Commodities & Metals

Do Cliffs Natural Resources Earnings Mark a Turnaround?

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Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) reported first quarter 2015 results before markets opened Tuesday morning. For the quarter, the iron ore and coal miner posted adjusted net earnings per share (EPS) of $0.94 on revenues of $446 million. In the same period a year ago, the company reported a loss per share of $0.54 on revenues of $615.5 million. The consensus estimate called for a net loss of $0.19 per share on revenues of $562.46 million.

In January of this year, Cliffs deconsolidated the Bloom Lake Group and certain other wholly-owned subsidiaries and historical operating results related to the former Eastern Canadian Iron Ore and Ferroalloys operating segments are included in the Company’s financial statements and classified as discontinued operations. In March Cliffs management classified its North American coal segment as held for sale, and results here too are being classified as discontinued operations. Income from discontinued operations totaled $118 million and the loss net of tax on these operations totaled $928.5 million for a net loss of $761.7 million on the quarter.

On a per share basis Cliffs posted a oss of $5.20 per share on discontinued operations. The loss per common share attributable to Cliffs shareholders was $4.26.

The company’s CEO said:

Cliffs has delivered another strong quarter in the face of a challenging operating and commercial environment. … We are extremely pleased with the positive results of the recent refinancing exercise, and we will continue to be focused on reducing our debt and maximizing our liquidity.

During the quarter, Cliffs recorded a $314 million gain on extinguishment of debt, including $181 million related to discount capture from previously announced exchange offers and previously disclosed open-market repurchases, and $147 million related to the accounting treatment of the new second lien notes. This was partially offset by a $14 million charge due to write-offs of fees relating to the former revolving-credit facility.

Cliffs is lowering its full-year U.S. sales and production volume expectation to 20.5 million tons of iron ore pellets and maintaining its Asia Pacific volumes at 11 million tons. The company is lowering SG&A expenses to $120 million and no longer anticipates any spending on exploration.

Cliffs is lowering its full-year 2015 capital expenditures budget to a range of $100 to $125 million, from its previous expectation of $125 to $150 million. This reduction reflects a continued focus on reducing expenditures. The spending range includes outflows related to North American coal and assumes no additional asset divestitures.

Shedding assets is keeping Cliffs afloat. Iron ore sales volumes were down in both the U.S. and Asia Pacific and per ton margins were lower by about $6 in the U.S. and and by nearly $25 in Asia Pacific. The junk bond offering Cliffs made last month will keep the company going for another couple of years. That’s how much time Cliffs has to turn the ship around.

Investors are satisfied apparently. Shares traded up about 4.8% after hours Tuesday at $6.15 after closing the day at $5.87. The stock’s 52-week range is $4.12 to $18.41, and the consensus target price is $4.63.

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