Steel Mills
Cliffs Swings to $57M Loss in Q1
April 24, 2023
Cleveland-Cliffs swung to a loss in Q1 vs. a year earlier, but the loss narrowed from the previous quarter.
The Cleveland-based steelmaker posted a net loss of $57 million attributable to shareholders in the quarter ended March 31, compared with net income of $801 million in the year-earlier period on revenues that slid 11% to $5.3 billion.
In Q4 2022 the company reported a net loss of $214 million on revenues of $5.04 billion.
Cliffs said it has lowered its full-year 2023 capital expenditures expectation to $675-725 million from $700-750 million previously.
The company reported steel shipments of 4.1 million net tons in Q1, up from 3.6 million net tons a year earlier.
“As we expect to continue to happen going forward, in Q1 we accomplished our goal of increasing steel shipments to above 4 million tons,” Cliffs’ chairman, president, and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said in a statement.
“Improved demand from our automotive clients has allowed us to be more selective when selling flat-rolled steel to the general marketplace, allowing us in Q1 to implement several price increases to non-contract clients,” he added.
The average net selling price per ton of steel products was $1,128 in Q1, down from $1,446 a year earlier, and off slightly from $1,156 in Q4 2022.
Looking forward, Goncalves expects that, throughout 2023, Cliffs should benefit from higher sales volumes to the automotive sector.
Also, he added, the company can capitalize on higher prices in yearly contract renegotiations with car manufacturers “that have Cleveland-Cliffs as their largest supplier of automotive steel.”
“With the final batch of yearly fixed-price contracts‑the ones dated April 1-successfully renewed, our outlook for a significant Ebidta expansion in Q2 remains intact,” Goncalves said.
By Ethan Bernard, ethan@steelmarketupdate.com
Latest in Steel Mills
CRU: Blackout knocks out ArcelorMittal mill ‘for months’
Truchas works in Lazaro Cadenas, Michoacan, western Mexico. Repairs may take up to six months.
Nippon Steel posts quarterly loss on cost to buy U.S. Steel
Nippon Steel earnings take hit from buy of U.S. Steel.
Atlas completes Evraz NA deal, renames firm, and hires former USS exec as CEO
Atlas Holdings has completed its acquisition of Evraz North America (Evraz NA) and its subsidiaries.
ArcelorMittal: As tariffs slow global growth, Calvert could be a bright spot
ArcelorMittal expects less demand growth across most of the markets it operates in, including the US, because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. But the Luxembourg-based steelmaker also thinks it stands to benefit from an increasingly regionalized world thanks to investments like the new EAF at its mill in Calvert, Ala.
Ternium posts solid Q2, expects further shipment growth
Latin American steel producer Ternium delivered a solid performance in the second quarter of 2025. Performance was driven primarily by higher realized steel prices in Mexico, even as shipment volumes declined slightly across its regional portfolio.