By Rhiannon Hoyle

SYDNEY--Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. said quarterly iron-ore shipments were flat from a year earlier but down 9.0% quarter-on-quarter because of heavy rainfall in Australia's Pilbara mining region.

The world's No. 4 iron-ore exporter on Thursday said it shipped 42.3 million metric tons of the steel ingredient in the January-March quarter, the same volume as a year earlier. It had shipped 46.4 million tons during the October-December quarter of 2020.

Lower volumes and a higher Australian dollar increased mining costs. Fortescue reported a so-called C1 cost--which strips out shipping, royalties and overhead expenses--of $14.90 a wet ton, up from $13.27 a wet ton a year earlier and $12.81 a wet ton in the previous quarter.

Fortescue also raised its expectations for fiscal-year capital expenditure--to $3.5 billion-$3.7 billion from $3.0 billion-$3.4 billion--citing the strong Australian dollar and spending at its Iron Bridge magnetite project and on decarbonisation initiatives.

Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-28-21 1917ET