=Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) reported earnings on Thur 27 Oct 2016 (b/o)

Cliffs Natural Resources reports Q3 (Sep) results, misses on revs; maintains guidance :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of $0.11 per share, including deb restructuring costs, may not be comparable to the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.19; revenues fell 6.7% year/year to $553 mln vs the $594.82 mln Capital IQ Consensus.  
  • Adj. EBITDA was $62 million, compared to $60 million reported in the third quarter of 2015. Cliffs noted that third-quarter 2016 adjusted EBITDA1 includes $20 million in expenses related to idled mines, a $12 million non-cash accrual as a reserve for potential retroactive electric power surcharges, and a one-time $4 million charge associated with the new labor contract signing bonus. Excluding these expenses, Cliffs' adjusted EBITDA would have been $98 million.
• US iron ore: Cliffs is maintaining its full-year sales volume expectation of 18 million long tons. The Company's 2016 production volume guidance of 16.5 million long tons is also maintained. Cliffs is maintaining its cash production cost per long ton expectation of $50 - $55 and the cash cost of goods sold per long ton expectation of $55 - $60.
• The Company is maintaining its full-year 2016 Asia Pacific Iron Ore sales and production volume forecast of ~11.5 million metric tons. The product mix is expected to contain 50 percent lump and 50 percent fines. Based on a full-year average exchange rate of $0.75 U.S. Dollar to Australian Dollar, the Company is maintaining its full-year 2016 Asia Pacific Iron Ore cash production cost per metric ton expectation of $25 - $30. Cliffs' cash cost of goods sold per metric ton is also unchanged at $30 - $35. Cliffs indicated that for every $0.01 change in this exchange rate for the remainder of the year, the Company's full-year cash cost of goods sold is impacted by ~$2 million.