By Rhiannon Hoyle and Stuart Condie


Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. on Friday said it shipped more iron ore in its December quarter than ever before, while lowering production costs from the prior three months.

The world's fourth-biggest iron-ore producer said it shipped 49.4 million metric tons of the steel ingredient in its fiscal second quarter. That was 4% higher than its September quarter and up 4% on the year-prior period.

Fortescue, which runs iron-ore pits in remote northwest Australia, said mining costs fell 3% on-quarter aided by a strong operational performance. Australia's currency also eased against the U.S. dollar, in which commodities are typically priced.

The miner reported so-called C1 costs, a measure that represents direct production expenses, of $17.17 a wet metric ton for the second quarter. That compared to $17.69 a wet ton for the quarter earlier.

Fortescue also said the $3.6 billion-$3.8 billion Iron Bridge magnetite project it is developing with Taiwan's Formosa Plastics is on track for first production at the end of the March quarter.

Fortescue maintained its full fiscal-year shipment guidance of 187 million-192 million tons inclusive of Iron Bridge, but said it now expects less than 1 million tons from the project. It previously flagged 1 million tons.

It also held its C1 cost and capital-expenditure guidance.


Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-26-23 1802ET