Pittsburgh aluminium pioneer Alcoa Corporation released results for the last quarter and full year of 2022 last week. High raw materials and power costs and low alumina and aluminium prices hammered the company, but there were bright spots on the balance sheet.
In the fourth quarter, Alcoa generated US$2.7 billion in revenue, down by 7 percent from last quarter. The firm showed a net loss of US$374 million and an adjusted net loss of US$123 million. Adjusted EBITDA excluding special items came in at US$29 million.
Alcoa generated US$118 million in cash from operations in the final quarter of 2022, finishing the quarter with a cash balance of US$1.4 million.
Highlights of the quarter included an announcement that the firm had landed a power purchase agreement to aid in the eventual restart of San Ciprián aluminium smelter in Spain. Alcoa also restarted shuttered smelter capacity at the Portland Aluminium joint venture in Australia.
For the full year of 2022, Alcoa generated US$12.5 billion in revenue but recorded a net loss of US$102 million. Last year’s adjusted net income came to US$890 million, while the adjusted EBIDTA excluding special items figured at US$2.2 billion.
Overall, Alcoa generated US$822 million in cash from operations.
Alcoa President and CEO Roy Harvey said in a press release that he expects 2022 to be a strong springboard into 2023.
“We are beginning 2023 with a clear set of priorities, building on the strategic work we’ve progressed over these past several years that has provided a strong balance sheet. Last year, global turbulence negatively influenced costs for energy and raw materials, and we saw significant variance on product pricing between the first and second halves of 2022.”
“We are taking actions to further improve, and we have the experience, rigor, and skill to drive excellence across our global operations with disciplined cost management,” continued Harvey. “We will address current challenges while maintaining our future focus, as the long-term outlook for our industry remains strong. Aluminum is rising in importance as a material of choice, and we are excited about the development of our transformative technologies that have the potential to reinvent the industry.”
