Century Aluminum Company (CENX)

The liquidity ratios of Century Aluminum Company indicate fluctuations in the company's ability to meet its short-term obligations effectively. The current ratio, measuring the company's ability to cover its short-term liabilities with current assets, showed a decrease from 1.90 in 2020 to 1.01 in 2023 before increasing to 1.73 in 2024, reflecting some inconsistency over the years.

The quick ratio, a more stringent measure of liquidity that excludes inventory from current assets, also exhibited variability, declining from 0.59 in 2020 to 0.22 in 2021, and then hovering around 0.23 to 0.31 in the subsequent years, indicating potential challenges in meeting immediate obligations without relying on inventory.

Moreover, the cash ratio, which assesses a company's ability to cover its short-term liabilities with cash and cash equivalents, experienced a significant decrease from 0.34 in 2020 to 0.05 in 2021, suggesting a decrease in the company's cash reserves. Although there was a slight improvement to 0.07 in 2024, the ratio still indicates a potential need for better cash management strategies.

Overall, the liquidity ratios of Century Aluminum Company reflect mixed performance in managing short-term liquidity requirements, emphasizing the importance of monitoring these metrics closely to ensure adequate liquidity levels for operational stability.

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Additional liquidity measure

The cash conversion cycle for Century Aluminum Company has shown some fluctuations over the years. As of December 31, 2020, the company's cash conversion cycle was at 55.07 days. This metric improved to 48.43 days by December 31, 2021, indicating a more efficient management of cash flow and working capital.

However, by December 31, 2022, the cash conversion cycle decreased significantly to 33.42 days, suggesting that Century Aluminum was able to convert its inventory into cash more quickly during that period.

Subsequently, there was an increase in the cash conversion cycle to 54.26 days by December 31, 2023, possibly indicating challenges in converting sales into cash efficiently.

By December 31, 2024, the cash conversion cycle further increased to 75.92 days, suggesting that Century Aluminum may have faced issues in managing its working capital effectively, potentially leading to longer times for cash conversion.

Overall, the trend in the cash conversion cycle for Century Aluminum Company shows some fluctuations, which could be attributed to various factors affecting the company's operational efficiency and working capital management over the years.