Cleveland-Cliffs open to asset sales

Celso Goncalves declined to specify which assets could be up for sale, but said the inquiries from potential buyers “could bring several billion dollars of potential value.” Those proceeds could be used to pay down debt, he noted.

Some of those talks “are in advanced stages,” he said. “I think there’s some that we could announce still this year. Some are going to take longer. And like I said, nothing’s guaranteed, but it’s nice to see that there’s a lot of inbound interest.”

The Cleveland-based steelmaker’s losses soared in the first quarter, with the company reporting a 639% profit loss year over year.

“Our first-quarter results were unacceptable with worse-than-expected EBITDA and cash flow, mostly due to underperforming non-core assets,” Chairman, President, and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said. “Underlying these weak results was the lagged impact of very low steel prices that we were exposed to during the second-half of 2024 and into the beginning of 2025.”

As it idles a number of its assets (a strip mill, plate finishing facility, rail mill and mines) and nixes its Weirton, W.Va., project, the company plans to cut 2025 capex guidance from $700 million to $625 million.

“It’s fair to expect significant reductions in capex in 2026 and beyond as well, though we won’t have exact numbers until our negotiations are more advanced,” Celso Goncalves said.

“Despite our elevated debt level, we have no meaningful debt maturities until at least 2027 and less than $700 million in total bond maturities over the next four years,” he said.

Oh, Canada

Cliffs’ $2.5-billion acquisition of Canadian sheet producer Stelco is still fresh, but the tense relationship between the United States and its northern neighbor hasn’t left the company unscathed.

While Lourenco Goncalves is supportive of Section 232 tariffs, which have reinforced the company’s plan to keep Stelco’s sales inside Canada, it’s the other proposed tariffs that have hurt the company.

“The broader tariffs that hit Canada impacted our clients,” he said. “And then our clients were impaired in terms of selling their product to the United States. That was not part of our plan.”

“Nobody saw that coming. Otherwise, I would not have been so eager to buy Stelco if I knew that Canada would not be treated like a friend.”

Still, the chief exec insisted that the “situation is completely temporary.”

“I see the Carney-Trump meeting as a step in the right direction in terms of normalizing the relationship between the United States and Canada,” he said, referring to the recent meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

“There’s no other way to go. We are tied by the hip, and we cannot go without each other. We need each other, and we should continue to work that way, ” he added.

“Section 232, it’s a different animal. But tariffs in general will have to be reworked. And it’s clear that the USMCA treaty that I’ve always said was needed, will be reworked, and it will be reworked in short order,” the CEO said.