Australia’s Fortescue Metals Group FMG.AX on Thursday reported a 4.2% rise in iron ore shipments for the first quarter, boosted by higher production at its key operations in Western Australia.
However, rising prices of diesel and labour pushed Fortescue’s direct costs 16% higher year-over-year to $17.69 per wet metric tonne (wmt).
The results come as prices of the steel-making commodity take a hit from top consumer China’s strict COVID-19 curbs that have slammed its economy.
The world’s fourth-largest iron ore miner said it shipped 47.5 million tonnes (mt) of iron ore in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with 45.6 mt a year earlier.
The company, however, kept its full-year guidance unchanged, expecting to ship between 187 million tonnes to 192 million tonnes of ore in fiscal 2023.
