Century Aluminum (Nasdaq: CENX) reported earnings yesterday. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Century Aluminum met expectations on revenues and exceeded expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue was unchanged and GAAP earnings per share dropped to a loss.

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Century Aluminum logged revenue of $318.2 million. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $317.6 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 0.4% higher than the prior-year quarter's $316.9 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at -$0.30. The nine earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast -$0.32 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were -$0.35 for Q4 versus $0.65 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was -4.3%, 1,730 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -8.5%, 1,800 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -9.8%, 3,040 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $330.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.11.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.41 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.40.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 443 members out of 495 rating the stock outperform, and 52 members rating it underperform. Among 159 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 152 give Century Aluminum a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Century Aluminum is hold, with an average price target of $12.89.

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