Proud Power trumpets FMG production increase

"The scorched earth policy BHP and Rio appear to be engaged in will only encourage Chinese producers (to) stay in the market and even to increase volumes for fear of being faced with another oligopoly."

Remember these words of wisdom from Fortescue chief Nev Power late last year? Power was venting his anger with the global giants for smashing the iron ore price with their vast production increases.

But as FMG's December quarter report showed today, Power appears to have one rule for his company and one for its competitors.

FMG revealed that shipments in the quarter soared 47% from the same time last year to 41.1 million tonnes. But while others may have chosen to keep their heads down for fear of the inconsistency being pointed out, Power opted to trumpet the achievement.

"Our operations have continued to deliver above expectations, underpinning Fortescue's standing as a low-cost, high-volume producer," Power said.

And they did beat expectations on this occasion, with costs falling 9% from the previous quarter to US$41/t, helped by the lower Australian dollar and reduced oil price.

The result enabled FMG shares to shrug off the impact of the latest fall in iron ore prices to close 19c higher at $2.23.


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