Century Aluminum Co: Form 10-K for the period ended Dec 31, 2023

Overview

Century Aluminum Company is a global producer of primary aluminum and operates aluminum reduction facilities, or "smelters," in the United States and Iceland. Aluminum is an internationally traded commodity, and its price is effectively determined on the London Metal Exchange (the "LME"), plus applicable regional and value-added product premiums. Our primary aluminum reduction facilities produce standard-grade and value-added primary aluminum products. Our current annual production capacity is approximately 1,016,000 tonnes per year ("tpy"), of which approximately 307,000 tpy was curtailed as of December 31, 2023. We produced approximately 690,000 tonnes of primary aluminum in 2023.

In addition to our primary aluminum assets, we have a 55% joint venture interest in the Jamalco bauxite mining operation and alumina refinery in Jamaica ("Jamalco"). The remaining 45% interest in Jamalco is indirectly owned by the Government of Jamaica. Century's share of Jamalco's production capacity is approximately 770,000 tpy. The Jamalco refinery supplies a substantial amount of the alumina used for production of primary aluminum at our aluminum smelter in Grundartangi, Iceland. We also own a carbon anode production facility located in the Netherlands ("Vlissingen"). Carbon anodes are consumed in the production of primary aluminum. Vlissingen supplies carbon anodes to our aluminum smelter in Grundartangi, Iceland. Each of our aluminum smelters in the United States produces anodes at on-site facilities.

At Century, we aim to provide innovative and reliable aluminum products to our customers, a safe and sustainable workplace for our people and the communities in which we operate, and a compelling value proposition for our stockholders. We seek to operate our businesses in a responsible manner by balancing the twin priorities of (i) maintaining a strong balance sheet across commodity cycles and (ii) making investments to lower our cost structure, expand our production capacity, and increase our competitiveness.

Century has invested significant capital in recent years to increase production and grow our product portfolio to include more value-added aluminum products to better serve our customers in the U.S. and Europe. We believe that our focus on lowering costs and decommoditizing our product line will enable us to deliver profitable long-term growth and differentiate us from overseas competitors with longer supply lines into the markets we serve.

We conduct our business with a focus on sustainability, including the health and safety of our people and the communities in which we operate. Through our Natur-AlTM product line, we are able to provide our customers with world-class, low-carbon aluminum products that demonstrate our commitment to sustainability.

We operate our business through one reportable segment, primary aluminum. Additional information about our segment reporting and certain geographic information is available in Note 19. Business Segments to the consolidated financial statements included herein.

Century Aluminum Company is a Delaware corporation with our principal executive offices located at One South Wacker Drive, Suite 1000, Chicago, Illinois 60606.

Primary Aluminum Facilities

Overview of Facilities

We operate three U.S. aluminum smelters, in Hawesville, Kentucky ("Hawesville"), currently curtailed, Robards, Kentucky ("Sebree") and Goose Creek, South Carolina ("Mt. Holly"), and one aluminum smelter in Grundartangi, Iceland ("Grundartangi").

Our primary aluminum smelters and their respective primary aluminum capacities are shown in the following table:

(1) The tonnes per year (tpy) figures in this column reflect an estimate of the facility's total production capacity based on plant design, historical operating results and operating efficiencies and does not necessarily represent each facility’s maximum production capability.

Grundartangi

The Grundartangi facility, located in Grundartangi, Iceland, is a primary aluminum reduction facility owned and operated by our wholly-owned subsidiary, Nordural Grundartangi ehf, and is our most modern facility. Grundartangi is currently in the process of a multi-year expansion project to raise its production capacity. The current production capacity at Grundartangi is approximately 317,000 tonnes and is expected ultimately to increase to approximately 325,000 tonnes. Grundartangi produces standard-grade aluminum ingot and a value-added product called primary foundry alloy, which is sold at a premium to standard-grade aluminum.

In late 2021 Century began construction of a new billet casthouse at Grundartangi (the “Casthouse Project”). The new casthouse will have a capacity to turn 150,000 tonnes of Grundartangi's existing primary aluminum production into value-added billet and is expected to start production in the first quarter of 2024. The Casthouse Project will also increase Grundartangi’s annual capacity to produce value-added primary foundry alloys from its current 60,000 tonnes of capacity to 120,000 tonnes of capacity. This incremental billet and primary foundry alloy capacity displaces standard-grade ingot production, raising expected total value-added product premiums for Grundartangi products. The billet produced at the Grundartangi casthouse is expected to be low-carbon aluminum or Natur-AlTM.

Hawesville

Hawesville, located adjacent to the Ohio River near Hawesville, Kentucky, is a primary aluminum reduction facility owned and operated by our wholly-owned subsidiary, Century Kentucky, Inc. ("CAKY"). Hawesville has an annual production capacity of approximately 250,000 tonnes of primary aluminum. In August 2022, we fully curtailed production at the Hawesville facility and expect to continue to maintain the plant with the intention of being able to restart operations if and when market conditions permit, including the resumption of normalized energy prices and aluminum prices maintaining levels that can support the on-going costs and capital expenditures necessary to restart and operate the plant.

Sebree

Sebree, located adjacent to the Green River near Robards, Kentucky, is a primary aluminum reduction facility owned and operated by our wholly-owned subsidiary, Century Aluminum Sebree LLC ("Century Sebree"). Sebree has an annual production capacity of approximately 220,000 tonnes of primary aluminum. Sebree produces standard-grade aluminum that can be cast into sow and value-added products, including billet, that are sold at a premium to standard-grade aluminum or delivered directly to nearby customers as molten metal.

Mt. Holly

Mt. Holly, located in Goose Creek, South Carolina, is a primary aluminum reduction facility owned and operated by our wholly-owned subsidiary, Century Aluminum of South Carolina, Inc. ("CASC"). Mt. Holly has an annual production capacity of approximately 229,000 tonnes of primary aluminum. In December 2020, we began a multi-year project to restore previously curtailed capacity at Mt. Holly. The initial phase was completed in the second quarter of 2022 and returned annual production capacity to approximately 172,000 MT per annum (75% of capacity). See Item 1. Business - Key Production Costs - Electrical Power Supply Agreements below for further discussion of our power arrangements at Mt. Holly.

Mt. Holly produces standard-grade aluminum that is cast into sow as well as several value-added products, including billet and foundry products. These value-added primary aluminum products are sold at a premium to standard-grade aluminum.

Primary Aluminum Shipment Volume

The following table shows our primary aluminum shipment volumes since 2019.

Carbon Anode Production Facility

Vlissingen

In addition to our primary aluminum assets, we own a carbon anode production facility located in Vlissingen, Netherlands, which is owned and operated by our wholly-owned subsidiary, Century Aluminum Vlissingen B.V. Vlissingen has an annual carbon anode production capacity of approximately 163,000 tonnes. We acquired Vlissingen in 2012 and restarted the facility in late 2013 with an initial carbon anode production capacity of 75,000 tonnes. Since the acquisition, we have completed a variety of expansion projects and efficiency programs in order to more than double the plant's production capacity. With these expansion projects and efficiency programs in place, we expect Vlissingen will be able to supply approximately 93% to 98% of Grundartangi’s carbon anodes requirements at current production levels. Each of our smelters in the United States produces anodes at on-site facilities.

Bauxite Mining and Alumina Refining Facility

Jamalco

On May 2, 2023, our wholly-owned subsidiary, Century Aluminum Jamaica Holdings, Inc., acquired for $1.00 a 55% interest in Jamalco, an unincorporated joint venture with Clarendon Alumina Production Limited ("CAP"), which is owned by the Government of Jamaica. Jamalco is engaged in bauxite mining and alumina refining in Jamaica. The Company's newly acquired, wholly-owned subsidiary, General Alumina Jamaica Limited, is the managing partner of the Jamalco joint venture. Jamalco has alumina production capacity of approximately 1.4 million tonnes, and produced approximately 1.0 million tonnes of alumina in 2023. For the period from May 2, 2023 to December 31, 2023 approximately 287,000 tonnes, or 29% of Jamalco's alumina production was sold to Grundartangi. Our historical financial statements for periods prior to May 2, 2023 do not include the results of Jamalco. Refer to Note 2. Acquisition of Jamalco for further information.

Pricing

Pricing for primary aluminum products is typically comprised of three components: (i) the base commodity price, which is based on quoted prices on the LME, plus (ii) any regional premium (e.g., the Midwest premium for metal sold in the United States and the European Duty Paid premium for metal sold into Europe) plus (iii) any value-added product premium. Our operating results are highly sensitive to changes in the LME price of primary aluminum and the amount of regional premiums and value-added product premiums. As a result, from time to time, we assess the appropriateness of mitigating the effects of fluctuations in the aluminum price through the use of fixed-price commitments, LME-linked supply contracts and other financial instruments. See Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk for further discussion of how we manage our exposure to market risk.

Customer Base

We have historically derived substantially all of our consolidated net sales of primary aluminum from a small number of customers. For the year ended December 31, 2023, we derived approximately 73.8% of our consolidated sales from Glencore plc and its affiliates (together, "Glencore"). Glencore purchased aluminum produced at our U.S. smelters at prices based on the LME price for primary aluminum plus the Midwest premium plus any additional market-based product premiums. Glencore also purchased aluminum produced at our Grundartangi, Iceland smelter at prices based on the LME plus the European Duty Paid premium plus any additional market-based product premiums. We have also entered into agreements with Glencore pursuant to which we sell certain amounts of alumina at market-based prices.

Glencore beneficially owns 42.9% of our outstanding common stock (46.0% on a fully diluted basis). See Note 4. Related Party Transactions to the consolidated financial statements included herein for additional information concerning our relationship with Glencore. We currently have agreements in place to sell a substantial portion of our 2024 production to Glencore. We expect that the rest of our 2024 customer base will remain fairly concentrated among a small number of customers under short-term contracts.

Key Production Costs

Alumina, electrical power, carbon products, caustic soda, natural gas, heavy fuel oil and labor are the principal components of our cost of production. These components together represented over 79% of our cost of goods sold for the year ended December 31, 2023. For a description of certain risks related to our raw materials, electrical power, labor and other key supplies, see Item 1A. Risk Factors in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Alumina Supply Agreements

While Century may enter into other purchases of alumina as market conditions change, a summary of our principal alumina supply agreements is provided below:

(1) "API" refers to a published alumina price index.

Electrical Power Supply Agreements

The table below summarizes our long-term power supply agreements:

Electrical power represents one of the largest components of our cost of goods sold. From time to time, we may enter into forward contracts or other hedging arrangements to mitigate our electrical power or natural gas price risk. The paragraphs below summarize the sources of power and the long-term power arrangements for each of our operations.

Grundartangi. Power is currently supplied to Grundartangi from hydroelectric and geothermal sources under long-term power purchase agreements with three separate power suppliers - HS, Landsvirkjun and OR. These power purchase agreements expire on various dates from 2026 through 2036 (subject to extension). In July 2021, Grundartangi reached an agreement with Landsvirkjun for an extension of its existing 161 MW power contract through December 31, 2026, and will increase the existing contract from 161 MW to 182 MW over time to provide the necessary flexibility to support the most recent capacity creep requirements and future growth opportunities for value-added products at the Grundartangi plant, including the Casthouse Project. In September 2022, this agreement was amended to provide for 42 MW at a fixed price and 119 MW at rates linked to Nord Pool plus transmission through 2023, and, beginning January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2026, this agreement allows for fixed rates plus a small variable rate portion of the full 182 MW. Grundartangi also has a 25 MW power purchase agreement with Landsvirkjun at LME-based variable rates. Historically, all of the power supplied to Grundartangi has been delivered at prices indexed to the price of primary aluminum. As of December 31, 2023, approximately 20% of Grundartangi's power requirements has been linked to the market price for power in the Nord Pool power market, the trading market for power in the Nordic countries and certain other areas of Europe. The vast majority of this market price has been fixed through derivative financial contracts. Each power purchase agreement contains take-or-pay obligations with respect to a significant percentage of the total committed and available power under such agreement.

Hawesville. CAKY is party to a power supply arrangement with Kenergy and Century Marketer, LLC (“Century Marketer"), Century's wholly-owned subsidiary that acts as a MISO market participant. Under this arrangement, Hawesville gets access to power at Midcontinent Independent System Operator ("MISO") pricing plus transmission and other costs. As the MISO Market Participant, Century Marketer purchases power from MISO for resale to Kenergy, which then resells the power to Hawesville. The power supply arrangement with Kenergy has an effective term through May 2028.

Sebree. Century Sebree is party to a power supply arrangement with Kenergy and Century Marketer, Century's wholly-owned subsidiary that acts as a MISO market participant. Under this arrangement, Sebree gets access to power at Midcontinent Independent System Operator ("MISO") pricing plus transmission and other costs. As the MISO Market Participant, Century Marketer purchases power from MISO for resale to Kenergy, which then resells the power to Sebree. The power supply arrangement with Kenergy has an effective term through May 2028.

Mt. Holly. CASC is party to an agreement with Santee Cooper for power to the Mt. Holly smelter. Under this contract, 100% of Mt. Holly's electrical power requirements are supplied from Santee Cooper's generation at cost of service based rates. The contract provides sufficient energy to allow Mt. Holly to produce at 75% of full production capacity. The agreement with Santee Cooper had a term through December 31, 2023. On October 27, 2023, CASC entered into an agreement with Santee Cooper for a new three-year power contract for Mt. Holly. The contract is effective January 1, 2024 through December 2026 and will provide for 295MW of electric power at rates allowing the Mt. Holly smelter to continue operating at its current capacity.

See Note 17. Commitments and Contingencies to the consolidated financial statements included herein for additional information concerning our power arrangements.

Employees and Human Capital Resources

We believe our employees are key to achieving our business goals and growth strategy. As of December 31, 2023, we had 2,939 employees. Of these, 1,211 were domiciled in the United States, 932 in Jamaica, 719 in Iceland and 77 in the Netherlands.

Health, Safety and Wellness. Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our employees and the members of the communities in which we operate. We continuously assess the risks our employees face at our facilities and we work to mitigate those risks through frequent training and other preventative safety and health programs and on the job training. We strive for zero injuries and accidents, to foster systems and processes aimed to continuously improve our health and safety performance and to integrate risk management relating to health and safety into all aspects of our operations. We emphasize the importance of safety and seek to create a safety conscious culture by, among other things, including safety performance metrics and KPIs in our annual incentive awards to our executives.

Compensation and Benefits. The Company's non-union employees are all eligible to participate in the Company paid health, vision, dental, life, prescription and long-term disability insurance plans. The Company also provides employees with paid supplemental life and accident insurance plan. The Company offers employees the opportunity to contribute to a Flexible Spending Account and a Health Savings Account. The Company also offers employees a 401(k) retirement plan with a Company match. As part of our Century Well-being program, and in an effort to encourage employees to participate, Century provides financial incentives to its employees who choose to participate. Our Century Well-being program is specifically designed for Century employees and includes health benefits at no cost to our employees centered around diabetes management, mental health and substance abuse and counseling, and musculoskeletal conditions.

Diversity and Inclusion. The Company is committed to promoting equal employment opportunity in all of our operations and providing a safe and respectful workplace that reflects the diversity of the communities in which we operate. It is the Company’s policy, specifically noted in the Company’s Code of Ethics, that we do not tolerate discrimination in any form on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, or genetic information as defined in the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, whether or not such discrimination violates law, and to comply fully with all laws prohibiting discrimination and promoting opportunity and advancement in employment. This policy extends to all aspects of employment opportunity including recruitment, hiring, compensation, benefits, promotion, transfer, layoff, recall, reduction in force, termination, retirement, placement, training and all other privileges, terms and conditions of employment.

Talent Development. We continue to make progress in enhancing our internal performance management and talent management systems in an effort to continue to recognize and promote outstanding employees. We have worked to streamline the process for our employees and ensure they have the opportunity to provide input as part of the review process. We attend recruiting events at local colleges and institutes in our communities and offer educational opportunities to our employees to help them develop additional skills and knowledge and continue the process of developing leaders within Century's ranks.

