26 million in cash dividends on stock, $19 million of net payments on short-term borrowings and $17 million in distributions to noncontrolling interest. Cash used for investing activities was $153 million due to capital expenditures of $146 million.
- Working capital: For the third quarter, Receivables from customers of $0.9 billion, Inventories of $2.1 billion and Accounts payable, trade of $1.5 billion comprised DWC working capital. Alcoa reported 45 days working capital, a sequential increase of four days primarily due to an increase in inventory days on timing of shipments.
Key Actions
Strategic
- Ma’aden joint ventures: On September 15, 2024, Alcoa announced that it entered into a binding share purchase and subscription agreement with Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden), under which Alcoa will sell its full ownership interest of 25.1% in the Ma’aden joint ventures to Ma’aden for approximately $1.1 billion. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, approval by Ma’aden’s shareholders and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first half of 2025.
- Acquisition of Alumina Limited: On August 1, 2024, the Company announced the completion of its acquisition of Alumina Limited. This strategic move positions Alcoa to further strengthen its market leadership as a pure play, upstream aluminum company.
Operational
- Western Australia mine approvals: The Company continued to advance mine approvals for the next two Western Australian mine regions (Myara North and Holyoake) which were referred for accredited assessment by the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (WA EPA) under the bilateral assessment process (Accredited Assessment). The process began in 2020 and Alcoa is focused on receiving approval by the first quarter of 2026. The Company anticipates mining in the new regions will commence no earlier than 2027. Until then, the Company expects bauxite quality will remain similar to recent grades.
- San Ciprián complex: On October 16, 2024, Alcoa announced that it is progressing toward entering into a strategic cooperation agreement with IGNIS Equity Holdings, SL (IGNIS EQT), to support the continued operation of the San Ciprián complex. Under the proposed agreement, Alcoa would maintain a majority ownership share of San Ciprián complex, including continuing as the managing operator, with IGNIS EQT holding 25 percent. The proposed agreement is conditional upon delivery of key areas of cooperation with San Ciprián’s stakeholders.
- Profitability improvement programs: In January 2024, the Company shared a series of actions to improve its profitability by $645 million by year end 2025 in comparison to the base year 2023. Through the third quarter 2024, the Company had implemented numerous improvements to achieve approximately 80 percent of the target. The Company is on track to deliver the full target by year end 2025.
- Energy contract: In September 2024, Alcoa secured a new power agreement with AGL Energy Limited (AGL) to support future operations at Portland Aluminium Smelter in the State of Victoria in Australia. The nine-year agreement for 287 megawatts of power supply is effective July 1, 2026, when current contracts end. Together with a contract reached with AGL in 2023, the combined contracts represent approximately 95 percent of the energy required to meet the facility’s total capacity of 358,000 mtpy.
Commercial
- Alumina supply agreement: On October 15, 2024, the Company announced a long-term agreement for Alcoa to supply up to 16.5 million tonnes of smelter grade alumina to Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) over 10 years.
2024 Outlook
The following outlook does not include reconciliations of the forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income, including transformation, intersegment eliminations and other corporate Adjusted EBITDA; operational tax expense; and other expense; each excluding special items, to the most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP financial measures because it is impractical to forecast certain special items, such as restructuring charges and mark-to-market contracts, without unreasonable efforts due to the variability and complexity associated with predicting the occurrence and financial impact of such special items. For the same reasons, the Company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information, which could be material to future results.
Alcoa expects total 2024 Alumina segment production to remain unchanged from the prior projection, ranging between 9.8 and 10.0 million metric tons. The Company is increasing its projection for shipments to range between 12.9 and 13.1 million metric tons, an increase of 0.2 million metric tons from the prior projection primarily due to increased trading volumes. The difference between production and shipments reflects trading volumes and externally sourced alumina to fulfill customer contracts due to the curtailment of the Kwinana refinery.
Alcoa expects 2024 total Aluminum segment production and shipments to remain unchanged from the prior projection, ranging between 2.2 and 2.3 million metric tons, and between 2.5 and 2.6 million metric tons, respectively.
Within fourth quarter 2024 Alumina Segment Adjusted EBITDA, the Company expects sequential favorable impacts of $30 million due to higher shipments and lower production costs.
For the fourth quarter 2024, the Company expects Aluminum Segment performance to be flat, maintaining the strong performance from the third quarter 2024.
The Company expects Other expenses for the fourth quarter 2024 to increase approximately $20 million sequentially on Ma’aden equity losses and equity contributions to ELYSIS™.
Based on current alumina and aluminum market conditions, Alcoa expects fourth quarter operational tax expense to approximate $120 million to $130 million, which may vary with market conditions and jurisdictional profitability.
Conference Call
Alcoa will hold its quarterly conference call at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) / 8:00 a.m. Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) on Wednesday, October 16, 2024 / Thursday, October 17, 2024, to present third quarter 2024 financial results and discuss the business, developments, and market conditions.
The call will be webcast via the Company’s homepage on www.alcoa.com. Presentation materials for the call will be available for viewing on the same website at approximately 4:15 p.m. EDT on October 16, 2024 / 7:15 a.m. AEDT on October 17, 2024. Call information and related details are available under the “Investors” section of www.alcoa.com.
Dissemination of Company Information
Alcoa intends to make future announcements regarding company developments and financial performance through its website, www.alcoa.com, as well as through press releases, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, conference calls and webcasts. The Company does not incorporate the information contained on, or accessible through, its corporate website or such other websites or platforms referenced herein into this press release.
About Alcoa Corporation
Alcoa (NYSE: AA; ASX: AAI) is a global industry leader in bauxite, alumina and aluminum products with a vision to reinvent the aluminum industry for a sustainable future. Our purpose is to turn raw potential into real progress, underpinned by Alcoa Values that encompass integrity, operating excellence, care for people and courageous leadership. Since developing the process that made aluminum an affordable and vital part of modern life, our talented Alcoans have developed breakthrough innovations and best practices that have led to improved safety, sustainability, efficiency, and stronger communities wherever we operate.
