The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

CLF shares rise on 3Q20 results:

http://www.clevelandcliffs.com/English/news-center/news-releases/news-releases-details/2020/Cleveland-Cliffs-Inc.-Reports-Third-Quarter-2020-Results/default.aspx

Cliffs' Chairman, President, and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said: “Our strong third quarter results reflect the positive outcome of the actions we took in Q2, when we saw opportunity when others were paralyzed. During the almost three months when our main market, the automotive industry, went through unprecedented shutdowns across the entire sector, we prepared our inventories and our plants to be ready as soon as our clients were back in business. As a direct consequence of that, we generated $150 million in free cash flow during the quarter.”

Mr. Goncalves added: “Our results demonstrate how quickly and efficiently we were able to turn things around. The new way of doing business we have been implementing in our newly acquired steel assets is demonstrated by our strong cost performance across the entire company, allowing us to benefit from improved demand and higher sales prices. While the third quarter started slow with underlying demand in July not very different from June, business activity progressively improved through the quarter, achieving in September shipment rates normalized to prior-year levels. This momentum has continued into October and, as such, we look forward to even further improved financial results in the fourth quarter.”

The stock, which has more than tripled from its Mar 2020 low, is +6% in PM trading.