Labor Agreements

The bargaining unit employees at our Grundartangi, Vlissingen, Hawesville, Sebree and Jamalco facilities are represented by labor unions, representing 60% of our total workforce. Our employees at Mt. Holly are not represented by a labor union.

A summary of our key labor agreements is provided below:

Approximately 87% of Grundartangi’s workforce is represented by five labor unions, governed by a labor agreement that establishes wages and work rules for covered employees. This agreement is effective through December 31, 2024.

100% of Vlissingen's work force is represented by the Federation for the Metal and Electrical Industry ("FME"), a Netherlands' employers' organization for companies in the metal, electronics, electrical engineering and plastic sectors. The FME negotiates working conditions with trade unions on behalf of its members, which, when agreed upon, are then applicable to all employees of Vlissingen. The current labor agreement is effective through May 31, 2024.

Approximately 42% of our U.S. based workforce is represented by USW through separately negotiated labor agreements for each facility. The labor agreement for Hawesville employees is effective through April 1, 2026. Upon announcement of the temporary curtailment, Hawesville and the USW local union entered into effects bargaining. An agreement was reached on July 19, 2022, covering the curtailment period. Century Sebree's labor agreement with USW for its employees is effective through October 28, 2028.

Approximately 62% of Jamalco’s work force is represented by the Union of Technical, Administrative, and Supervisory Personnel ("UTASP") through separately negotiated labor agreements for hourly and salaried employee groups. Both contracts are effective through December 31, 2023. Jamalco is currently in the process of negotiating new contracts with both the salaried and hourly employee groups.

Competition

The market for primary aluminum is global, and demand for aluminum varies widely from region to region. We compete with aluminum producers domestically and internationally, as well as with producers of alternative materials such as steel, copper, carbon fiber, composites, plastic and glass, each of which may be substituted for aluminum in certain applications. Our competitive position depends, in part, on the availability of electricity, alumina and our other key raw materials to our operations at competitive prices. We face global competition from companies who may have access to these key production costs at lower prices, and they may also receive various subsidies from local, state and federal governments. Many of our competitors are also larger than we are and have vertically integrated operations with superior cost positions. As a result, these companies may be better able to withstand reductions in price or other adverse industry or economic conditions.

Competitive Advantages

While we face significant competition, we also have several competitive advantages. We believe our key competitive advantages are:

Focus on Primary Aluminum Business. We operate principally in the production of primary aluminum. By concentrating our activities in primary aluminum production, we are able to focus our resources on optimizing the cost effectiveness of our existing operations, minimizing overhead costs and maintaining a market position where our products are ultimately targeted toward a broad range of end uses.

Strong Internal Growth Opportunities. Over the past several years, we have undertaken various expansion programs at all of our operating facilities and continue to pursue additional internal growth opportunities. In the second quarter of 2022, we completed a project to restart approximately 172,000 tonnes of production capacity at Mt. Holly (bringing its operations to 75% of Mt. Holly's maximum production capacity) and can restart another 57,000 tonnes of production capacity in the future provided we are able to obtain sufficient energy at competitive rates.

At our Grundartangi, Iceland smelter, we are in the process of a multi-year project that is expected to ultimately increase annual production capacity to approximately 325,000 tonnes. In late 2021, Century began construction on the Casthouse Project. The new value-added casthouse will be able to produce up to 150,000 tonnes of billet from existing Grundartangi production and is expected to start production in the first quarter of 2024. The billet produced at the Grundartangi casthouse is expected to be low-carbon aluminum or Natur-Al™..

Since our purchase of the Vlissingen facility, we have completed a variety of expansion projects and efficiency programs in order to more than double its production capacity. With these expansion projects and efficiency programs in place, we expect Vlissingen to be able to supply approximately 93% to 98% of Grundartangi’s carbon anode requirements at current production levels. We continue to pursue additional internal growth opportunities to maximize efficiencies and improve overall performance.

Additionally, with our acquisition of a 55% interest in Jamalco, we secured a predictable, long-term supply of alumina, our most critical raw material, and achieved increased transparency and control of our supply chain. Our vertical integration with Jamalco allows us to integrate our aluminum smelting operations with this critical upstream supply of bauxite and alumina to create a more balanced and robust operational footprint, resulting in an organization that is better positioned to deliver strong performance through industry cycles.

Sustainability. Our Natur-Al™ aluminum produced at our Grundartangi facility has one of the lowest carbon footprints in the industry due to Grundartangi’s access to hydroelectric and geothermal power sources. Our Grundartangi facility (along with our corporate headquarters in Chicago, Illinois) have also been certified by the Aluminum Stewardship Initiative (ASI) for responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminum. In addition to providing additional value to our customers, our low carbon footprint in Iceland mitigates our exposure to current or future carbon regulations. Century is committed to exploring additional opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint across our global operations, including by continuing to improve our operational efficiencies, investigating new and alternative power sources, and reprocessing and reusing scrap aluminum in our operations.

Duty Free Access to our Major Customer Markets. Our facilities benefit from international and national trade laws and regulations. For example, the European Union imposes import tariffs on primary aluminum from producers outside the European Economic Area (the "EEA"), which includes Iceland, and the U.S. currently imposes a 10% tariff on certain primary aluminum imports into the United States. Our U.S. and Icelandic businesses currently access these respective markets duty-free which provides us with an advantage over our competitors who sell into these markets under these tariff regimes.

Close Proximity to our Major Customers in the Two Shortest Aluminum Markets in the World. The U.S. and the E.U. are the second and third largest aluminum consuming regions in the world, but do not produce enough aluminum domestically to satisfy their own demand. Our production locations within these markets provide us with a significant competitive advantage over our foreign competitors by providing our customers with short, reliable supply chains, better technical service and opportunities for value added collaboration. Our U.S. facilities benefit from the proximity to our U.S. customer base, allowing us to capture the Midwest premium and providing a competitive advantage in freight costs over our foreign competitors. In Iceland, our proximity to European markets provides a competitive advantage for Grundartangi, allowing us to capture the European Duty Paid Premium and other logistical benefits compared to our competitors outside the EEA.

Diverse Value Added Product and Secondary Market Portfolio. We have the ability across our operations to cast a variety of aluminum products, both in terms of shapes and alloys. These value-added primary aluminum products are sold at a premium to standard-grade aluminum. Both Sebree and Mt. Holly have value-added casthouses that have the ability to produce large volumes of billet, slab and other value-added products. In late 2021, we started construction on the Grundartangi casthouse which will enable Grundartangi to produce Natur-Al™ billet and other value-added products and service the European market.

Access to Market Power. Our Kentucky operations benefit from market-based power contracts that have historically provided electricity to these operations at competitive prices.

Experienced Management Team. Our management team includes executives and managers with significant experience in the aluminum industry, the broader metals and mining sector, the development of large and complex projects and the functional disciplines we require to manage and grow our business. In addition, the managers of our production facilities have substantial backgrounds and expertise in the technical and operational aspects of these plants.

For additional information, see Item 1A. Risk Factors. We may be unable to continue to compete successfully in the highly competitive markets in which we operate.

Government Regulations

Our facilities and operations are subject to various laws and regulations in the countries in which we operate, including, but not limited to, environmental laws and regulations. We have spent, and expect to continue to spend, significant amounts for compliance with those various laws and regulations, including environmental laws and regulations. In addition, some of our past manufacturing activities or those of our predecessors have resulted in environmental consequences that require remedial measures. Under certain environmental laws, which may impose liability regardless of fault, we may be liable for the costs of remediation of contaminated property, including our current and formerly owned or operated properties or adjacent areas, or for the amelioration of damage to natural resources. We believe, based on currently available information, that compliance with existing laws and regulations has not had a material adverse effect upon our capital expenditures, earnings and our competitive position. Furthermore, we believe, based on currently available information, that our current liabilities are not likely to have a material adverse effect on Century. However, we cannot predict the requirements of future laws and future requirements at current or formerly owned or operated properties or adjacent areas or the outcome of certain existing litigation to which we are a party. Such future requirements or events may result in unanticipated costs or liabilities that may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. More information concerning our contingencies can be found in Note 17. Commitments and Contingencies to the consolidated financial statements included herein.

There is also increasing focus and scrutiny from both the United States government, foreign governments and other regulatory authorities on greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions and potential impacts relating to climate change. We continuously review our own GHG and other emissions streams and seek to limit the impact of our operations on the communities in which we operate. Future laws, regulations, or policies that are enacted in response to concerns over GHG emissions and climate change, such as mandatory reporting and disclosure obligations, carbon tax, any "cap and trade" programs or similar regulatory measures, could significantly increase our operational and compliance burdens and costs. We continuously review and monitor climate change related proposed legislation for potential impacts on Century and our operations. For more information on the risk of climate change related legislation, laws and regulations, see Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Intellectual Property

We own or have rights to use a number of intellectual property rights relating to various aspects of our operations. We do not consider our business to be materially dependent on any of these intellectual property rights.

Available Information

Additional information about Century may be obtained from our website, which is located at www.centuryaluminum.com (http://www.centuryaluminum.com). Our website provides access to periodic filings we have made through the EDGAR filing system of the SEC, including our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports. We also make available on our website a copy of our code of ethics that applies to all employees and ownership reports filed on Forms 3, 4 and 5 by our directors, executive officers and beneficial owners of more than 10% of our outstanding common stock. Reports that we have filed with the SEC are also available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov (http://www.sec.gov). In addition, we will make available free of charge copies of our Forms 10-K, Forms 10-Q and Forms 8-K upon request. Requests for these documents can be made by contacting our Investor Relations Department by mail at: One South Wacker Drive, Suite 1000, Chicago, IL 60606, or by phone at: (312) 696-3101. Information contained in our website is not incorporated by reference in, and should not be considered a part of, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The following describes certain of the risks and uncertainties we face that could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operation, and cause our future results to differ materially from our current results and from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements. These risk factors should be considered together with the other risks and uncertainties described in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and elsewhere herein. This list of material risk factors is not all-inclusive or necessarily in order of importance.

Risk Factor Summary

Risks Related to our Industry and Business

• Declines in the market price (including premiums) for primary aluminum
• Excess capacity and overproduction of aluminum
• Increases in energy costs and loss or disruption of our supply of power
• Inability to compete
• Impact of future pandemics
• Curtailment of our production capacities and/or aluminum reduction facilities
• Casthouse Project at Grundartangi and related financing
• Inability to realize benefits from capital projects
• "Take-or-pay" obligations under our raw material and services contracts
• Small customer base
• Requirement to maintain substantial resources for operations
• Exposure to political, economic, regulatory, currency and other risks related to our international operations
• Unpredictable events affecting operations
• Impact of our hedging transactions
• Complexity of Jamalco business
• Risks of Jamalco Joint Venture structure
• Jamalco permitting risks

Risks Related to Labor and Employees

• Failure to maintain stable and productive labor relations
• Increased labor costs and labor shortages at our operations

Risks Related to Indebtedness and Financing

• Deterioration in our credit rating or financial condition
• Failure to generate sufficient cash flow for debt service requirements
• Levels of indebtedness and/or any future indebtedness
• Interest rate risk
• Covenants and restrictions in debt instruments
• Dependence on intercompany transfers
• Potential dilution of ownership interests upon conversion of the Convertible Notes
• Impact of accounting method for settlement of Convertible Notes
• Effect of the capped call transactions on Century stock and value of notes and related counterparty risk

Risks Related to Cybersecurity

• Failure of IT systems, network disruptions, cyber-attacks, and other security data breaches

Risks Related to Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Matters

• Effects of climate change, climate change legislation and/or environmental regulations
• Effects of health and safety laws and regulations
• Effects of trade laws or regulations
• Effects of litigation and legal proceedings
• Realization of benefits under Inflation Reduction Act Section 45X
• Ability to use certain NOLs to offset future taxable income

Risks Related to Acquisition

• Effect of any future acquisitions on the Company and its operations

Risks Related to Stock Ownership

• Impact and influence from Glencore's ownership interests in Century

Risk Related to our Industry and Business

Declines in overall aluminum prices could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our operating results depend on the market for primary aluminum which can be volatile and subject to many factors beyond our control. The overall price of primary aluminum consists of three components: (i) the base commodity price, which is based on quoted prices on the LME; plus (ii) any regional premium (e.g., the Midwest premium for metal sold in the United States and the European Duty Paid premium for metal sold into Europe); plus (iii) any value-added product premium. Each of these three components has its own drivers of variability.

The price of aluminum is influenced by a number of factors, including global supply-demand balance, inventory levels, speculative activities by market participants, production activities by global producers, political and economic conditions, as well as raw material and other production costs in major production regions. These factors can be highly speculative and difficult to predict which can lead to significant volatility in the price of aluminum. A deterioration in global economic conditions or a regional or worldwide financial downturn may also adversely affect future demand and prices for aluminum. Geopolitical uncertainty of any kind (including an outbreak or escalation of a regional conflict, such as the current situation in Ukraine or the hostilities in the Middle East), major public health issues (such as an outbreak of a pandemic or epidemic like COVID-19) or other unexpected events have the potential to negatively impact business confidence, potentially resulting in reduced global or regional demand for aluminum and increased price volatility. Such events may also impact prices by causing disruptions in our operations, supply chain, or workforce.

Declines in aluminum prices could cause us to curtail production at our operations or take other actions to reduce our cost of production, including deferring certain capital expenditures and maintenance costs and implementing workforce reductions. Any deferred costs achieved through such curtailments and other cost cutting measures could ultimately result in higher capital expenditures and maintenance costs than would have been incurred had such costs not been deferred and increase the costs to restore production capacity if market forces warrant. Declines in aluminum prices also negatively impact our liquidity by lowering our borrowing availability under our asset-based revolving credit facilities (due to a lower market value of our inventory and accounts receivable). These factors may have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, the amount of cash flow we have available for our capital expenditures and other operating expenses, our ability to access the credit and capital markets and our results of operations.

Excess capacity and overproduction of aluminum may materially disrupt global aluminum markets causing price deterioration which, in turn, could adversely impact our operating results, sales, margins and profitability.

Prior to 2021, global aluminum prices had been significantly depressed primarily due to large amounts of excess capacity and overproduction in China and other regions. Significant portions of global aluminum production would not be possible during such times without financial and other support and incentives from governments and state-owned entities. This oversupply caused global aluminum prices to be adversely impacted. Supply and demand in the aluminum market began to balance in 2021, however there is a risk that the market could again be saturated with excess capacity and overproduction. Overproduction and the export of heavily subsidized aluminum products may result in depressed prices and, in turn, have a material adverse impact on our operating results, sales, margins and profitability.

Increases in energy costs may adversely affect our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

Electrical power represents one of the largest components of our cost of goods sold. As a result, the availability of electricity at competitive prices is critical to the profitability of our operations.

In the U.S., our Hawesville and Sebree plants receive all of their electricity requirements under market-based electricity contracts. In Iceland, we previously entered into contracts to fix the forward price of approximately 20% of Grundartangi's Nord Pool based power requirements for the year ending December 31, 2023. These market-based contracts expose us to price volatility and fluctuations due to factors beyond our control and without any direct relationship to the price of primary aluminum. For example, extreme weather events throughout 2022 across the United States resulted in increases to power prices for our Kentucky plants, which resulted in the curtailment of the Hawesville smelter in the third quarter of 2022. Previously, in 2021, due in large part to low reservoir levels in Europe and low natural gas inventory in Europe, the monthly Nord Pool power prices more than tripled from January 2021 to December 2021. More recently, market disruptions in global energy markets related to the war in Ukraine caused significant increases in market-based power prices. Market-based electricity contracts expose us to market price volatility and fluctuations driven by, among other things, coal and natural gas prices, renewable energy production, regulatory changes and weather events, in each case, without any direct relationship to the price of primary aluminum. There can be no assurance that our market-based power supply arrangements will result in favorable electricity costs. Any increase in our electricity and energy prices not tied to corresponding increases in the LME price could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

Loss or disruptions in our supply of power and other power-related events could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We use large amounts of electricity to produce primary aluminum. Any loss or disruption of the power supply which reduces the amperage to our equipment or causes an equipment shutdown would result in a reduction in the volume of molten aluminum produced, and prolonged losses of power may result in the hardening or "freezing" of molten aluminum in the pots where it is produced, which could require an expensive and time consuming restart process, if a restart is possible at all.

