United States Steel Corporation Reports First Quarter 2020 Results

• Net loss of $391 million, or $2.30 per diluted share
• Adjusted net loss of $123 million, or $0.73 per diluted share
• Adjusted EBITDA of $64 million
• Liquidity of $1.82 billion, including cash of $1.35 billion

PITTSBURGH, April 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) reported first quarter 2020 net loss of $391 million, or $2.30 per diluted share. Adjusted net loss was $123 million, or $0.73 per diluted share.  This compares to first quarter 2019 net earnings of $54 million, or  $0.31 per diluted share. Adjusted net earnings for first quarter 2019 were $81 million, or  $0.47 per diluted share.

^(a) Please refer to the non-GAAP Financial Measures section of this document for the reconciliation of these amounts.

“Our goal during these unprecedented circumstances is to protect lives and livelihoods, which means keeping our employees and communities safe and healthy and the business resilient,” said U. S. Steel President and Chief Executive Officer David B. Burritt.  “Over the past several weeks, we have announced a series of actions in response to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and the significant changes in the global oil and gas markets.  We continue to serve customers and the stakeholders who count on us as an essential business.”  Burritt continued, “Challenging days are ahead, but I am confident in the men and women at U. S. Steel who are continuing to make steel as a critical part of our nation’s infrastructure and progress our 'best of both' integrated and mini mill technology strategy.  We remain calm and focused to ensure a stronger U. S. Steel for all of our stakeholders.”

Reflecting on the quarter, Burritt commented, “Market activity was beginning to improve prior to the emergence of COVID-19 and the sudden changes in global oil and gas markets.  As the impacts from these unprecedented market dynamics became apparent, we adjusted our footprint, fortified our balance sheet and aggressively cut costs.  While these decisive actions helped us exceed our first quarter guidance, we have quickly turned our attention to the second quarter to not only ensure the safety and health of our employees but also to preserve cash and liquidity.”

Update on the Company's Strategic Objective to Monetize Iron Ore Assets

U. S. Steel today granted Stelco Inc. (Stelco) at a purchase price of $100 million the option to acquire a 25 percent interest in the company’s Minntac iron ore mining operations for an aggregate purchase price of $600 million.  Under the agreement, $20 million was paid to U. S. Steel upon signing the option agreement and the remaining $80 million will be paid ratably over the remainder of the 2020 calendar year.   Once Stelco has completed paying the remaining $80 million, the option can be exercised any time before January 31, 2027 and, upon exercise, Stelco will make an additional payment of $500 million to acquire its 25% interest in the new cost-sharing joint venture.  This agreement ensures U. S. Steel will continue to be the operator and majority owner of the Minntac mine and implies a $2.4 billion enterprise value for the Minntac operation.  Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as financial advisor to U. S. Steel and Jones Day acted as legal advisor to U. S. Steel on the transactions.

“This transaction shows that while we will be nimble and flexible in executing our world-competitive, 'best of both' strategy, we will not be deterred," Burritt concluded.  "In October of last year, we announced our acquisition of our 49.9% interest in Big River Steel and our goal of extracting incremental value from our iron ore assets.  Today's announcement demonstrates the continued execution of our strategy and delivers $100 million of incremental cash to the balance sheet in 2020.  We are pleased that this transaction validates the competitive advantage of our iron ore mining assets and gives us a path to an additional $500 million of capital to support continued execution of our strategy."

The Company will conduct a conference call on the first quarter 2020 earnings on Friday, May 1, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.  To listen to the webcast of the conference call, and to access the company's slide presentation, visit the U. S. Steel website, www.ussteel.com, and click on the “Investors” section. Replays of the conference call will be available on the website after 10:30 a.m. on May 1.

We present adjusted net earnings (loss), adjusted net earnings (loss) per diluted share, earnings (loss) before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and adjusted EBITDA, which are non-GAAP measures, as additional measurements to enhance the understanding of our operating performance.  We believe that EBITDA and segment EBITDA, considered along with net earnings (loss) and segment earnings (loss) before interest and income taxes, are relevant indicators of trends relating to our operating performance and provide management and investors with additional information for comparison of our operating results to the operating results of other companies.

Adjusted net earnings (loss) and adjusted net earnings (loss) per diluted share are non-GAAP measures that exclude the effects of items such as asset impairments, restructuring and other charges,  the December 24, 2018 Clairton coke making facility fire, the Big River Steel options mark to market, and significant gains (losses) on the sale or purchase of ownership interests in equity investees,  that are not part of the Company's core operations (Adjustment Items).  Adjusted EBITDA is also a non-GAAP measure that excludes the financial effects of the Adjustment Items.  We present adjusted net earnings (loss), adjusted net earnings (loss) per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA to enhance the understanding of our ongoing operating performance and established trends affecting our core operations, by excluding the Adjustment Items.  U. S. Steel's management considers adjusted net earnings (loss), adjusted net earnings (loss) per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA as alternative measures of operating performance and not alternative measures of the Company's liquidity.  U. S. Steel’s management considers adjusted net earnings (loss), adjusted net earnings (loss) per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA useful to investors by facilitating a comparison of our operating performance to the operating performance of our competitors.  Additionally, the presentation of adjusted net earnings (loss), adjusted net earnings (loss) per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA provides insight into management’s view and assessment of the Company’s ongoing operating performance, because management does not consider the Adjustment Items when evaluating the Company’s financial performance.  Adjusted net earnings (loss), adjusted net earnings (loss) per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA should not be considered a substitute for net earnings (loss), earnings (loss) per diluted share or other financial measures as computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP and is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.  A condensed consolidated statement of operations (unaudited), condensed consolidated cash flow statement (unaudited), condensed consolidated balance sheet (unaudited) and preliminary supplemental statistics (unaudited) for U. S. Steel are attached.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release contains information that may constitute ”forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We intend the forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements in those sections. Generally, we have identified such forward-looking statements by using the words “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “project,” “target,” “forecast,” “aim,” "should," “will,” "may" and similar expressions or by using future dates in connection with any discussion of, among other things, operating performance, trends, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future, statements relating to volume changes, share of sales and earnings per share changes, anticipated cost savings, potential capital and operational cash improvements, U. S. Steel's future ability or plans to take ownership of the Big River Steel joint venture as a wholly owned subsidiary, and statements expressing general views about future operating results.  However, the absence of these words or similar expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.  Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but instead represent only the Company’s beliefs regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company’s control.  It is possible that the Company’s actual results and financial condition may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results and financial condition indicated in these forward looking statements. Management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the time made.  However, caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements because such statements speak only as of the date when made.  Our Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.  In addition, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our Company's historical experience and our present expectations or projections.  These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to risks related to the satisfaction of the conditions of creating the joint venture with Stelco in the anticipated timeframe or at all and the possibility that the option will not be exercised by Stelco, possible production or operations interruptions related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that could disrupt supply or delivery of, or demand for, the Company’s products, as well as the risks and uncertainties described in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, and those described from time to time in our future reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  References to "we," "us," "our," the "Company," and "U. S. Steel," refer to United States Steel Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries.

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