LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Ferrexpo reported a 74% increase in revenues in its first half on Wednesday, to $1.35bn, which it said reflected market conditions and investments in increasing pellet quality.
The FTSE 250 company said its pellet production was down 1% year-on-year for the six months ended 30 June, at 5.56 million tonnes, while sales volumes were 9% lower at 5.57 million tonnes.

Underlying EBITDA, however, leapt 147% to $868m, and profit after tax totalled $661m, representing an increase of 165% over the prior year.

Ferrexpo reported a net cash position of $213m at period end, compared to the $4m it had at the end of December, while capital investment in the half-year increased to $142m from $96m.

Its board declared an interim dividend of 39.6 US cents per share, up from 13.2 cents for the first half of 2020, due to its "strong" performance in the period.

"Today's strong interim financial results reflect our multi-year investment programme in our assets, which has enabled us to not only take full advantage of the current strength of the iron ore market through our high grade iron ore products, but also deliver these results alongside excellent safety performance and continued progress in cutting carbon emissions," said non-executive chair Lucio Genovese.

"The group has shown resilience throughout the global Covid-19 pandemic, and we remain vigilant in our approach to protect our workforce and local communities from the spread of this virus.

"We continue to deliver growth, in terms of our operations, marketing and financial results, culminating in underlying EBITDA of $868m for the first half of 2021, an increase of 147%."

Genovese said the strong all-round performance had enabled the company to repay its pre-export finance facility early, while also investing for the future, as it grew from one phase of growth to another.

"We are also pleased to announce today an interim dividend of 39.6 cents per share, reflecting the group's healthy balance sheet and strong performance to date in 2021.

"Looking ahead, we are at an exciting time in the group's development.

"We are currently undertaking expansion work that will deliver growth in the near-term, having invested $93m in growth capex in the first half, and we are already looking ahead to our next phase of growth."

On product quality, Lucio Genovese said Ferrexpo had secured its first long-term contract for our latest product offering, high-grade 67% iron direct reduction pellets, which he said represented "the future of global steel production" as economies looked to decarbonise.

"Finally, on corporate governance, we welcomed Ann-Christin Andersen as a further independent non-executive director during the period."

At 0810 BST, shares in Ferrexpo were down 0.61% at 492.2p.

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE