Credit: Shutterstock photoCleveland-Cliffs Inc.CLF has completed the sale of its Asia Pacific Iron Ore assets to Mineral Resources Limited. The company's previously disclosed costs of closing the Australian operations were reduced by roughly $85 million due to this transaction.
Notably, Cleveland-Cliffs will record reversal of currency translation adjustments in the third quarter resulting from the deal. This will lead to a positive contribution to net income of roughly $230 million or 75 cents per share.
Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs have moved up around 23.4% in the past three months, against the industry 's decline of roughly 8.4%.
The company reported net earnings (attributable to shareholders) of $165.1 million or 55 cents per share in second-quarter 2018, up from net earnings of $31.8 million or 10 cents in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted earnings of 76 cents for the quarter beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 56 cents.
The company also witnessed higher sales volumes in the quarter, mainly driven by higher actual demand for pellets along with higher prices. Buoyed by strong demand for pellets, the company raised 2018 sales volume guidance to 21 million long tons from the previous projection of 20.5 million. Notably, it expects to sell between 6 million and 6.5 million long tons in the third quarter and the remaining is expected to be sold in the fourth quarter.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Price and Consensus
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Price and Consensus | Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Quote
Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider
Cleveland-Cliffs currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
A few other top-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Ingevity Corporation NGVT , Huntsman Corporation HUN and Celanese Corporation CE , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here .
Ingevity has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 12%. Its shares have surged 62.7% in the past year.
Huntsman has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 8.5%. Its shares have returned 23.9% in a year.
Celanese has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 10%. Its shares have gained 21.1% in the past year.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