Disruptions in the supply of electrical power to our facilities can be caused by a number of circumstances, including, but not limited to, unusually high demand, blackouts, equipment or transformer failure, human error, malicious acts including cyber-attacks or domestic terrorism, natural disasters, weather events or other catastrophic events. Our market-based power supply arrangements further increase the risk that disruptions in the supply of electrical power to our domestic operations could occur. Under these arrangements, we have greater exposure to transmission line outages, problems with grid stability and limitations on energy import capability. An alternative supply of power in the event of a disruption may not be feasible. If events such as the above occur, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operation.

Power disruptions have had a material negative impact on our results of operations in the past. We operate our smelters at close to peak amperage. Accordingly, even partial failures of high voltage equipment could affect our production. Disruptions in the supply of electrical power that do not result in production curtailment could cause us to experience pot instability that could decrease levels of productivity and incur losses.

We maintain property and business interruption insurance to mitigate losses resulting from catastrophic events, but are required to pay significant amounts under the deductible and self-insured retention provisions of those insurance policies. In addition, the coverage under those policies may not be sufficient to cover all losses, or may not cover certain events. Certain of our insurance policies do not cover any losses that may be incurred if our suppliers are unable to provide power under certain circumstances. Certain losses or prolonged interruptions in our operations may trigger a default under certain of our outstanding indebtedness and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

We may be unable to continue to compete successfully in the markets in which we operate.

The global primary aluminum industry in which we operate is highly competitive. Aluminum also competes with other materials, such as steel, copper, plastics, composite materials and glass, among others, for various applications and uses. Many of our competitors are larger than we are and have greater financial and technical resources than we do. These larger competitors may be better able to withstand reductions in price or other adverse industry or economic conditions. Similarly, many of our competitors may receive various subsidies from local, state and federal governments and have vertically integrated upstream operations with resulting superior cost positions to ours and may be better able to withstand reductions in price or other adverse industry or economic conditions, including inflationary impacts. If we are not able to compete successfully, our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.

Curtailment of aluminum production at our facilities could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

The continued operation of our smelters depends on the market for primary aluminum and our underlying costs of production. There can be no assurance that future deterioration in the price of aluminum or increases in our costs of production, including power, will not result in additional production curtailments at our smelters.

Curtailing production requires us to incur substantial expenses, both at the time of the curtailment and on an ongoing basis. Our facilities are subject to contractual and other fixed costs that continue even if we curtail operations at these facilities. These costs reduce the cost saving advantages of curtailing unprofitable aluminum production. If we are unable to realize the intended cost saving effects of any production curtailment, we may have to seek bankruptcy protection or be forced to divest some or all of our assets. The process of restarting production following curtailment is also expensive, time consuming and labor-intensive and there is no guarantee that once a curtailment has occurred that the plant will ever return to operation. As a result, any decision to restart production would likely require market conditions significantly better than the market conditions at the time the decision to curtail was made. Any curtailments of our operations, or actions taken to seek bankruptcy protection or divest some or all of our assets, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

The restart of curtailed capacity at our Mt. Holly smelter is subject to certain risks and uncertainties.

In late 2023, we finalized a new power agreement with Santee Cooper at our Mt. Holly smelter which provides access to sufficient energy to potentially allow Mt. Holly to restart the remaining 25% of its curtailed production capacity. Any potential future restart of this curtailed capacity will be made in light of certain market assumptions that are subject to risks outside of our control, specifically the LME price of aluminum, price and availability of raw materials and price levels of metal premiums. Changes in these inputs may result in actual costs and returns that materially differ from the estimated costs and returns and our financial position and results of operations may be negatively affected as a result. Changes in these inputs may also make the restart of the remaining curtailed capacity at Mt. Holly uneconomic.

The restart of production at our Hawesville smelter is subject to certain risks and uncertainties.

In the third quarter of 2022, we curtailed all operations at our Hawesville smelter. Any potential restart of operations at the Hawesville smelter would be based on certain market assumptions that would be subject to risks outside of our control, specifically the LME price of aluminum, price and availability of raw materials and price levels of metal premiums. Changes in these inputs may result in actual costs and returns that materially differ from the estimated costs and returns and our financial position and results of operations may be negatively affected as a result. Changes in these inputs may also make the restart of Hawesville operations uneconomic.

There can be no assurance that we will be able to restore Hawesville to full production within a projected budget and schedule. In addition to changes in market assumptions, other unforeseen difficulties could increase the cost of a restart, delay the restart or render the restart not feasible. Our ability to finance the restart could also be impacted by our cash position and results of operations. Any delay in the completion of the project, unexpected or increased costs or inability to fund the restart could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

The casthouse project at our Grundartangi smelter and related financing are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and we may be unable to realize the expected benefits of this project.

On November 3, 2021, we announced plans for construction of a new billet casthouse at Grundartangi. The new value-added casthouse will have a capacity of 150,000 tonnes of billet production and is expected to start production in the first quarter of 2024. Our ability to complete this Casthouse Project and the timing and costs of doing so are subject to various risks and certain market assumptions, many of which are beyond our control. Changes in our inputs, whether costs or availability, may result in actual costs and returns that materially differ from the estimated costs and returns and our financial position and results of operations may be negatively affected as a result. There can be no assurance that we will be able to complete the Casthouse Project within our projected budget and schedule. In addition to changes in market assumptions, other unforeseen difficulties could increase the cost of the project, delay the project or render the project not feasible. Any delay in the completion of the project, unexpected or increased costs or inability to fund the project could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

In connection with the Casthouse Project, Grundartangi entered into a Term Facility Agreement with Arion Bank hf to provide for borrowings up to $130.0 million (the “Casthouse Facility”). Our ability to make payments on and to refinance the Casthouse Facility will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future. Our ability to pay interest on and to repay or refinance the Casthouse Facility will depend upon our access to additional sources of liquidity and future operating performance, which is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory, business and other factors, including market prices for primary aluminum, that are beyond our control. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available to us in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay debt service obligations under the Casthouse Facility. If we are unable to meet our debt service obligations under the Casthouse Facility, it may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

Increases in our raw material costs and disruptions in our supply of raw materials could adversely affect our business.

Our business depends upon the adequate supply of alumina, aluminum fluoride, calcined petroleum coke, pitch, carbon anodes, cathodes, alloys, caustic soda, natural gas, heavy fuel oil, and other raw materials. For some of these production inputs, such as alumina, coke, pitch and cathodes, we do not have any internal production and rely on a limited number of suppliers for all of our requirements. Many of our supply agreements are short term or expire in the next few years. There is no assurance that we will be able to renew such agreements on commercially favorable terms, if at all. Certain of our principal raw materials are commodities for which, at times, availability and pricing can be volatile due to a number of factors beyond our control, including general economic conditions, inflationary impacts, domestic and worldwide demand, labor costs, competition, weather conditions and other transportation delays, major force majeure events, pandemics, tariffs, sanctions and currency exchange rates. Because we rely on a limited number of suppliers, if our suppliers cannot meet their contracted volume commitments or other contractual requirements, it may be difficult for us to source our raw materials from alternative suppliers at commercially reasonable prices or within the time periods required by our operations, if at all. If we are unable to source from alternative suppliers, we could be forced to curtail production or use raw materials that do not meet our requirements, which could cause inefficiencies in our operations, increase costs or impact our production capabilities, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

We are also exposed to price risk for each of these raw material commodities. For example, the pricing under certain of our current alumina supply contracts is based on a published alumina index. As a result, our cost structure is exposed to market fluctuations and price volatility. During 2018, for example, external events in the alumina markets, including the partial curtailment of the Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil due to environmental concerns following severe weather and U.S. sanctions impacting UC Rusal’s ability to supply alumina to the market, caused significant price volatility. As a result of these events, the alumina index price reached a high of $710 per tonne in April 2018 compared to an average price of $343 per tonne in 2023, $362 per tonne for 2022, and $329 per tonne for 2021. From time to time, we manage our exposure to fluctuations in our alumina costs by purchasing certain of our alumina requirements under supply contracts with prices tied to the LME price of aluminum.

Because we sell our products based on the LME price for primary aluminum, we are not able to pass on to our customers any increased cost of raw materials that are not linked to the LME price. The availability of our raw materials at competitive prices is critical to the profitability of our operations and increases in pricing and/or disruptions in our supply could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

We may be unable to realize expected benefits of our capital projects.

From time to time, we undertake strategic capital projects in order to enhance, expand and/or upgrade our facilities and operational capabilities. For instance, within the past several years, we have undertaken expansion projects at each of our Sebree, Hawesville, Grundartangi, Mt. Holly and Vlissingen facilities. Our ability to complete these projects and the timing and costs of doing so are subject to various risks, many of which are beyond our control. Additionally, the start-up of operations after such projects have been completed is also subject to risk. Our ability to achieve the anticipated increased revenues or otherwise realize acceptable returns on these investments is subject to a variety of market, operational, regulatory and labor-related factors. For example, we are unable to realize the anticipated benefits from our recent investments in Hawesville because of the curtailment of that facility in the third quarter of 2022 due to historically high energy costs and declining LME prices. Any failure to complete these projects, or any delays or failure to achieve the anticipated results from the implementation of any such projects, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

Certain of our raw material and services contracts contain "take-or-pay" obligations.

We have obligations under certain contracts to take-or-pay for specified raw materials or services over the term of those contracts regardless of our operating requirements. To the extent that we curtail production at any of our operations, we may continue to be obligated to take or pay for goods or services under these contracts as if we were operating at full production, which reduces the cost savings advantages of curtailing aluminum production. Our financial position and results of operations may also be adversely affected by the market price for such materials or services as we will continue to incur costs under these contracts to meet or settle our contractual take-or-pay obligations. If we were unable to use such materials or services in our operations or sell them at prices consistent with or greater than our contract costs, we could incur significant losses under these contracts. In addition, these commitments may also limit our ability to take advantage of favorable changes in the market prices for such materials and may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

We have historically derived substantially all of our revenue from a small number of customers, and we could be adversely affected by the loss of a major customer or changes in the business or financial condition of our major customers.

We have historically derived substantially all of our consolidated net sales from a small number of customers. For the year ended December 31, 2023, we derived approximately 73.8% of our consolidated net sales from Glencore and we currently have agreements in place to sell a substantial portion of our 2024 production to Glencore. We expect that the rest of our 2024 customer base will remain fairly concentrated among a small number of customers under short-term contracts. See Item 1. Business - Customer Base.

Any material non-payment or non-performance by one of our principal customers, a significant dispute with one of these customers, a significant downturn or deterioration in the business or financial condition of any of these customers, early termination of our sales agreement with any of these customers, or any other event significantly negatively impacting the contractual relationship with one of these customers could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. If, in such an event, we are unable to sell the affected production volume to another customer, or we sell the affected production to another customer on terms that are materially less advantageous to us, our revenues could be negatively impacted.

We require substantial resources to pay our operating expenses and fund our capital expenditures.

We require substantial resources to pay our operating expenses and fund our capital expenditures. If we are unable to generate funds from our operations to pay our operating expenses and fund our capital expenditures and other obligations, our ability to continue to meet our cash requirements in the future could require substantial liquidity and access to sources of funds, including from financial, capital and/or credit markets.

If funding is not available when needed, or is available only on unacceptable terms, we may be unable to respond to competitive pressures, take advantage of market opportunities or fund operations, capital expenditures or other obligations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

International operations expose us to political, economic, regulatory, currency and other related risks which may materially adversely impact our business.

We receive a significant portion of our revenues and cash flow from our operations in Iceland, we have significant operations in the Netherlands and we own a 55% interest in and operate a bauxite mining and alumina refining business in Jamaica. These international operations expose us to risks, including unexpected changes in foreign laws and regulations, political and economic instability and unrest, challenges in managing foreign operations, increased costs to adapt our systems and practices to those used in foreign countries, taxes, export duties, currency restrictions and exchange, tariffs and other trade barriers, and the burdens of complying with and monitoring a wide variety of foreign laws and regulations. Changes in foreign laws and regulations are generally beyond our ability to control, influence or predict and future changes in these laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

In addition, we may be exposed to global inflation and fluctuations in currency exchange rates. As a result, an increase in the value of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar could increase the U.S. dollar cost of our operating expenses which are denominated and payable in those currencies. To the extent we explore additional opportunities outside the U.S., our currency risk with respect to foreign currencies may increase. See Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk – Foreign Currency.

Unpredictable events may interrupt our operations, which may adversely affect our business.

Our operations may be susceptible to unpredictable events, including accidents, transportation and supply interruptions, labor disputes, equipment failure, information system breakdowns, natural disasters, dangerous weather conditions, river conditions, political unrest, global pandemics, cyberattacks and other events. Operational malfunctions or interruptions at one or more of our facilities could result in substantial losses in our production capacity, personal injury or death, damage to our properties or the properties of others, monetary losses and potential legal liability.

Our market-based power supply arrangements further increase the risk that unpredictable events could lead to changes in the price and/or availability of market power which could significantly impact the profitability and viability of our operations. For example, extreme weather events throughout 2022 across the United States resulted in increases to power prices for our Kentucky plants, which resulted in the curtailment of the Hawesville smelter in the third quarter of 2022. Power generation curtailments, transmission line outages, malicious attacks on energy infrastructure or limitations on energy import capability that arise from such unpredictable events could also increase power prices, disrupt production or force a curtailment of all or part of the production at our facilities. In addition, unpredictable events that lead to power cost increases may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

Iceland, for example, has recently suffered several natural disasters and extreme weather events, including significant volcanic eruptions and earthquakes which can lead to disruption in power transmission or other impacts to our operations. Insufficient rain in Iceland has and could in the future lead to low water levels in the reservoirs which has resulted and may again result in curtailments in power which is provided to our Grundartangi smelter from hydroelectric and geothermal sources.

We accept delivery of necessary raw materials to our operations using public infrastructure such as river systems and seaports. Deterioration of such infrastructure and/or other adverse conditions could result in transportation delays or interruptions and increased costs, as occurred during the third quarter of 2017 when lock closures on the Ohio River impacted our alumina supply and forced us to find alternative means to transport alumina to our Kentucky operations at increased cost. Any delay in the delivery of raw materials necessary for our production could impact our ability to operate our plants and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operation.

Future unpredictable events may adversely affect our ability to conduct business and may require substantial capital expenditures and operating expenses to remediate damage and restore operations at our production facilities. Although we maintain insurance to mitigate losses resulting from such events, our coverage may not be sufficient to cover all losses, may have high deductibles or may not cover certain events at all. To the extent these losses are not covered by insurance, our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.

We engage in hedging transactions which involve risks that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and liquidity.

As a global producer of primary aluminum, our business is subject to risk of fluctuations in the market prices of primary aluminum, power and foreign currencies, among other things. Therefore, from time to time, we may seek to manage our exposure to these risks through entering into different types of hedging arrangements designed to reduce such risk exposure. However, there can be no assurance that our hedging activities will successfully reduce our risk exposure to these factors. In addition, there may be unforeseen events affecting our business that could lead us to be long in positions that we did not anticipate when such hedging transactions were put into place which in turn could lead to adverse effects on our financial position. Further, we may be required to use a significant amount of liquidity to satisfy collateral margin calls required by our hedging counterparties. Utilizing liquidity to satisfy collateral margin calls may have an impact on the liquidity we have available for our operations and lead to adverse impacts on our financial position. See Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk and Note 20. Derivatives to the consolidated financial statements included herein.

