Century Aluminum Extends Power Deal, Plans $50M Reactivation

Century Aluminum Company CENX recently announced that it has signed an extension of its power purchase agreement with the South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper) to secure power supply to its Mt. Holly aluminum smelter through 2031.

The extension is aimed at supporting the company’s efforts to restart idle production capacity at Mt. Holly, located near Charleston, SC. In conjunction with the agreement, Century Aluminum plans a $50 million investment toward reactivating the idled capacity.

CENX Deal Aims to Restore Full Production at Mt. Holly Plant

The company projects that the reactivation would add 50,000 metric tons of aluminum output and create more than 100 new jobs. Century noted that Mt. Holly is currently operating at approximately 75% of capacity, and under the plan, the plant aims to reach full production by early summer 2026, a level not seen since 2015.

Century also cited that at full operation, the Mt. Holly smelter is estimated to contribute about $900 million annually to South Carolina’s economy, with new positions averaging $125,000 in wages, based on a 2024 University of South Carolina study. The company stated that reaching the extension involved cooperative negotiations with Santee Cooper.

The company emphasized that the agreement with Santee Cooper followed extensive collaboration between both parties and reflected a shared goal of supporting industrial operations in South Carolina. Santee Cooper described the arrangement as a service agreement that will provide additional power, enabling Century Aluminum to bring an idled potline back into service and increase the plant’s operational capacity by 25%.

Santee Cooper reaffirmed its longstanding relationship with the Mt. Holly facility. Century Aluminum also stated that the restart of the idled capacity is contingent upon the final confirmation of economic incentives from the State of South Carolina and Berkeley County.

Shares of CENX have rallied 66.3% year to date compared with the industry’s rise of 15.8%.

CENX’s Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

CENX currently carries a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks in the Industrial Products space are Allegion plc. ALLE, A. O. Smith Corporation AOS and AptarGroup, Inc. ATR. ALLE, AOS and ATR carry Zacks Rank #2 each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.  

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALLE’s current-year earnings is pegged at $8.18 per share. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 7.9%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AOS’s current fiscal-year earnings is pegged at $3.84 per share, indicating a 2.95% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed one, with an average surprise of 2.9%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATR’s 2025 earnings is pegged at $5.87 per share. The company’s earnings beat the consensus estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 8.34%.