Swiss-headquartered iron ore miner Ferrexpo, whose main interests are in Ukrainian iron ore assets, has announced its financial results for the first half of the current year.
In the given period, Ferrexpo recorded a net profit of $152 million, falling by 29.6 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. Sales revenues of the company totaled $617 million, up 4.4 percent year on year, due to higher pellet premiums offset by lower iron ore prices, higher freight and lower sales volumes. The company's sales volumes decreased by 5.3 percent to 4.79 million mt, while its EBITDA amounted to $234 million, declining by 18.5 percent, both compared to the first half of 2017.
Ferrexpo expects demand for high quality iron ore, especially pellet, to remain strong through the second half of this year and 2019. In the second half, the company expects its EBITDA to reflect higher sales volumes while cost inflation is expected to persist, though at a lower rate, reflecting the full impact of rising oil and energy prices as well as higher mining costs.
Meanwhile, Ferrexpo stated that it is investing to increase its processing plant capacity while completing a large maintenance program at its pelletizing facilities. Once these programs are complete in 2020 the group expects production to increase by approximately 1.5 million mt to 12 million mt per year compared to 10.4 million mt in 2017.