Jamalco’s operations are complex and we may experience substantial risks, delays and/or disruptions in connection with integration activities, a failure of which may result in a material adverse effect on Jamalco’s and Century’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our acquisition of a 55% interest in Jamalco in May 2023 substantially expanded the scope and size of our business by adding Jamalco’s bauxite mining and alumina refining operations to our existing primary aluminum production. Operating bauxite mining and alumina refining assets may require different operating strategies and managerial expertise than our other operations, and these operations are subject to additional and/or different regulatory requirements. See “We may be unable to obtain, maintain, or renew permits or approvals necessary for Jamalco’s operations, which could materially adversely affect our business” below.

The integration of Jamalco’s operations may place strain on our administrative and operational infrastructure and the Jamalco business may not perform as expected following the acquisition. Our senior management’s attention may be diverted from the management of daily operations to the integration of Jamalco’s business operations and the assets acquired in the acquisition. Our ability to manage our business and growth will require us to apply our operational, financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures to the Jamalco business. The failure to do so, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may also encounter risks, costs and expenses associated with undisclosed or unanticipated liabilities, and use more cash and other financial resources on integration and implementation activities than we anticipate. We may not be able to successfully integrate Jamalco’s operations into our existing operations, assimilate and retain key employees, successfully manage this new line of business or realize the expected economic benefits of the Jamalco acquisition, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. See “Risks Related to Acquisitions - Acquisitions could disrupt our operations and harm our operating results” below.

Jamalco is operated as an unincorporated joint venture, which may pose unique risks to its operations.

Joint ventures inherently involve unique and special risks as joint venture partners may have divergent strategies to operate the joint venture's business and operations, and partners may take (or fail to take) certain actions and positions, or experience difficulties, that may negatively impact the joint venture’s business and operating results. While Century is the operating partner at Jamalco through its wholly owned subsidiary General Alumina Jamaica Limited (“GAJL”), our joint venture partner, Clarendon Alumina Production Limited (“CAP”), retains substantial shareholder rights that could impact Jamalco’s business, such as approval of annual budgets, major capital investments, and expansion into additional areas of business. Furthermore, due to the structure of the Jamalco joint venture, each partner may from time to time be required to fund capital contributions necessary for Jamalco’s business. If Century and its joint venture partner were to have material disagreements about the operation of Jamalco’s business or fail to make required capital contributions when required, it could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Additionally, the unincorporated nature of Jamalco’s joint venture structure is highly complex and atypical when compared to commonly observed legal entity structures across many jurisdictions. This atypical structure may drive unique and special legal, accounting, tax, and/or compliance outcomes, which are complex and difficult to ascertain and analyze. For example, we identified a material weakness in the design of our internal control over the allocation of excess fair value acquired between non-controlling interest and the preliminary deferred bargain purchase gain. For additional information on the foregoing, see “Item 9A — Controls and procedures — Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting.”

We may be unable to obtain, maintain, or renew permits or approvals necessary for Jamalco’s operations, which could materially adversely affect our business.

Jamalco’s operations are subject to extensive permitting and approval requirements. These include permits and approvals issued by Jamaican government agencies and regulatory bodies. The permitting and approval rules are complex, are often subject to interpretations by regulators, which may change over time. Changing regulatory requirements could make our ability to comply with the applicable requirements more difficult, inhibit or delay our ability to timely obtain the necessary approvals, if at all, result in approvals being conditioned in a manner that may restrict Jamalco’s ability to efficiently and economically conduct its operations or preclude the continuation of certain ongoing operations. Failure to obtain, maintain, or renew permits or approvals, or permitting or approval delays, restrictions, or conditions could increase Jamalco’s costs and affect our ability to conduct our operations, potentially having a materially adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Related to Labor and Employees

Our failure to maintain satisfactory labor relations could adversely affect our business.

The bargaining unit employees at our Grundartangi, Hawesville, Sebree, Vlissingen and Jamalco facilities are represented by labor unions, representing approximately 60% of our total workforce as of December 31, 2023. Our Grundartangi labor agreement is effective through December 31, 2024. Our Vlissingen labor agreement is effective through May 31, 2024. Our Hawesville and Sebree labor agreements are scheduled to expire April 1, 2026 and October 28, 2028, respectively. Jamalco’s work force is represented through separately negotiated labor agreements for hourly and salaried employee groups. Both contracts are effective through December 31, 2023. Jamalco is currently in the process of negotiating new contracts with both the salaried and hourly employee groups.

While we are hopeful to reach agreement with the labor unions to renew these agreements on acceptable terms when these agreements expire, there is no assurance that we will be successful in doing so. If we fail to maintain satisfactory relations with any labor union representing our employees, our labor contracts may not prevent a strike or work stoppage at any of these facilities in the future. As part of any negotiation with a labor union, we may reach agreements with respect to future wages and benefits that may have a material adverse effect on our future business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity. In addition, negotiations could divert management attention or result in strikes, lock-outs or other work stoppages. Any threatened or actual work stoppage in the future or inability to renegotiate our collective bargaining agreements could prevent or significantly impair our production capabilities subject to these collective bargaining agreements, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

Labor shortages or increased labor costs may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our employees are integral to the success of our operations and with meeting our operational objectives. Any impact of labor shortages or increased labor costs because of COVID-19 pandemic, increased competition for employees, unemployment levels and benefits, higher employee turnover rates or other employee benefits costs may increase our labor costs or impact our ability to operate our facilities efficiently and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Like many U.S. businesses, we did experience increasing levels of turnover at all of our U.S. locations in 2022 and increased labor costs. Recruiting and retaining employees in sufficient numbers to optimize our workforce levels may result in increased labor costs which could in turn lead to a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position.

Risks Related to Indebtedness and Financing

A deterioration in our financial condition or credit rating could limit our ability to access the credit and capital markets on acceptable terms or to enter into hedging and financial transactions, lead to our inability to access liquidity facilities, and could adversely affect our financial condition and our business relationships.

Our credit rating has previously been adversely affected by unfavorable market and financial conditions. A deterioration in our financial condition, our existing credit rating, or any future negative actions the credit agencies may take affecting our credit rating, could expose us to significant borrowing costs and less favorable credit terms, limiting our ability to access the credit and capital markets, and have an adverse effect on our relationships with customers, suppliers and hedging counterparties. An inability to access the credit and capital markets when needed in order to refinance our existing debt or raise new debt or equity could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

We may be unable to generate sufficient cash flow to meet our debt service requirements which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

As of December 31, 2023, we had an aggregate of approximately $479.2 million of outstanding debt (including $250.0 million aggregate principal amount of our 7.5% senior secured notes due 2028 (the "2028 Notes") and $86.3 million aggregate principal amount of our convertible senior notes due 2028 (the "Convertible Notes")). Our ability to pay interest on and to repay or refinance our debt will depend upon our access to additional sources of liquidity and future operating performance, which is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory, business and other factors, including market prices for primary aluminum, that are beyond our control. The occurrence of unexpected and extraordinary events, such as an outbreak of a pandemic or epidemic like COVID-19, can also create substantial uncertainty and volatility in the financial markets which may impact our ability to access capital to refinance our existing indebtedness. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available to us in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay debt service obligations, refinance our existing debt or to fund our other liquidity needs. If we are unable to meet our debt service obligations or fund our other liquidity needs, we could attempt to restructure or refinance our debt or seek additional equity or debt capital. There can be no assurance that we would be able to accomplish those actions on satisfactory terms, or at all. If we are unable to ultimately meet our debt service obligations and fund our other liquidity needs, it may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

Our substantial indebtedness or any future additional indebtedness could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Our substantial indebtedness and the significant cash flow required to service such debt increases our vulnerability to adverse economic and industry conditions, reduces cash available for other purposes and limits our operational flexibility. Despite our substantial indebtedness, we may incur substantial additional debt in the future. Although the agreements governing our existing debt limit our ability and the ability of certain of our subsidiaries to incur additional debt, these restrictions are subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions and, under certain circumstances, debt incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. In addition, these agreements may also allow us to incur certain obligations that do not constitute debt as defined in these agreements. To the extent that we incur additional debt or such other obligations, the risks associated with our substantial debt described above, including our possible inability to service and meet our debt or other obligations, would increase.

We are subject to interest rate risk, which could adversely affect our borrowing costs, financial condition and results of operations.

Our industrial revenue bonds ("IRBs") and borrowings on our U.S. and Iceland revolving credit facilities as well as the Casthouse Facility and Iceland Term Facility are currently at variable interest rates, and future borrowings required to fund working capital at our businesses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, or other strategic opportunities may be at variable rates, which exposes us to interest rate risk. An increase in interest rates would increase our debt service obligations under our existing debt instruments and potentially any future debt instruments, further limiting cash flow available for other uses. Any increase in interest rates could adversely affect our borrowing costs, financial condition and results of operations.

Our debt instruments subject us to covenants and restrictions.

Our existing debt instruments contain various covenants that restrict the way we conduct our business and limit our ability to incur debt, pay dividends and engage in transactions such as acquisitions and investments, among other things, which may impair our ability to obtain additional liquidity and grow our business. Any failure to comply with those covenants would likely constitute a breach under such debt instruments which may result in the acceleration of all or a substantial portion of our outstanding indebtedness and termination of commitments under our U.S. and Iceland revolving credit facilities. If our indebtedness is accelerated, we may be unable to repay the required amounts and our secured lenders could foreclose on any collateral securing our secured debt. Any of the foregoing actions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

We depend upon intercompany transfers from our subsidiaries to meet our debt service obligations.

We are a holding company and conduct all of our operations through our subsidiaries. As a holding company, our results of operations depend on the results of operations of our subsidiaries. Moreover, our ability to meet our debt service obligations depends upon the receipt of intercompany transfers from our subsidiaries. The ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other payments or advances to us will depend on their operating results and will be subject to applicable laws and any restrictions or prohibitions on intercompany transfers by those subsidiaries contained in agreements governing the debt or other obligations of such subsidiaries.

Conversion of the Convertible Notes may dilute the ownership interest of our stockholders or may otherwise depress the price of our common stock.

The conversion of some or all of the Convertible Notes may dilute the ownership interests of our stockholders. Upon conversion of the Convertible Notes, we have the option to pay or deliver, as the case may be, cash, shares of our common stock, or a combination of cash and shares of our common stock. If we elect to settle our conversion obligation in shares of our common stock or a combination of cash and shares of our common stock, any sales in the public market of our common stock issuable upon such conversion could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock. In addition, the existence of the Convertible Notes may encourage short selling by market participants because the conversion of the notes could be used to satisfy short positions, or anticipated conversion of the Convertible Notes into shares of our common stock could depress the price of our common stock.

The accounting method for convertible debt securities that may be settled in cash, such as the Convertible Notes, could have a material effect on our reported financial results.

We account for the Convertible Notes in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, including ASC 470-20, Debt with Conversion and Other Options (“ASC 470-20”) and, where applicable, Accounting Standards Update 2020-06 (“ASU 2020-06”). The ultimate accounting treatment may have a material effect on our net income, earnings per share (EPS) and working capital. Volatility in these measures could adversely affect the trading price of our common stock. If any of the conditions to the convertibility of the Convertible Notes are satisfied, then we may be required under applicable accounting standards to reclassify the liability carrying value of the Convertible Notes as a current, rather than a long-term, liability. This reclassification could be required even if no noteholders convert their Convertible Notes and could materially reduce our reported working capital. We are required to report diluted earnings per share using an “if-converted” method. Under that method, diluted earnings per share would generally be calculated assuming that all the Convertible Notes were converted solely into shares of common stock at the beginning of the reporting period, unless the result would be anti-dilutive. The application of the if-converted method may reduce our reported diluted earnings per share.

The capped call transactions may affect the value of the notes and our common stock.

In connection with the pricing of the Convertible Notes, we entered into capped call transactions with various option counterparties. The capped call transactions are expected generally to reduce the potential dilution to our common stock upon any conversion of Convertible Notes and/or offset any cash payments we are required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted Convertible Notes, as the case may be, with such reduction and/or offset subject to a cap.

From time to time, the option counterparties or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to our common stock and/or purchasing or selling our common stock or other securities of ours in secondary market transactions following the pricing of the notes and prior to the maturity of the notes (and are likely to do so on each exercise date for the capped call transactions, which are expected to occur on each trading day during the 20 trading day period beginning on the 21st scheduled trading day prior to the maturity date of the notes, or following any termination of any portion of the capped call transactions in connection with any repurchase, redemption or early conversion of the notes). This activity could also cause or avoid an increase or a decrease in the market price of our common stock or the notes.

The potential effect, if any, of these transactions and activities on the market price of our common stock or the notes will depend in part on market conditions and cannot be ascertained at this time. We do not make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any potential effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our common stock. In addition, we do not make any representation that the option counterparties or their respective affiliates will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.

We are subject to counterparty risk with respect to the capped call transactions.

The option counterparties are financial institutions or affiliates of financial institutions, and we will be subject to the risk that one or more of such option counterparties may default under the capped call transactions. Our exposure to the credit risk of the option counterparties will not be secured by any collateral. If any option counterparty becomes subject to bankruptcy or other insolvency proceedings, with respect to such option counterparty’s obligations under the relevant capped call transaction, we will become an unsecured creditor in those proceedings with a claim equal to our exposure at that time under such transaction. Our exposure will depend on many factors but, generally, an increase in our exposure will be positively correlated to an increase in our common stock market price and in the volatility of the market price of our common stock. In addition, upon a default by any of the option counterparties, we may suffer adverse tax consequences and dilution with respect to our common stock. We can provide no assurance as to the financial stability or viability of any of the option counterparties.

Risks Related to Cybersecurity

The failure of our information technology systems, network disruptions, cyber-attacks or other breaches in data security could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial position.

We depend on our information technology systems to manage significant aspects of our business including, without limitation, production process control, metal inventory management, shipping and receiving, and reporting financial and operational results. Any disruptions, delays, or deficiencies in our information systems or network connectivity could result in increased costs, disruptions in our business, and/or adversely affect our ability to timely report our financial results.

Our information technology systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from circumstances largely beyond our control, including, without limitation, fire, natural disasters, power outages, systems failure, security breaches, and cyber- attacks, which include viruses, malware, and ransomware attacks. While we have disaster recovery plans in place, if our information technology systems are damaged or interrupted for any reason, and, if the disaster recovery plans do not effectively resolve such issues on a timely basis, we may be unable to manage or conduct our business operations, suffer reputational harm, and may be subject to governmental investigations and litigation, any of which may adversely impact our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Cybersecurity incidents, in particular, are increasing in frequency and continue to evolve and become more sophisticated. Cyber security incidents may include, but are not limited to, attempts to gain unauthorized system access to install malicious software such as ransomware or malware, direct fraudulent payments to fictitious vendors, disrupt production process control and financial systems, and release of confidential or otherwise protected information and data. In addition, during the past few years, a greater number of our employees are working remotely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which may increase cybersecurity vulnerabilities and risk to our information technology systems.

On February 16, 2022, we became aware of a cybersecurity intrusion that caused a network disruption and impacted certain of our systems. Upon detection, we took steps to address the incident, including engaging both internal resources and a team of third-party experts to investigate and respond to this intrusion.

Due to the evolving nature and scope of cybersecurity threats, the scope and impact of any incident, including the February 16, 2022 incident, cannot be predicted, including the scope of any potential impacts on our business, financial position and results of operations. While the Company continually works to safeguard and strengthen our information technology systems and invest in our information technology infrastructure to mitigate potential risks, there is no assurance that such actions will be sufficient to prevent cyber-attacks or security breaches that damage or interrupt access to information systems or networks, compromise confidential or otherwise protected information, destroy or corrupt data, or otherwise disrupt our operations. In addition, we may not be able to contain a targeted cybersecurity incident to any one particular operating location. Furthermore, although the Company does maintain insurance in its operations, such insurance may not cover all liabilities and losses associated with any sort of cyber incident or security breach (including the February 2022 incident). The occurrence of such events could negatively impact our reputation and our competitive position and could result in litigation with third parties, regulatory action, loss of business, potential liability and increased remediation costs, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Such security breaches could also result in a violation of applicable U.S. and international privacy and other laws and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial position.

