Fortescue Metals Group has reported a near fourfold rise in half-year profit, beating estimates, as it cashed in on higher iron ore prices after a tailings dam disaster in Brazil early last year curtailed global supply.
Net profit for the six months ending December 31 was $US2.45 billion ($A3.67 billion), compared with $US644 million a year earlier. The figure released on Wednesday was higher than a UBS estimate of $US2.37 billion.
Following the disaster at the tailings dam owned by then top iron ore producer Vale SA in January last year, iron prices rose substantially, with Dalian Commodity Exchange’s front-month iron ore futures contract gaining 28 per cent in 2019.
Last month, the miner reported a 9.0 per cent rise in second-quarter iron ore shipments, with its chief executive underscoring that demand remained strong and that its business had not been directly affected by the coronavirus outbreak in its main market, China.
China, the world’s top steel producer, posted its second-highest ever annual imports of the steel-making ingredient in 2019 as Beijing boosted stimulus to avoid an economic slowdown, prompting strong demand from the property and infrastructure sectors.
Fortescue has been raising the mix of premium feed in its shipments with the addition of its West Pilbara Fines product, as Chinese demand for less-polluting, high-quality ore is expected to accelerate in 2020 following a trade deal with the United States and further infrastructure investment.
The Perth-based miner declared an interim dividend of 76 Australian cents per share, up from 19 Australian centra per share last year.
AAP
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