Cliffs CEO Positive on 2015 Cost Reductions

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:CLF) released its results for the fourth quarter of 2015, as well as the year as a whole.
In Q4 2015, it recorded a net loss of $58 million, down significantly from $1.4 billion in the year-ago period. Also during the quarter, US iron ore cash production costs fell 23 percent, to $45 per ton, while Asia Pacific iron ore cash production costs sank 40 percent, to $26 per ton.
Commenting on full-year consolidated results, the company said:

Full-year 2015 consolidated revenues of $2.0 billion decreased 40 percent from the prior year’s revenues of $3.4 billion. Cost of goods sold decreased by 29 percent to $1.8 billion compared to $2.5 billion reported in 2014.
For the full-year 2015, the Company recorded a net loss of $748 million compared to a net loss of $8.3 billion recorded in the prior year. The Company recorded a full-year net loss attributable to Cliffs’ common shareholders of $788 million, or $5.13 per diluted share, compared to a net loss attributable to Cliffs’ common shareholders of $7.3 billion, or $40.36 per diluted share recorded in 2014.

Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president and CEO of Cliffs, commented:

Despite the severely negative impacts of global iron ore and domestic steel prices, in 2015 we achieved substantial cost reductions in all areas of the business. On top of an outstanding year of operating performance, we checked a number of boxes in line with our U.S. pellet-centric strategy, most recently with the full divestiture of our North American Coal business.

Click here to read the full Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:CLF) press release.