Risks Related to Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Matters

Climate change, climate change legislation or environmental regulations may adversely impact our operations.

Governmental regulatory bodies in the United States and other countries where we operate have adopted, or may in the future adopt, laws or enact other regulatory changes in response to the potential impacts of climate change. Such laws and regulations could have a variety of adverse effects on our business. There is an increasing global and U.S. regulatory focus and scrutiny on GHG emission and their potential impacts on climate change.

For example, electricity represents our single largest operating cost and the availability of electricity at competitive prices is critical to the profitability of our operations. Some of the power we purchase in the United States is generated at coal-based power plants, which have been, and are likely to continue to be, significantly impacted by these types of regulations, including the Paris Agreement, which the United States re-entered on February 19, 2021. Any resulting increase in our operating costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity. Even small increases in power prices could have a disproportionate impact on our business if such price increases are not supported by then current aluminum prices.

In addition, as a member of the EEA and a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, Iceland has implemented legislation to abide by the Kyoto Protocol and Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament (the "Directive") which establishes a "cap and trade" scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading. Iceland is complying with the Directive by participating in the European Union ("EU") Emission Trading System which requires us to purchase carbon dioxide allowances for our Grundartangi smelter. We currently receive approximately 80% of needed emission allowances for the Grundartangi smelter free of charge, although changes to these regulations, or the implementation of new regulations, could cause our cost of allowances to rise or impose other costs.

The future impact of these or other potential regulatory changes is uncertain and may be either voluntary or legislated and may impact our operations directly or indirectly through our customers or our supply chain. We may incur increased capital expenditures resulting from compliance with such regulatory changes, increased energy costs, costs associated with a "cap and trade" system, increased insurance premiums and deductibles, carbon taxes, increased efficiency standards, incentives or mandates for use of particular types of energy, a change in competitive position relative to industry peers and changes to profit or loss arising from increased or decreased demand for goods produced by us and indirectly, from changes in cost of goods sold. For example, "cap and trade" legislation may impose significant additional costs to our power suppliers that could lead to significant increases in our energy costs. In addition, the potential physical impacts of climate change on our operations are highly uncertain and will be particular to the geographic circumstances. These may include changes in rainfall patterns, shortages of water or other natural resources, changing sea levels, changing storm patterns and intensities, and changing temperature levels. Any adverse regulatory and physical changes may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

We and our suppliers are subject to a variety of environmental laws and regulations that may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

Our operations may impact the environment and our properties may have environmental contamination, which could result in material liabilities for us. We are obligated to comply with various foreign, federal, state and other environmental laws and regulations, including the environmental laws and regulations of the United States, Iceland and the EU. Environmental laws and regulations may expose us to costs or liabilities relating to our manufacturing operations or property ownership. We incur operating costs and capital expenditures on an ongoing basis to comply with applicable environmental laws and regulations. We also were previously, and may in the future be, responsible for the cleanup of contamination at some of our current and former facilities or for the amelioration of damage to natural resources. Environmental laws may impose cleanup liability on owners and occupiers of contaminated property, including past or divested properties, regardless of whether the owners or occupiers caused the contamination or whether the activity that resulted in the contamination was lawful at the time it was conducted. Liability may also be imposed on a joint and several basis, such that we may be held responsible for more than our share of the contamination or other damages.

If more stringent compliance or cleanup standards under environmental laws or regulations are imposed, previously unknown environmental conditions or damages to natural resources are discovered or alleged, or if contributions from other responsible parties with respect to sites for which we have cleanup responsibilities are not available, we may be subject to additional liability, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity. Further, additional environmental matters for which we may be liable may arise in the future at our present sites where no problem is currently known, with respect to sites previously owned or operated by us, by related corporate entities or by our predecessors, or at sites that we may acquire or operate in the future. In addition, overall production costs may become prohibitively expensive and prevent us from effectively competing in price sensitive markets if future capital expenditures and costs for environmental compliance or cleanup are significantly greater than expected.

In addition, many of our key suppliers are subject to environmental laws and regulations that may affect their costs of production resulting in an increase in the price of the products that we purchase from them. Application of existing and new environmental laws and regulations to us and/or our key suppliers may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

Our operations are subject to a variety of laws that regulate the protection of the health and safety of our employees, and changes in health and safety laws and regulations could result in significant costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

We are subject to various foreign, federal and state laws and regulations that regulate the protection of the health and safety of our workers. Changes in existing laws, possible future laws and regulations or more restrictive interpretations of current laws and regulations by governmental authorities, could cause additional expense, capital expenditures or impose restrictions on our operations. Failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations that regulate the protection of the health and safety of our workers, including the beryllium standard, may result in enforcement actions, including orders issued by regulatory or judicial authorities causing operations to cease or be curtailed, which may require corrective measures including capital expenditures, installation of additional equipment or remedial actions. Any such penalties, fines, sanctions or shutdowns could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Changes in trade laws or regulations may have an adverse effect on our sales margins and profitability.

Our businesses compete in a global marketplace and are subject to international and domestic trade laws and regulations. The breadth of these laws and regulations continues to expand and evolve. For example, both the European Union and the U.S. impose import tariffs and/or quotas on primary aluminum from certain foreign producers. Our Icelandic and U.S. businesses are currently able to access these respective markets duty-free. Any change to these import duties, including the granting of exemptions, a reduction in the tariff rate or a full repeal of the tariff scheme, could lessen or potentially eliminate the benefit we currently realize from these tariffs and could negatively impact our profitability. These or other changes in trade laws and regulations could affect the ultimate price we receive for our products, the prices and availability of our raw materials or our ability to access certain markets and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

We are subject to litigation and legal proceedings and may be subject to additional litigation, arbitration or legal proceedings in the future.

We are currently, and may in the future become, subject to litigation, arbitration or other legal proceedings with other parties. The outcome of such matters is often difficult to assess or quantify and the cost to defend future legal proceedings may be significant. If decided adversely to us, these legal proceedings, or others that could be brought against us in the future, could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, cash flows and results of operations. Furthermore, to the extent we sell or reduce our interest in certain assets, we may give representations and warranties and indemnities for such transactions and we may agree to retain responsibility for certain liabilities related to the period prior to the sale. As a result, we may incur liabilities in the future associated with assets we no longer own or in which we have a reduced interest. For a more detailed discussion of pending litigation, see Item 3. Legal Proceedings and Note 17. Commitments and Contingencies to the consolidated financial statements included herein.

In the event of a dispute arising at our foreign operations, we may be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of foreign courts or arbitral panels, or may not be successful in subjecting foreign persons to the jurisdiction of courts or arbitral panels in the United States. Our inability to enforce our rights and the enforcement of rights on a prejudicial basis by foreign courts or arbitral panels could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 ("IRA") contains production tax credits for certain critical minerals, including aluminum. The Company's ability to benefit from Section 45X production tax credits is not guaranteed and is dependent upon the federal government's ongoing implementation, guidance, regulations, and/or rulemakings that have been the subject of substantial public interest and debate.

In August 2022, President Biden signed the IRA into law. The IRA provides for substantial tax credits and incentives for the development of critical minerals (including aluminum), renewable energy, clean fuels, electric vehicles, and supporting infrastructure, among other provisions. Section 45X of the IRA contains a production tax credit equal to 10% of certain eligible production costs, including, without limitation, labor, energy, depreciation and amortization and overhead expenses. On December 14, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service released proposed rules to provide guidance on the production tax credit requirements under Internal Revenue Code Section 45X (the “Proposed Regulations”). The Proposed Regulations provide guidance on rules that taxpayers must satisfy to qualify for the Section 45X tax credit.

While Section 45X of the IRA provides for substantial tax benefits for Century, the Proposed Regulations have not been finalized and remain subject to public comment. There is uncertainty as to how the provisions under the IRA will be interpreted and implemented. The Company’s ability to ultimately benefit from IRA tax credits is not guaranteed and is dependent to a large degree upon the final scope, terms and conditions of the Proposed Regulations. Certain provisions of the IRA have been the subject of substantial public interest and have been subject to debate, and there are divergent views on potential implementation, guidance, rules, and regulatory principles by a diverse group of interested parties. There can be no assurance that the Company’s domestic aluminum production operations will fully qualify for the benefits under the IRA. As a result, the final interpretation and implementation of the provisions in the IRA could have a material adverse impact on the Company. Furthermore, future legislative enactments or administrative actions could limit, amend, repeal, or terminate IRA policies or other incentives that the Company currently hopes to leverage. Any reduction, elimination, or discriminatory application or expiration of the IRA may materially adversely affect the Company’s future operating results and liquidity.

Our ability to utilize certain net operating loss carryforwards to offset future taxable income may be significantly limited if we experience an "ownership change" under the Internal Revenue Code.

As of December 31, 2023, we had federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $1,533.5 million which could offset future taxable income. Our ability to utilize our deferred tax assets to offset future federal taxable income may be significantly limited if we experience an "ownership change" as defined in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"). In general, an ownership change would occur if our "five-percent shareholders," as defined under the Code, collectively increase their ownership in us by more than fifty percentage points over a rolling three-year period. Future transactions in our stock that may not be in our control may cause us to experience such an ownership change and thus limit our ability to utilize net operating losses, tax credits and other tax assets to offset future taxable income.

Risks Related to Acquisitions

Acquisitions could disrupt our operations and harm our operating results.

We have a history of making acquisitions and we expect to opportunistically seek to make acquisitions in the future. We are subject to numerous risks as a result of our acquisition strategy, including the following:

• we may spend time and money pursuing acquisitions that do not close;
• acquired companies may have contingent or unidentified liabilities;
• it may be challenging for us to manage our existing business as we integrate acquired operations; and
• we may not achieve the anticipated benefits or synergies from our acquisitions.

We are subject to numerous risks following the consummation of any acquisition, including, for example, that we may incur costs and expenses associated with any unidentified or potential liabilities, we may not achieve anticipated revenue and cost benefits from the acquisitions and unforeseen difficulties may arise in integrating the acquired operations into our existing operations. Accordingly, our past or future acquisitions might not ultimately improve our competitive position and business prospects as anticipated and may subject us to additional liabilities that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

Risks Related to Stock Ownership in the Company

Glencore may exercise substantial influence over us, and they may have interests that differ from those of our other stockholders.

Glencore beneficially owns approximately 42.9% of our outstanding common stock and all of our outstanding Series A Convertible Preferred Stock. In addition, one of our seven directors is a Glencore employee. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we derived approximately 73.8% of our consolidated sales from Glencore and we expect to sell a significant portion of our production to Glencore in 2024. Century and Glencore enter into various transactions from time to time such as the purchase and sale of primary aluminum, purchase and sale of alumina and other raw materials, tolling agreements as well as forward financial contracts and borrowing and other debt transactions. Because of the interests described above, Glencore may have substantial influence over our business, and, to the extent of their ownership of our common stock, on the outcome of any matters submitted to our stockholders for approval.

In addition, certain decisions concerning our operations or financial structure may present conflicts of interest between Glencore and our other stockholders. For example, Glencore may in the future engage in a wide variety of activities in our industry that may result in conflicts of interest with respect to matters affecting us. Glencore may also make investments in businesses that directly or indirectly compete with us, or may pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business and, as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us.

Risk Management and Strategy

Century recognizes the importance of developing, implementing, and maintaining appropriate cybersecurity measures to safeguard our information systems and protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our data. The Board is actively involved in oversight of Century’s risk management program, and cybersecurity represents an important component of Century’s overall approach to enterprise risk management (“ERM”). Century’s cybersecurity policies, standards, processes and practices are based on recognized security frameworks and applicable industry standards. In general, Century seeks to address cybersecurity risks through a comprehensive, cross-functional approach that is focused on preserving the confidentiality, security and availability of the information that Century generates, collects and stores by identifying, preventing and mitigating cybersecurity threats and effectively responding to cybersecurity incidents when they occur.

As one of the critical elements of the Company’s overall ERM approach, the Company’s cybersecurity program is focused on the following key areas:

• Governance: As discussed in more detail under the heading “Governance,” the Board’s oversight of cybersecurity risk management is supported by the Company’s Chief Information Officer, other members of Management and a dedicated Cybersecurity team.
• Collaborative Approach: The Company has implemented a comprehensive, cross-functional approach to identifying, preventing and mitigating cybersecurity threats and incidents, while also implementing controls and procedures that provide for the prompt escalation of certain cybersecurity incidents so that decisions regarding the public disclosure and reporting of such incidents can be made by management in a timely manner.
• Technical Safeguards: The Company deploys technical safeguards that are designed to protect the Company’s information systems from cybersecurity threats, including firewalls, intrusion prevention and detection systems, logical access controls, and endpoint protection, which are evaluated and improved through vulnerability assessments and cybersecurity threat intelligence.
• Incident Response and Recovery Planning: The Company has established and maintains comprehensive incident response and recovery plans that address the Company’s response to a cybersecurity incident, and such plans are regularly evaluated and updated.
• Third-Party Risk Management: The Company maintains a comprehensive, risk-based approach to identifying and overseeing cybersecurity risks presented by third parties, including vendors, service providers and other external users of the Company’s systems, as well as the systems of third parties that could adversely impact our business in the event of a cybersecurity incident affecting those third-party systems.
• Network Penetration Testing: The Company performs an internal and external network penetration test led by its Internal Audit team and addresses any findings in a timely manner.

Risks from Cybersecurity Threats

On February 16, 2022, we became aware of a cybersecurity intrusion that caused a network disruption and impacted certain of our systems. Upon detection, we took steps to address the incident, including engaging both internal resources and a team of third-party experts to investigate and respond to this intrusion. While the February 2022 cybersecurity intrusion did not materially and adversely affect our results of operations, such events have the potential to have a material adverse affect on our business strategy, results of operations and financial condition, including by damaging or interrupting access to our information systems or networks, compromising confidential or otherwise protected information, destroying or corrupting data, or otherwise disrupting our operations. Such events could also damage our reputation and our competitive position and could result in litigation with third parties, regulatory action, loss of business, potential liability and increased remediation costs, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Such security breaches could also result in a violation of applicable U.S. and international privacy and other laws and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial position. See “Risk Factors - Risks Related to Cybersecurity - The failure of our information technology systems, network disruptions, cyber-attacks or other breaches in data security could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial position.”

Governance

Board of Directors Oversight

The Board as a whole also oversees the Company’s cybersecurity risks. Our Chief Information Officer updates the Board periodically regarding the actions management is taking to mitigate the Company’s cybersecurity risks and enhance the Company’s cybersecurity protection. Management routinely evaluates the Company’s existing security processes, procedures and systems in order to determine whether additional enhancements are needed to further reduce the likelihood and impact of a future cybersecurity event. Some of the Company’s current safeguards include multi-factor authentication for remote access to systems; performing email phishing test campaigns; email spam filtering; restricted internet firewall rules; limiting memory stick and external hard drive use; requiring timely application of security and software patches on servers; antivirus endpoint protection upgrades; performing 24-hour/7-day a week network monitoring; and improving our backup and recovery strategy, among others.

Management’s Role Managing Risk

The Chief Information Officer, as well as other members of Management, plays a pivotal role in informing the Board on cybersecurity risks by providing comprehensive briefings to the Board on a regular basis. These briefings encompass a broad range of topics, including:

• Current cybersecurity landscape and emerging threats;
• Status of ongoing cybersecurity initiatives and strategies;
• Overall security posture and layers of defense;
• Incident reports and learnings from any cybersecurity events; and
• Compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards.

