PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Iron-ore miner Northern Iron has reported a net loss after tax of $11.3-million despite reporting record production in the full year ending December.
Northern Iron told shareholders on Monday that, during the financial year, the company added processing equipment capacity and focused on improving plant reliability.
This resulted in increased production rates, which translated to a record production of 1.9-million tons of ore, compared with the 1.4-million produced in the previous financial year.
The increased ore production also resulted in record sales of 1.9-million tons.
Nevertheless, Northern Iron noted that the production and sales volumes were still below expectations and insufficient to offset soft iron-ore market conditions.
As a result, the company reported a 41% decline in its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, which reached $21.9-million during the full year under review.
Revenue for the period was up by 6%, from $193.8-million in 2011, to $205.7-million in 2012.
Northern Iron said the higher production rates experienced in the fourth quarter of the financial year had been maintained following a planned maintenance shut, in January this year, to reline the primary mill.
However, owing to additional unscheduled downtime, it was expected that production for the first quarter of 2013 would be just under 500 000 t, with a corresponding unfavourable impact on operating unit costs.