Alcoa reported net loss in 2019

2020-01-16

Jan. 16, 2020 - For full-year 2019, Alcoa reported a net loss of $1,125 million, or $6.07 per share, compared with net income of $250 million, or $1.33 per share, for full-year 2018.

Excluding special items, the Company reported adjusted net loss of $184 million, or $0.99 per share, compared with adjusted net income of $698 million, or $3.70 per share, in 2018.

Adjusted EBITDA excluding special items was $1.66 billion, down 47 percent from $3.1 billion in 2018. The year-over-year decrease was largely due to lower alumina and aluminum prices, partially offset by lower costs for raw materials.

Revenue in 2019 was $10.4 billion, down 22 percent from 2018, mainly attributable to lower realized prices for alumina and aluminum products.

Cash from operations in 2019 was $686 million. Cash used for financing activities was $444 million and cash used for investing activities was $468 million. Free cash flow was $307 million. Alcoa invested $89 million in return-seeking capital projects and controlled sustaining capital expenditures to $290 million in 2019.

Over the course of 2019, the Company undertook actions to reduce liabilities associated with Alcoa’s pension and other postretirement employee benefit plans. As a result of these actions, along with favorable asset returns, the Company was able to mostly offset the negative impact of sharply lower discount rates as part of the annual remeasurement on December 31, 2019.

The Company’s net pension and other postretirement employee benefits liability at the end of the year was $2.4 billion, up $40 million from year-end 2018.

“In 2019, we acted to further strengthen Alcoa, completing the divestiture of uncompetitive assets, modernizing labor agreements in three countries, implementing a new operating model, and making quick progress on the asset review process we announced last quarter,” said Alcoa President and Chief Executive Officer Roy Harvey.

“While the market in alumina and aluminum challenged us, we maintained a strong cash balance of nearly $900 million and drove operational stability,” Harvey said. “Also, our low-cost, top-tier bauxite and alumina segments both set new annual production records based on our current portfolio.”

2020 Outlook

In 2020, the Company projects total bauxite shipments to range between 48.0 and 49.0 million dry metric tons. Total alumina shipments are expected to be between 13.6 and 13.7 million metric tons. The Aluminum segment is expected to ship between 3.0 and 3.1 million metric tons.

In the first quarter of 2020, Alcoa expects lower quarterly results in the Bauxite segment primarily due to lower pricing and seasonally lower volumes. In the Alumina segment, the Company expects benefits from lower costs for raw materials and the announced portfolio decision to be mostly offset by lower volumes and higher operating costs due to seasonal maintenance. In the Aluminum segment, the Company expects performance to be flat, as improvements from lower alumina costs are expected to be offset by higher energy costs, lower rolled products shipments, and unfavorable price and mix.

Based on current alumina and aluminum market conditions, the Company expects an annual operational tax rate ranging from 70 to 80 percent, which will vary with market conditions and jurisdictional profitability.