What happened
Shares of Kaiser Aluminum (KALU -0.75%) surged more than 10% by 10:30 a.m. ET on Thursday. The primary catalyst driving the aluminum stock's rally was its third-quarter results, which exceeded analysts' expectations.
So what
Kaiser Aluminum reported $749 million in net sales for the third quarter. While that was down slightly from $751 million in the year-ago period, it was more than $66 million above the consensus estimate. Shipments declined 11%, which the company nearly completely offset with a 12% increase in the average selling price per pound.
Meanwhile, the aluminum company reported $0.60 per share of non-GAAP (adjusted) net income, which beat the consensus estimate by $1.19 per share. The company raised its prices and passed on higher costs to customers to mitigate inflation. Kaiser Aluminum was also able to successfully resolve issues with magnesium and metal supply to restore its Warrick rolling mill to full capacity. Because of that, the company expects to operate on a more normalized basis for the rest of the year.
Now what
Kaiser Aluminum successfully navigated several challenges during the third quarter to post better-than-expected results. With its supply chain related headwinds behind it, the company expects its operations to return to normal. However, inflation remains an issue, as does an increasingly challenging macroeconomic environment. Because of that, it could be a bumpy ride in the near term. In the long term, the company believes the fundamentals in its aerospace, engineering, packaging, and automotive end markets remain solid, which should enable it to grow shareholder value.
