Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) Q4 2022 Earnings Conference Call February 14, 2022 10:00 AM ET
Company Participants
Celso Goncalves - EVP & CFO
Lourenco Goncalves - Chairman, President and CEO
Conference Call Participants
Emily Chieng - Goldman Sachs
Tristan Gresser - BNP Paribas Exane
Lucas Pipes - B. Riley Securities
Lawson Winder - BofA Securities
Philip Gibbs - KeyBanc Capital Markets
Andreas Bokkenheuser - UBS
Karl Blunden - Goldman Sachs
Operator
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Maria, and I am your conference facilitator today. I would like to welcome everyone to Cleveland-Cliffs Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions].
The company reminds you that certain comments made on today's call will include predictive statements that are intended to be made as forward-looking within the safe harbor protection of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although the company believes that its forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Important factors that could cause results to differ materially are set forth in reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, and news releases filed with the SEC, which are available on the company's website.
Today's conference call is also available and being broadcast at clevelandcliffs.com. At the conclusion of the call, it will be archived on the website and available for replay.
The company will also discuss results excluding certain special items. Reconciliation for Regulation G purposes can be found in the earnings release, which was published yesterday.
At this time, I would like to introduce Celso Goncalves, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead, sir.
Celso Goncalves
Thank you, Maria, and thanks to everyone for joining us this morning. 2022 was the 175th year for Cleveland-Cliffs, and we celebrated this milestone by generating record revenues of $23 billion. From a profitability standpoint, our adjusted EBITDA of $3.2 billion and free cash flow of $1.5 billion were each the second highest in company history, only exceeded by 2021. That said, our most significant financial accomplishment in 2022 was the dramatic improvement to our balance sheet, where we eliminated over $3 billion in liabilities via debt paydown and pension and OPEB obligation reductions. I have been clear since day one that derisking the balance sheet is my top priority, and we will remain consistent in deploying the majority of free cash flow toward debt repayment.