Atlas Iron posts record exports in March, strong sales in Q1

Australian iron ore miner Atlas Iron Limited has announced that in March this year it exported a record 547,404 wet metric tons (wmt) of direct shipping ore (DSO), beating its previous record of 541,000 wmt recorded in October 2010.
 
Atlas had $240 million cash in hand as of March 31, 2011, up from $143 million at the end of the previous quarter, due to strong sales volumes, higher iron ore prices and reduced operating costs relative to the first half.
 
"This strong result, which came despite terrible weather during the quarter, highlights the underlying strength of the Atlas business," Atlas managing director David Flanagan said.
 
With iron ore exports for Q1 2011 standing at 1.39 million wmt, Atlas is on target to export 1.5 million wmt in Q2 this year. It also expects cash costs to remain at $40-43/mt for the rest of this financial year.