US-based mining company Cliffs Natural Resources has announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2011, indicating a decline of 57 percent year on year in net income to $408 million.
In the second quarter of the current year, Cliffs Natural Resources' operating income was $617 million, with an increase of 69 percent compared to the corresponding quarter of 2010. Consolidates revenues of the company also saw an increase of 52 percent year on year, rising to a record level of $1.8 billion. The year-on-year increases were driven by higher pricing in Cliff's iron ore business segments.
In the given period, Cliffs completed the acquisition of Canadian iron ore miner Consolidated Thompson and announced third-phase expansion at Bloom Lake, Ontario, Canada, which is expected to increase annual production capacity to 24 million mt by 2015-2016.
Cliffs' US iron ore sales volume for the second quarter decreased 1.6 percent to 5.7 million mt in the second quarter this year compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
For the remainder of 2011, Cliffs expects a steady demand for its products as a result of the continued growth in Chinese steel production and steady blast furnace utilization rates in Europe and North America.