Ann: Iluka 2018 Half Year Report (4D), page-3

Iluka Resources shares sink despite mineral sands rally pushing it to first-half profit​

• David Winning​
• Dow Jones​
• 8:32AM August 16, 2018​

Balranald mineral sands​

Iluka Resources returned to profit in its fiscal first half, as a strong rebound in prices of mineral sands, used in everything from paints to bathroom tiles, more than offset the impact of lower production.
Iluka (ILU) reported a net profit of $126.1 million for the six months through June, swinging from a $81.5 million loss a year ago when it absorbed a hefty impairment charge on its shuttered Hamilton mineral separation plant.
Directors of the company declared an interim dividend of 10 cents per share, up from 6 cents a year earlier.
Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased to $279m, up 80 per cent on a year ago.
Perth-based Iluka is the world’s largest producer of zircon, a mineral sand used by the ceramics industry to make household products such as bathroom tiles and kitchenware. It also produces rutile, a mineral used to create the pigments in paints and plastics.
After years of grappling with a deep, multiyear downturn in mineral sands markets, Iluka has recently been benefiting from an upswing in demand for its commodities. Consumption is strengthening at a time when producers’ stockpiles are low, lifting prices.
Iluka last month said average zircon prices increased by 21 per cent on the year-earlier period, to $US1,278 a ton. That helped to cushion the impact of an 18 per cent fall in half-year production, as Iluka stopped mining at one site in Western Australia and downgraded expectations for 2018 rutile output after operational difficulties in Sierra Leone.
Iluka said strong cash flow had underpinned a sharp reduction in net debt, which fell to $34m by the end of June from $182.5m at the end of December.
At 10.33am (AEST), Iluka shares were down 63 cents, or 5.97 per cent, at $9.93.​