In addition to regularly scheduled meetings, the Board and the Chief Information Officer maintain an ongoing dialogue regarding emerging or potential cybersecurity risks. Together, they receive updates on any significant developments in the cybersecurity domain, ensuring the Board’s oversight is proactive and responsive. The Board actively participates in strategic decisions related to cybersecurity, offering guidance and approval for major initiatives. This involvement ensures that cybersecurity considerations are integrated into the broader strategic objectives of the Company. The Board conducts an annual review of the company’s cybersecurity posture and the effectiveness of its risk management strategies. This review helps in identifying areas for improvement and ensuring the alignment of cybersecurity efforts with the overall risk management framework.

Risk Management Personnel

Primary responsibility for assessing, monitoring and managing our cybersecurity risks rests with the Chief Information Officer. The Chief Information Officer extensive experience working in and leading the Company's information systems. In addition, a dedicated Cybersecurity team, including the Chief Technology Officer and Cybersecurity Manager, provide regular updates to the Chief Information Officer.

Monitor Cybersecurity Incidents

The Chief Information Officer is continually informed about the latest developments in cybersecurity, including potential threats and innovative risk management techniques. This ongoing knowledge acquisition is crucial for the effective prevention, detection, mitigation, and remediation of cybersecurity incidents. The Chief Information Officer implements and oversees processes for the regular monitoring of our information systems. This includes the deployment of advanced security measures and regular system audits to identify potential vulnerabilities. In the event of a cybersecurity incident, the CIO is equipped with a well-defined incident response plan. This plan includes immediate actions to mitigate the impact and long-term strategies for remediation and prevention of future incidents.

Reporting to Board of Directors

The Chief Information Officer, in his capacity, regularly informs the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of all aspects related to cybersecurity risks and incidents. This ensures that the highest levels of management are kept abreast of the cybersecurity posture and potential risks facing the Company. Furthermore, significant cybersecurity matters, and strategic risk management decisions are escalated to the Board of Directors, ensuring that they have comprehensive oversight and can provide guidance on critical cybersecurity issues.

Our principal executive office is located at 1 South Wacker Drive, Suite 1000, Chicago, Illinois 60606. We own and operate aluminum smelters in the United States and Iceland. We also own a carbon anode production facility located in the Netherlands and hold a 55% interest in a bauxite mining and alumina refining facility in Jamaica. We lease certain of our facilities under long-term operating leases, however, we do not believe that this fact materially affects the continued use of these properties. We believe all of our facilities are suitable and adequate for our current operations. Our significant properties are listed below. Additional information about the location and productive capacity of our facilities is available in the "Overview" section of Item 1. Business.

We are a party from time to time in various legal actions arising in the normal course of business, the outcomes of which, in the opinion of management, neither individually nor in the aggregate are likely to result in a material adverse effect on our financial position, operating results and cash flows. For information regarding material legal proceedings pending against us at December 31, 2023, refer to Note 17. Commitments and Contingencies to the consolidated financial statements included herein.

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) provides information that management believes is relevant to an assessment and understanding of the consolidated financial condition and results of operations of Century Aluminum Company and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Century,” the “Company,” “our” and “we”) and should be read in conjunction with the accompanying consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data and in Item 1A. Risk Factors. This MD&A contains “forward-looking statements” - See “Forward-Looking Statements” above. The following discussion and analysis are for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared with the same period in 2022 unless otherwise stated. For discussion and analysis of the year ended December 31, 2022, compared with the same period in 2021, please refer to "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" included in Part II, Item 7. of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on February 27, 2023.

Overview

We are a global producer of primary aluminum with aluminum reduction facilities, or "smelters," in the United States and Iceland. In addition to our primary aluminum assets, we have a 55% joint venture interest in the Jamalco bauxite mining operation and alumina refinery in Jamaica. The Jamalco refinery supplies a substantial amount of the alumina used for the production of primary aluminum at our Grundartangi, Iceland facility. We also own a carbon anode production facility located in the Netherlands. The key determinants of our results of operations and cash flow from operations are as follows:

• the price of primary aluminum, which is based on the London Metal Exchange ("LME") and other exchanges, plus any regional premiums and value-added product premiums;
• the cost of goods sold, the principal components of which are electrical power, alumina, carbon products, caustic soda, natural gas, heavy fuel oil and labor, which in aggregate represent more than 79% of our cost of goods sold; and
• our production volume and product mix.

Section 45X of the Inflation Reduction Act

On December 14, 2023, the U.S. Treasury Department’s issued proposed regulations implementing Section 45X of the Inflation Reduction Act, and the expected impact of the Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit on the Company. The government has incentivized the production of aluminum by offering a tax credit equal to 10% of eligible domestic production costs. Based on the proposed regulations, we have recognized a receivable and corresponding offset to cost of goods sold and selling, general and administrative expenses. Any changes to the proposed regulations as part of the U.S. Treasury Department's finalization of the regulations could result in a subsequent adjustment to the estimated credit as of December 31, 2023.

Hawesville temporary curtailment

In August 2022 we fully curtailed production at the Hawesville facility and expect to continue to maintain the plant with the intention of restarting operations when market conditions permit, including energy prices returning to more normalized levels and aluminum prices maintaining levels that can support the on-going costs and capital expenditures necessary to restart and operate the plant.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, we incurred curtailment charges of $16.6 million, including $9.0 million related to excess capacity charges. These charges were partially offset by income related to scrap and materials sales of $1.7 million. Comparatively, for the year ended December 31, 2022, we recognized an impairment charge of $159.4 million, approximately $18.1 million of expense during the year related to wages and severance triggered by our issuance of the WARN notice and excess capacity charges, partially offset by final plant idling activities. We also recognized a non-cash other postretirement benefits ("OPEB") curtailment gain totaling $8.9 million.

Acquisition of 55% interest in Jamalco

On May 2, 2023, our wholly-owned subsidiary, Century Aluminum Jamaica Holdings, Inc., acquired for $1.00 a 55% interest in Jamalco, an unincorporated joint venture with Clarendon Alumina Production Limited ("CAP"), which is owned by the Government of Jamaica. Jamalco is engaged in bauxite mining and alumina refining in Jamaica. The Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, General Alumina Jamaica Limited, is the managing partner of the Jamalco joint venture. Jamalco has optimal alumina production capacity of approximately 1.4 million tonnes. Our historical financial statements for periods prior to May 2, 2023 do not include the results of Jamalco. Refer to Note 2. Acquisition of Jamalco for further information.

Mt. Holly Power Contract

On October 27, 2023, our wholly-owned subsidiary, Century Aluminum of South Carolina, Inc. ("CASC"), entered into an agreement with the South Carolina Public Service Authority (also known as Santee Cooper) for a new, three-year power contract for Century's Mt. Holly aluminum smelter. The contract will be effective as of January 1, 2024, and run through December 2026, and will provide for 295MW of electric power at cost-of-service based rates, allowing the Mt. Holly smelter to continue operating at its current capacity and potentially to restart the remaining 25% of its curtailed production capacity.

Jamalco Equipment Failure

In June 2023, Jamalco experienced a power disruption caused by damage to its power generation unit. The equipment failure resulted in a loss of production at Jamalco of approximately 84,000 tonnes for the year ended December 31, 2023. The impact of the equipment failure was approximately $30.4 million. Despite returning the equipment to full capacity as of the end of October, we continue to see some inefficiencies into the first quarter of 2024. We are actively engaged with our insurance carriers in connection with this equipment failure to determine the specific amount of coverage available to us, including any applicable deductibles.

Pricing of aluminum

The overall price of primary aluminum consists of three components: (i) the base commodity price, which is based on quoted prices on the LME and other exchanges; plus (ii) any regional premium (e.g., the Midwest premium for metal sold in the United States ("MWP") and the European Duty Paid premium for metal sold into Europe); plus (iii) any value-added product premium. Each of these price components has its own drivers and variability.

The price of aluminum is influenced by a number of factors, including global supply-demand balance, inventory levels, speculative activities by market participants, production activities by producers, geopolitical and economic conditions, as well as production costs in major production regions. These factors can be highly variable and difficult to predict which can lead to significant volatility in the price of aluminum. Increases or decreases in primary aluminum prices result in variability in our revenues (assuming all other factors are unchanged). From time to time, we may seek to manage our exposure to fluctuations in the LME price of primary aluminum and/or associated regional premiums through financial instruments designed to limit our downside price risk. Information regarding financial contracts is included in Note 20. Derivatives and risks affiliated with such financial contracts are disclosed specifically in Item 1A. Risk Factors.

The historic volatility of the price of aluminum is reflected in the chart below:

During 2023, global, macroeconomic trends continued to impact global LME inventory levels which remain near all-time lows. The most significant demand growth was seen in China as aluminum-intensive electric vehicles and renewable energy applications supported a 5% demand increase from 2022. Western demand remained challenged, contributing to a 17% decline in the LME primary aluminum average spot price from 2022. The following table summarizes the average price for primary aluminum per tonne for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021.

Energy, Key Supplies and Raw Materials

Our operating costs are significantly impacted by changes in the prices of the materials used in the production of aluminum, including alumina, electrical power and carbon products. These costs may be subject to increasing inflationary pressures, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Because we sell our products based principally on the LME price for primary aluminum, regional premiums and value-added product premiums, we are unable to pass increased production costs on to our customers. Although we attempt to mitigate the effects of price fluctuations from time to time through the use of various fixed-price commitments, financial instruments and also by negotiating LME-based pricing in some of our raw materials and electrical power contracts, these efforts also limit our ability to take advantage of favorable changes in the market prices for primary aluminum or raw materials and may affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Alumina and electrical power represent the two largest components of our cost of goods sold. As a result, the availability of these cost components at competitive prices is critical to the profitability of our operations. The pricing under our alumina supply contracts varies from contract to contract. A major portion of our alumina requirements is indexed to the price of primary aluminum, which provides a natural hedge to one of our largest production costs. We also purchase alumina based on a published alumina index and at fixed prices. The alumina price is influenced by a number of factors, including global supply-demand balance, natural disasters and weather events, and other factors outside of our control. Additionally, with our acquisition of a 55% interest in Jamalco, we secured a predictable, long-term supply of alumina and achieved increased transparency and control of our supply chain. The average market alumina index price as a percentage of market LME price per tonne was 15% for 2023 and 13% for 2022 and 2021.

Electrical power is our other largest operating cost. Currently, our Hawesville and Sebree plants receive all of their electricity requirements under market-based power agreements and Grundartangi receives 20% of its electricity requirements from market-based power agreements. Market-based energy prices are driven in large part by the price of coal, natural gas, and other fuel sources, weather influenced reservoir or generation levels for wind, solar and hydro production and weather-influenced electric loads. Extreme weather events, such as that experienced in mid-February 2021 throughout the United States, the low rain levels experienced in Nordic regions during winter 2021 and 2022, can result in low generation, power outages and/or significant increases in demand, which may result in significant increased power costs incurred in our operations. In December 2023, continued dry and cold conditions led the energy companies to issue partial curtailment orders across their industrial customers, including our Grundartangi smelter. The end of these curtailments remain subject to weather patterns and reservoir levels in Iceland and other factors. Additionally, extreme geopolitical events, such as the on-going Russia-Ukraine conflict, which led to the cut-off of natural gas supply to Western Europe and increased exports of U.S natural gas as result, may result in significant power costs globally.

Our Mt. Holly plant has a power supply agreement with Santee Cooper that runs through December 2026. Under this power supply agreement, 100% of Mt. Holly’s current electrical power requirements are supplied from Santee Cooper’s generation at cost of service based rates.

In Iceland, approximately 70% of the power requirements for our Grundartangi plant are indexed to the price of primary aluminum, which provides a natural hedge of one of our largest production costs. Approximately 20% of Grundartangi’s power requirements is linked to the market price for power in the Nord Pool power market, the trading market for power in the Nordic countries and certain other areas of Europe, and the remaining 10% of power requirements is fixed. In July 2021, Grundartangi reached an agreement with Landsvirkjun for an extension of the existing contract to supply power for January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2026 and will increase the existing contract from 161 MW to 182 MW over time to provide the necessary flexibility to support the most recent capacity creep requirements and future growth opportunities for value-added products at the Grundartangi plant, including the Grundartangi casthouse project. In September 2022, this agreement was further amended to provide for 42 MW at a fixed price and 119 MW at rates linked to Nord Pool plus transmission through 2023, and beginning January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2026, this agreement allows for fixed rates plus a small variable rate portion of the full 182 MW. Grundartangi also has a 25 MW power purchase agreement with Landsvirkjun at LME-based variable rates.

Production/Shipment Volumes

Shipment volume is another key determinant of our financial results. Fluctuations in production and shipment volumes, other than through acquisitions or expansions, are generally small period over period. Any adverse changes in the conditions that affect shipment volumes could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flows. Our 2023 shipment volumes were adversely impacted by the curtailment of our Hawesville facility in August 2022. This was partially offset by a full year of Mt. Holly operating at 75% capacity in 2023.

The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the shipment volumes and revenues for primary aluminum shipments:

(dollars in millions)

(1) Excludes scrap aluminum, purchased aluminum and alumina sales

Results of Operations

Year Ended December 31, 2023 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2022

Net sales: Net sales decreased by $591.9 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, compared to the same period in 2022, primarily driven by unfavorable LME and regional premium price realizations of $384.6 million and unfavorable volume of $376.7 million primarily related to the full curtailment of our Hawesville smelter in the third quarter of 2022, partially offset by favorable alumina prices and sales volume of $186.1 million primarily attributable to Jamalco sales of $150.3 million since acquisition in May 2023.

Gross profit (loss): Gross profit increased by $45.2 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, compared to the same period in 2022, primarily driven by favorable power price realizations of $289.9 million, favorable raw material price realization of $117.6 million and $56.5 million attributable to the Inflation Reduction Act manufacturing production credit. The changes were partially offset by unfavorable LME and regional premium price realizations of $384.6 million and unfavorable volume and product mix of $33.0 million driven by the curtailment at our Hawesville smelter.

Asset impairment charge: An asset impairment charge was recognized for the twelve months ended December 31, 2022 as a result of the temporary curtailment of the Hawesville facility, announced during June 2022. As the curtailment represents a significant adverse change in the extent and manner in which Hawesville will be used, we accordingly evaluated the Hawesville asset group for recoverability which resulted in the recognized impairment charge of $159.4 million.

Selling, general and administrative expenses: Selling, general and administrative expenses increased $6.8 million in 2023 compared to 2022, primarily due to increases in share-based compensation due to the increase in the Company's stock price year over year. See Note 14. Share-based compensation to the consolidated financial statements included herein for additional information.

Net (loss) gain on forward and derivative contracts: In 2023, we recognized losses of $61.8 million primarily driven by decreases in LME and Nord Pool forward prices. In 2022, we recognized gains of $197.1 million primarily driven by decreases in LME and MWP forward prices, and increased gains on Nord Pool derivative contracts due to Nord Pool power forward price increases. See Note 20. Derivatives to the consolidated financial statements included herein for additional information.

Income tax benefit (expense): We have a valuation allowance recorded against our net U.S. and Jamaican deferred tax assets, and a portion of our Icelandic deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2023. We recognized a $14.6 million income tax benefit in 2023 as compared to income tax expense of $47.4 million in 2022. The period-to-period change is primarily related to foreign results in the current period. See Note 16. Income Taxes to the consolidated financial statements included herein for additional information.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Liquidity

Our principal sources of liquidity are available cash and cash flow from operations. We also have access to our existing U.S. and Iceland revolving credit facilities (collectively, the "revolving credit facilities") and have raised capital in the past through public equity and debt markets. We regularly explore various other financing alternatives. Our principal uses of cash include the funding of operating costs (including post-retirement benefits), debt service requirements, capital expenditures, investments in our growth activities and in related businesses, working capital and other general corporate requirements.

We believe that cash provided from operations and financing activities will be adequate to cover our operations and business needs over the next 12 months. As of December 31, 2023, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $88.8 million and unused availability under our revolving credit facilities of $223.7 million (including $80.0 million under the Vlissingen Facility Agreement referred to below). Our cash and cash equivalents and unused availability under our revolving credit facilities comprise our liquidity position, which was $312.5 million as of December 31, 2023.

