Cleveland-Cliffs achieved 2.1mn lt (2.13mn mt) in mining and pelletizing sales volume in Q1, the company’s preliminary quarterly results indicated.
Its flat-rolled steel shipments totaled 1.1mn t in the first three months of the year, including 200,00t during the second half of March following the completion of its AK Steel acquisition.
The company also earned $345-375mn in revenues during the quarter, and had an adjusted EBITDA of $15-25mn, it noted in a statement that shared its preliminary results and an update on the company’s operations in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The steelmaker’s US plants catering to the automotive industry will remain shut until at least the end of June, after which production is expected to recover slowly through the rest of H2 2020. The firm also anticipates 6mn new automotive builds over the remaining nine months of the year.
Cleveland-Cliffs’ acquisition of AK Steel will boost its flat-rolled shipments by 3mn t for the period of March 13-Dec 31, 2020, the statement indicated and its third-party pellet sales for the year could reach 12mn lt, with US HRC slated to average $480/t in Q2 and Q3, and $525t in Q4 2020.
The company idled a slew of facilities as a result of the COVID-19 crisis—and specifically the contraction of demand—prompting Cleveland Cliffs to cut down variable costs by 75pc.