Our material contractual obligations consist of purchase obligations under long-term alumina and power contracts, debt and related interest payments and operating leases. See Note 6. Leases, Note 8. Debt, Note 17. Commitments and Contingencies and Note 18. Asset retirement obligations ("ARO") to the accompanying consolidated financial statements for additional information regarding future maturities of debt and operating leases and obligations under power contracts.

Available Cash

Our available cash and cash equivalents balance at December 31, 2023 was $88.8 million compared to $54.3 million at December 31, 2022.

Sources and Uses of Cash

Our cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities as reflected in the consolidated statement of cash flows for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 are summarized below:

(in millions)

36

Year Ended December 31, 2023 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2022

Net cash provided by operating activities for 2023 was $105.6 million compared to $25.9 million in 2022. The change in net cash provided by operating activities was due to changes in working capital primarily attributable to timing of receipts and payments.

The decrease in net cash used in investing activities during 2023 was primarily attributable to $25.7 million in proceeds from the Mt. Holly Commerce Park Land sale and $11.5 million related to the acquisition of Jamalco, net of cash acquired, partially offset by higher spending on capital projects during the twelve months ended December 31, 2023.

The change in net cash used in financing activities in 2023 compared to net cash provided by financing activities in 2022 was primarily due to net repayments on our revolving credit facilities in 2023 and repayment of the Iceland Term Facility, partially offset by the sale of carbon credits and proceeds from the Vlissingen Facility Agreement.

Availability under Our Credit Facilities

Our U.S. revolving credit facility, dated May 2018 (as amended, the "U.S. revolving credit facility"), previously provided for borrowings of up to $220.0 million, including up to $110.0 million under a letter of credit sub-facility. In June 2022, we entered into a Fourth Amendment to our existing $220.0 million U.S. revolving credit facility, increasing the maximum capacity from $220.0 million to $250.0 million, including up to $150.0 million under a letter of credit sub-facility. The U.S. revolving credit facility matures in June 2027. Any letters of credit issued and outstanding under the U.S. revolving credit facility reduce our borrowing availability on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

We have also entered into, through our wholly-owned subsidiary Nordural Grundartangi ehf ("Grundartangi"), a revolving credit facility, dated November 2013, as amended (the "Iceland revolving credit facility") which originally provided for borrowings of up to $50.0 million in the aggregate. On February 4, 2022, we amended the Iceland revolving credit facility and increased the facility amount to $80.0 million in the aggregate. On September 28, 2022, we further amended the Iceland revolving credit facility and increased the facility amount to $100.0 million in the aggregate. The Iceland revolving credit facility matures December 2026.

The availability of funds under our credit facilities is limited by a specified borrowing base consisting of certain accounts receivable, inventory and qualified cash deposits which meet the lenders' eligibility criteria. Increases in the price of aluminum and/or restarts of previously curtailed operations, for example, increase our borrowing base by increasing our accounts receivable and inventory balances; decreases in the price of aluminum and/or curtailments of production capacity would decrease our borrowing base by reducing our accounts receivable and inventory balances. As of December 31, 2023, our U.S. revolving credit facility had a borrowing base of $128.8 million, $23.7 million in outstanding borrowings, and $61.4 million in letters of credit outstanding. The borrowing base under the U.S. revolving credit facility has been adversely affected by the curtailment of our Hawesville facility and a reduction in LME and regional premium prices. Of the outstanding letters of credit, $13.7 million related to our power commitments, $47.7 million are related to hedging collateral, and the remainder are primarily for the purpose of securing certain secured debt and workers’ compensation commitments. As of December 31, 2023, our Iceland revolving credit facility had a borrowing base of $100.0 million and no outstanding borrowings.

As of December 31, 2023, our credit facilities (including the Vlissingen Facility Agreement referred to below) had $223.7 million of net availability after consideration of our outstanding borrowings and letters of credit. We may borrow and make repayments under our revolving credit facilities in the ordinary course based on a number of factors, including the timing of payments from our customers and payments to our suppliers.

Our credit facilities contain customary covenants, including restrictions on mergers and acquisitions, indebtedness, affiliate transactions, liens, dividends and distributions, dispositions of collateral, investments and prepayments of indebtedness, including in the U.S. revolving credit facility, a springing financial covenant that requires us to maintain a fixed charge coverage ratio of at least 1.0 to 1.0 any time availability under the U.S. revolving credit facility is less than or equal to $25.0 million, or 10% of the borrowing base but not less than $17.85 million. We intend to maintain availability to comply with these levels any time we would not meet the ratio, which could limit our ability to access the full amount of our availability under our U.S. revolving credit facility. Our Iceland revolving credit facility contains covenants that require Grundartangi to maintain a minimum equity ratio. As of December 31, 2023, we were in compliance with all such covenants or maintained availability above such covenant triggers.

Grundartangi Casthouse Facility

On November 2, 2021, in connection with the casthouse project at Grundartangi, we entered into an eight-year Term Facility Agreement with Arion Bank hf, to provide for borrowings up to $130.0 million (the “Casthouse Facility”). Under the Casthouse Facility, repayments of principal amounts will be made in equal quarterly installments equal to 1.739% of the principal amount, the first payment occurring in July 2024, with the remaining 60% of the principal amount to be paid no later than the termination date. The Casthouse Facility will mature in December 2029. The Casthouse Facility bears interest at a rate equal to a base rate plus the applicable margin as set forth in the agreement. The Casthouse Facility is secured by a $430.0 million general bond. As of December 31, 2023, there were $104.3 million in borrowings outstanding under the Casthouse Facility.

The Casthouse Facility also contains customary covenants, including restrictions on mergers and acquisitions, indebtedness, preservation of assets, and dispositions of assets and contains a covenant that requires Grundartangi to maintain a minimum equity ratio. As of December 31, 2023, we were in compliance with all such covenants or maintained availability above such covenant triggers.

Senior Notes and Convertible Senior Notes

We have $250.0 million principal of senior secured notes that mature on April 1, 2028, unless earlier refinanced in accordance with their terms. Interest on the 2028 Notes is payable semi-annually on April 1 and October 1 of each year, beginning on October 1, 2021, at a rate of 7.5% per year. The indenture governing the 2028 Notes contains customary covenants which may limit our ability, and the ability of certain of our subsidiaries, to: (i) incur additional debt; (ii) incur additional liens; (iii) pay dividends or make distributions in respect of capital stock; (iv) purchase or redeem capital stock; (v) make investments or certain other restricted payments; (vi) sell assets; (vii) issue or sell stock of certain subsidiaries; (viii) enter into transactions with shareholders or affiliates; and (ix) effect a consolidation or merger.

In April 2021, we issued $86.3 million in aggregate principal amount of Convertible Notes due 2028, unless earlier converted, repurchased or redeemed. The Convertible Notes bear interest semi-annually in arrears on May 1 and November 1 of each year, beginning on November 1, 2021, at a rate of 2.75% per annum in cash.

Iceland Term Facility

Our wholly-owned subsidiary, Grundartangi, entered into a Term Facility Agreement with Arion Bank hf, dated September 2022, (the "Iceland Term Facility") to provide for borrowings up to €13.6 million. Under the Iceland Term Facility, repayments of principal amounts will be made in equal monthly installments, the first payment occurring in February 2023, with the remainder of the principal amount to be paid no later than the termination date in January 2024. Borrowings under the Iceland Term Facility will bear interest at a rate equal to 3.2% plus EUR EURIBOR 1 month as published by the European Money Markets Institute. As of December 31, 2023, there were $1.3 million (€1.1 million) in outstanding borrowings under the Iceland Term Facility.

Vlissingen Facility Agreement

On December 9, 2022, Vlissingen entered into the Vlissingen Facility Agreement with Glencore International AG pursuant to which Vlissingen may borrow from time to time up to $90 million in one or more loans at a fixed interest rate equal to 8.75% per annum and payable on December 2, 2024. The obligations under the Vlissingen Facility Agreement are secured by liens on the ground lease on which Vlissingen’s facilities are located, Vlissingen’s moveable assets, financial assets, receivables and other assets, and Vlissingen’s shares. The Vlissingen Facility Agreement contains customary covenants, including with respect to mergers, guarantees and preservation and dispositions of assets. The availability period for borrowings under the Vlissingen Facility Agreement ends December 2, 2024. Amounts drawn, if any, under the Vlissingen Facility Agreement are expected to be used for general corporate and working capital purposes of Century and its subsidiaries. As of December 31, 2023, there were $10.0 million in borrowings under the Vlissingen Facility Agreement.

Supplemental Guarantor Financial Information

The Company has filed a Registration Statement on Form S-3 (the "Universal Shelf Registration Statement") with the SEC pursuant to which the Company may, from time to time, offer an indeterminate amount of securities, which may include securities that are guaranteed by certain of the Company's subsidiaries. As of December 31, 2023, we have not issued any debt securities pursuant to the Universal Shelf Registration Statement. However, any securities that we may issue in the future may limit our ability, and the ability of certain of our subsidiaries, to pay dividends or make distributions in respect of capital stock.

"Guarantor Subsidiaries" refers to all of our material domestic subsidiaries except for Nordural US LLC, Century Aluminum Development LLC, Century Aluminum of West Virginia, Inc. and Century Aluminum Jamaica Holdings, Inc. The Guarantor Subsidiaries are 100% owned by Century. All guarantees will be full and unconditional; all guarantees will be joint and several. Our foreign subsidiaries, together with Nordural US LLC, Century Aluminum Development LLC, Century Aluminum of West Virginia, Inc. and Century Aluminum Jamaica Holdings, Inc. are collectively referred to as the "Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries." We allocate corporate expenses or income to our subsidiaries and charge interest on certain intercompany balances.

The following summarized financial information of both the Company and the Guarantor Subsidiaries ("Guarantors") is presented on a combined basis. Intercompany balances and transactions between the Company and the Guarantors have been eliminated and the summarized financial information does not reflect investments of the Company or the Guarantors in the Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries. The Company’s or Guarantors’ amounts due from, amounts due to, and transactions with the Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries are disclosed below:

As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, an intercompany receivable due to the Company and Guarantors from the Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries totaled $48.7 million and $18.2 million, respectively, and an intercompany non-current loan due to the Company from the Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries totaled $384.9 million and $466.3 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, an intercompany current loan to the Company from the Non-Guarantors totaled $2.9 million. There was no intercompany current loan as of December 31, 2022.

Contingent Commitments

We have a contingent obligation in connection with the “unwind” of a contractual arrangement between Century Aluminum Kentucky ("CAKY"), Big Rivers and a third party and the execution of a long-term cost-based power contract with Kenergy, a member of a cooperative of Big Rivers, in July 2009. This contingent obligation consists of the aggregate payments made to Big Rivers by the third party on CAKY’s behalf in excess of the agreed upon base amount under the long-term cost-based power contract with Kenergy. As of December 31, 2023, the principal and accrued interest for the contingent obligation was $30.9 million, which was fully offset by a derivative asset. We may be required to make installment payments for the contingent obligation in the future. These payments are contingent based on the LME price of primary aluminum and the level of Hawesville’s operations. Based on the LME forward market at December 31, 2023 and our expected level of Hawesville's operations, we believe that we will not be required to make payments on the contingent obligation during the term of the agreement, which expires in 2028. There can be no assurance that circumstances will not change thus accelerating the timing of such payments.

Employee Benefit Plan Contributions

In 2013, we entered into a settlement agreement with the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (the "PBGC") regarding an alleged "cessation of operations" at our Ravenswood facility (the "PBGC Settlement Agreement"). Pursuant to the terms of the PBGC Settlement Agreement, we agreed to make additional contributions (above any minimum required contributions) to our defined benefit pension plans totaling approximately $17.4 million. Under certain circumstances, in periods of lower primary aluminum prices relative to our cost of operations, we were able to defer one or more of these payments, provided that we provide the PBGC with acceptable security for such deferred payments. We historically elected to defer certain payments under the PBGC Settlement Agreement and provided the PBGC with the appropriate security. On October 1, 2021, we amended the PBGC Settlement Agreement (the "Amended PBGC Settlement Agreement") such that we removed the deferral mechanism and agreed to contribute approximately $2.4 million per year to our defined benefit pension plans for a total of approximately $9.6 million, over four years beginning on November 30, 2022 and ending on November 30, 2025, subject to acceleration if certain terms and conditions are met in such amendment. As of December 31, 2023, we made contributions of $6.9 million related to the Amended PBGC Settlement Agreement.

Section 232 Aluminum Tariff

On March 23, 2018, the U.S. implemented a 10% tariff on imported primary aluminum products into the U.S. These tariffs are intended to protect U.S. national security and incentivize the restart of primary aluminum production in the U.S., reducing reliance on imports and ensuring that domestic producers, like Century, can supply all the aluminum necessary for critical industries and national defense. In addition to primary aluminum products, the tariffs also cover certain other semi-finished products. All imports that directly compete with our products are covered by the tariff, with the exception of imports from Australia, Canada and Mexico. Additionally, primary aluminum imports from Argentina are allowed up to an annual quota limit of 169,000 metric tonnes, the first 18,000 metric tonnes of imports from the European Union and the first 900 metric tonnes of imports from the United Kingdom are also allowed duty free. Imports that receive a product exclusion from the Department of Commerce may also enter the US duty free. In July 2022, the International Trade Commission (ITC) initiated a review of the Section 301 and 232 duties as required by law every four years.

On March 15, 2023, the ITC submitted a report to the United States Congress entitled, 'Economic Impact of Section 232 and 301 Tariffs on U.S. Industries,' in which the ITC found that the tariffs increased the production of domestic aluminum while causing prices to increase by less than two percent. Accordingly, we do not believe there will be any material changes to the current tariffs in the near future.

Other Items

In August 2022, President Biden signed the IRA into law. The IRA provides for substantial tax credits and incentives for the development of critical minerals (including aluminum), renewable energy, clean fuels, electric vehicles, and supporting infrastructure, among other provisions. Section 45X of the IRA contains a production tax credit equal to 10% of certain eligible production costs, including, without limitation, labor, energy, depreciation and amortization and overhead expenses. On December 14, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service released proposed rules to provide guidance on the production tax credit requirements under Internal Revenue Code Section 45X (the “Proposed Regulations”). The Proposed Regulations provide guidance on rules that taxpayers must satisfy to qualify for the Section 45X tax credit. For the year ended December 31, 2023, we recognized $56.5 million as a reduction in Cost of goods sold and $2.8 million as a reduction in Selling, general and administrative expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Operations and recorded an equal amount as a Manufacturing credit receivable on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

On January 17, 2023, our wholly owned subsidiary, Mt. Holly Commerce Park LLC, entered into a binding agreement, subject to ordinary course conditions, to sell approximately 133 acres of land for approximately $28.5 million. On September 12, 2023, the Mt. Holly Land Sale Agreement was completed at a revised purchase price of $25.7 million. The proceeds from this sale are restricted to be used on capital expenditures. We previously formed the commerce park, located near our Mt. Holly smelter, to develop excess land at the site and to assist the county with bringing additional business and commerce to the area.

During 2021, we announced plans for construction of a new billet casthouse at Grundartangi. The Grundartangi casthouse project began in late 2021 and is fully funded through the Casthouse Facility. The project is progressing and is expected to start production in the first quarter of 2024.

In 2011, our Board of Directors approved a $60.0 million common stock repurchase program and subsequently increased this program by $70.0 million in the first quarter of 2015. Under the program, Century is authorized to repurchase up to $130.0 million of our outstanding shares of common stock, from time to time, on the open market at prevailing market prices, in block trades or otherwise. The timing and amount of any shares repurchased will be determined by our management based on its evaluation of market conditions, the trading price of our common stock and other factors. We made no repurchases during the years ended 2023, 2022, and 2021. As of December 31, 2023, we had $43.7 million remaining under the repurchase program authorization. The repurchase program may be expanded, suspended or discontinued by our Board, in its sole discretion, at any time.

In November 2009, Century Aluminum of West Virginia, Inc. ("CAWV") filed a class action complaint for declaratory judgment against the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers

International Union ("USW"), the USW’s local and certain CAWV retirees, individually and as class representatives ("CAWV Retirees"), seeking a declaration of CAWV’s rights to modify/terminate retiree medical benefits. Later in November 2009, the USW and representatives of a retiree class filed a separate suit against CAWV, Century Aluminum Company, Century Aluminum Master Welfare Benefit Plan, and various John Does with respect to the foregoing. On August 18, 2017, the District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia approved a settlement agreement in respect of these actions, pursuant to which, CAWV agreed to make payments into a trust for the benefit of the CAWV Retirees in the aggregate amount of $23.0 million over the course of ten years. Upon approval of the settlement, we paid $5.0 million to the aforementioned trust in September 2017 and agreed to pay the remaining amounts under the settlement agreement in annual increments of $2.0 million for nine years. At December 31, 2023, we had $2.0 million in other current liabilities and $3.3 million in other liabilities related to this agreement.

We are a defendant in several actions relating to various aspects of our business. While it is impossible to predict the ultimate disposition of any litigation, we do not believe that any of these lawsuits, either individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. See Note 17. Commitments and Contingencies to the consolidated financial statements included herein for additional information.

Capital Resources

We intend to finance our future capital expenditures from available cash, cash flow from operations and if necessary, borrowings under our existing revolving credit facilities. For major investment projects, we would likely seek financing from various capital and loan markets and may potentially pursue the formation of strategic alliances. We may be unable, however, to issue additional debt or equity securities, or enter into other financing arrangements on attractive terms, or at all, due to a number of factors including a lack of demand, unfavorable pricing, poor economic conditions, unfavorable interest rates, or our financial condition or credit rating at the time. Future uncertainty in the U.S. and international markets and economies may adversely affect our liquidity, our ability to access the debt or capital markets and our financial condition.

Capital expenditures incurred for the year ended December 31, 2023 were $25.9 million, excluding expenditures of $69.1 million associated with the Grundartangi casthouse project. We estimate our total capital spending in 2024, excluding the Grundartangi casthouse project, will be approximately $20 to $30 million, related to our ongoing investment and sustainability projects at our plants.

Critical Accounting Estimates

Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the consolidated financial statements. The preparation of the financial statements requires that management make judgments, assumptions and estimates in applying these accounting policies. Those judgments are normally based on knowledge and experience about past and current events and on assumptions about future events. Critical accounting estimates require management to make assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain at the time of the estimate and a change in these estimates may have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations. Significant judgments and estimates made by our management include expenses and liabilities related to inventories, pensions and other postretirement benefits ("OPEB"), deferred tax assets and property, plant and equipment. Our management has discussed the development and selection of these critical accounting estimates with the audit committee of our Board of Directors and the Audit Committee has reviewed our disclosure.

Inventories

Our inventories are stated at lower of cost or net realizable value ("NRV").

Our estimate of the market value of our inventories involves establishing a net realizable value for both finished goods and the components of inventory that will be converted to finished goods, raw materials and work in process. This requires management to use its judgment when making assumptions about future selling prices and the costs to complete our inventory during the period in which it will be sold.

Our assumptions are subject to inherent uncertainties given the volatility surrounding the market price for primary aluminum sales and the market price for our major inputs, alumina and electrical power.

Although we believe that the assumptions used to estimate the market value of our inventory are reasonable, actual market conditions at the time our inventory is sold may be more or less favorable than management’s current estimates.

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Liabilities

We sponsor several pension and OPEB plans. Our liabilities under these defined benefit plans are determined using methodologies that involve several actuarial assumptions, the most significant of which are the discount rate and the long-term rate of return on plan assets. We review our actuarial assumptions on an annual basis and make modifications to the assumptions when appropriate.

Discount Rate Selection

We select a discount rate for purposes of measuring obligations under defined benefit plans by matching cash flows separately for each plan to the yields on high-quality zero coupon bonds. We use the Ryan Above Median Yield Curve (the "Ryan Curve"). We believe the projected cash flows used to determine the Ryan Curve rate provide a good approximation of the timing and amounts of our defined benefit payments under our plans and no adjustment to the Ryan Curve rate has been made.

A change of a half percentage point in the discount rate for our defined benefit plans would have the following effects on our obligations under these plans as of December 31, 2023:

(dollars in millions)

Long-term Rate of Return on Plan Assets Assumption

Our expected long-term rate of return on plan assets is derived from our asset allocation strategies and anticipated future long-term performance of individual asset classes. Our analysis gives consideration to recent plan performance and historical returns; however, the assumptions are primarily based on long-term, prospective rates of return. The weighted average long-term rate of return on plan assets for our defined benefit pension plans is 7.25% for 2023.

Based on information provided by independent actuaries and other relevant sources, the Company believes that the assumptions used to estimate expenses, assets and liabilities of pensions and other postretirement benefits are reasonable; however, changes in these assumptions could impact the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Deferred Income Tax Assets

We regularly assess the likelihood that deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable income. To the extent we believe that it is more likely than not that a deferred tax asset will not be realized, a valuation allowance is established. The amount of a valuation allowance is based upon our best estimate of our ability to realize the net deferred tax assets. We have a valuation allowance of $537.6 million recorded against our net U.S. and Jamaican deferred tax assets and a portion of our Icelandic deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2023.

Property, Plant and Equipment Impairment

We review our property, plant and equipment for impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of these assets (asset group) may not be recoverable. The carrying amount of the assets (asset group) is not recoverable if it exceeds the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of the assets (asset group). In that case, an impairment loss would be recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the fair value of the assets (asset group), with the fair value determined using a discounted cash flow calculation. These estimates of future cash flows include management’s assumptions about the expected use of the assets (asset group), the remaining useful life, expenditures to maintain the service potential, market and cost assumptions.

Determination as to whether and how much an asset is impaired involves significant management judgment involving highly uncertain matters, including estimating the future sales volumes, future selling prices and estimated raw material and conversion costs, alternative uses for the asset, and estimated proceeds from the disposal of the asset.

Business Combination

We account for business combinations using the acquisition method of accounting, which requires that once control is obtained, all the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, including amounts attributable to noncontrolling interests, are recorded at their respective fair values at the date of acquisition. The determination of fair values of identifiable assets and liabilities requires estimates and the use of valuation techniques when market value is not readily available. Significant estimates in valuing certain assets and liabilities assumed include, but are not limited to, the amount and timing of future cash flows, growth rates, discount rates and useful lives. The excess of the fair value of identifiable assets and liabilities acquired, excluding noncontrolling interest, over purchase price is recorded as a bargain purchase gain.

Determining the fair value of identified assets acquired, liabilities assumed and noncontrolling interest requires judgment and involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions. If our assumptions or estimates in the fair value calculation change based on information that becomes available during the one-year period from the acquisition date, we may record adjustments to the net assets acquired. As purchase accounting is not finalized, we have recorded the preliminary bargain purchase gain as the deferred credit - preliminary bargain purchase gain within the Consolidated Balance Sheet. Upon the conclusion of the sooner of purchase accounting or the measurement period, any subsequent adjustments will be recorded to earnings.

Inflation Reduction Act Manufacturing Production Credit

Our estimate of the Section 45X advanced manufacturing production tax credit is based on Proposed Regulations released by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service on December 14, 2023. Any changes to determinations of eligible production costs upon the final scope, terms and conditions of the Proposed Regulations could impact our estimate of eligible manufacturing production credits issued. A change in eligible costs of $10 million would impact our estimate by $1 million.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards Updates

Information regarding recently issued accounting pronouncements is included in Note 1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the consolidated financial statements included herein.

Commodity Price and Raw Material Costs Sensitivities

Aluminum is an internationally traded commodity, and its price is effectively determined on the LME plus any regional premium (e.g. the Midwest premium for aluminum sold in the United States and the European Duty Paid premium for metal sold into Europe) and any value-added product premiums. From time to time, we may manage our exposure to fluctuations in the LME price of primary aluminum and/or associated regional premiums through financial instruments designed to protect our downside price risk exposure. From time to time, we also enter into financial contracts to offset fixed price sales arrangements with certain of our customers (the "fixed for floating swaps").

We are also exposed to price risk for alumina which is one of the largest components of our cost of goods sold. Certain of the alumina we purchase is priced based on a published alumina index. As a result, our cost structure is exposed to market fluctuations and price volatility. Because we sell our products based principally on the LME price for primary aluminum, regional premiums and value-added product premiums, we are not able to directly pass on increased production costs to our customers. From time to time, we may manage our exposure to fluctuations in our alumina costs by purchasing certain of our alumina requirements under supply contracts with prices tied to the same indices as our aluminum sales contracts (the LME price of primary aluminum).

Market-Based Power Price Sensitivity

Market-Based Electrical Power Agreements

Hawesville and Sebree have a market-based electrical power agreement with Kenergy and Century Marketer, LLC ("Century Marketer"), Century's wholly-owned subsidiary that acts as a MISO market participant. Under this agreement, Century Marketer purchases electrical power on the open market for resale to Kenergy, which then resells the power to Hawesville and Sebree at MISO energy pricing, plus transmission and other costs incurred by them. See Item 1. Business - Key Production Costs - Electrical Power Supply Agreements for additional information about these market-based power agreements.

Power is supplied to Grundartangi from hydroelectric and geothermal sources under long-term power purchase agreements. These power purchase agreements, which will expire on various dates from 2026 through 2036 (subject to extension), currently primarily provide power at LME-based variable rates. At this time, the price of approximately 20% of Grundartangi's power requirements is linked to the market price for power in the Nord Pool power market 2023 and beginning January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2026, this agreement allows for fixed rates plus a small variable rate portion, which is predominantly hedged.

From time to time, we may manage our exposure to fluctuations in the market price of power through financial instruments designed to protect our downside risk exposure.

Electrical Power Price Sensitivity

Given our market-based power supply agreements, we have electrical power price risk for our operations, whether due to fluctuations in the price of power available on the MISO or Nord Pool power markets or the price of natural gas. Power represents one of our largest operating costs, so changes in the price and/or availability of market power could significantly impact the profitability and viability of our operations. Transmission line outages, problems with grid stability or limitations on energy import capability could also increase power prices, disrupt production through pot instability or force a curtailment of all or part of the production at these facilities. In addition, indirect factors that lead to power cost increases, such as any increasing prices for natural gas or coal, fluctuations in or extremes in weather patterns or new or more stringent environmental regulations may severely impact our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

The consumption shown in the table below reflects each operation at 100% production capacity and does not reflect production curtailments.

Electrical power price sensitivity by location:

Foreign Currency

We are exposed to foreign currency risk due to fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar as compared to the Iceland krona ("ISK"), the Euro, the Chinese renminbi, the Jamaican dollar and other currencies. Grundartangi’s labor costs, part of its maintenance costs and other local services are denominated in ISK and a portion of its anode costs are denominated in Euros and Chinese renminbi. We also have deposits denominated in ISK in Icelandic banks, and our estimated payments of Icelandic income taxes and any associated refunds are denominated in ISK. Vlissingen's labor costs, maintenance costs and other local services are denominated in Euros and our existing Nord Pool power price swaps described above are settled in Euros. Further, Jamalco's labor costs, maintenance costs, and other local services are denominated in Jamaican dollars. We also have deposits denominated in Jamaican dollars in Jamaican banks and our estimated payments of Jamaican income taxes and any associated refunds are denominated in Jamaican dollars. As a result, an increase or decrease in the value of those currencies relative to the U.S. dollar would affect Grundartangi’s, Vlissingen's and Jamalco's operating margins.

We may manage our exposure by entering into foreign currency forward contracts or option contracts for forecasted transactions and projected cash flows for foreign currencies in future periods. We have entered into financial contracts to hedge the risk of fluctuations associated with the Euro under our power price swaps described above (the "FX swaps").

Natural Economic Hedges

Any analysis of our exposure to the commodity price of aluminum should consider the impact of natural hedges provided by certain contracts that contain pricing indexed to the LME price for primary aluminum. Certain of our alumina contracts and a substantial portion of Grundartangi’s electrical power requirements are indexed to the LME price for primary aluminum and provide a natural hedge for a portion of our production.

Risk Management

Any metals, power, natural gas and foreign currency risk management activities are subject to the control and direction of senior management within guidelines established by Century’s Board of Directors. These activities are regularly reported to and reviewed by Century’s Board of Directors.

Fair Values and Sensitivity Analysis

The following tables present the fair values of our derivative assets and liabilities as of year-end 2023 and 2022 and the effect on the fair value of a hypothetical ten percent (10%) adverse change in the market prices in effect at December 31, 2023 and 2022. Our risk management activities do not include any trading or speculative transactions.

(1) Commodity contracts reflect our outstanding LME forward financial sales contracts, fixed for floating swaps, and HFO price swaps.

(2) Foreign exchange contracts reflect our outstanding FX swaps and the casthouse currency hedges.

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

As of December 31, 2023, we carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures. Based upon that evaluation, our management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were ineffective as of December 31, 2023, because of a material weakness in internal controls over financial reporting described in Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting below. Notwithstanding the material weakness, management believes the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K present fairly, in all material respects, the Company’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flows as of and for the periods presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Management's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining an adequate system of internal control over financial reporting for the Company. This system is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Because of its inherent limitations, a system of internal control over financial reporting can provide only reasonable assurance and may not prevent or detect misstatements. Further, because of changes in conditions, effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting may vary over time. Our system of internal control contains self-monitoring mechanisms, and actions are taken to correct deficiencies as they are identified.

As required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, management conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of the system of internal control over financial reporting for the year ended December 31, 2023. Management’s evaluation was based on the framework in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) of the Treadway Commission. As permitted by applicable SEC guidance, the scope of our assessment of internal control over financial reporting for fiscal year 2023 excluded internal controls over financial reporting of General Alumina Holdings Limited, the holder of a 55% interest in Jamalco JV ("Jamalco"), which was acquired on May 2, 2023. Jamalco constituted approximately 24.1% of the Company's total assets as of December 31, 2023 and approximately 6.9% of the Company's net sales for the year ended December 31, 2023. Based on this evaluation, management concluded that our system of internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2023.

Material Weakness in Internal Control

As of December 31, 2023, our management has identified a deficiency in the design of internal control over financial reporting related to the application of purchase accounting to our acquisition of Jamalco. The design deficiency is a material weakness related to the review of the Company's allocation of excess fair value acquired between non-controlling interest and preliminary deferred bargain purchase gain.

Notwithstanding the material weakness, management believes the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K present fairly, in all material respects, the Company’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flows as of and for the periods presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting has been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which appears in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Remediation Plan for Material Weakness

Our management is committed to maintaining a strong internal control environment. In response to the identified material weakness above, management, with the oversight of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, took comprehensive actions to remediate the material weakness in internal control over financial reporting in the first quarter of 2024 in conjunction with the filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We have changed the design of our internal controls over financial reporting to include a review of the allocation of the excess fair value of the net assets acquired at an entity level.

The remediation efforts are intended both to address the identified material weakness and to enhance our overall financial control environment on any future acquisitions of a similar nature. As management continues to finalize purchase accounting, no later than one year following the acquisition date or May 2, 2024, we may take additional measures to address this control deficiency or modify certain remediation measures described above.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

On May 2, 2023, our wholly-owned subsidiary, Century Aluminum Jamaica Holdings, Inc., completed the acquisition of all the outstanding share capital of General Alumina Holdings Limited, the holder of a 55% interest in Jamalco JV ("Jamalco"), an unincorporated joint venture engaged in bauxite mining and alumina production in Jamaica. As a result of this acquisition, we are reviewing the internal controls of the acquired entities and making appropriate changes as deemed necessary. Except for the internal controls implemented in connection with our purchase accounting related to our acquisition of the acquired entities and the associated material weakness referred to above, during the three months ended December 31, 2023, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.