Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Northern Iron has warned that the company’s viability was in jeopardy, given the current iron-ore price environment.
The miner told shareholders on Monday that during the first half of 2014, the company had undertaken a number of action plans aimed at mitigating strains on liquidity.
These measures included reducing costs, improving the average realised price for its concentrate, engaging with its main banking partners to defer repayments on principal loans, and defining a strategic roadmap to ensure long-term sustainability of the operations.
“Despite the progress being made at all levels, the recent material decline and continued uncertainty in iron-ore price, the company is conscious that if such levels are sustained, the viability of the company is threatened unless the [mitigation] measures can continue to be successfully implemented in the near term,” MD and CEO Anthony Beckmand said.
He added that the company was reviewing all possibilities in the current iron-ore price environment, to bolster its financial position. This included debt and equity funding, as well as the other mitigation efforts, aimed at ensuring an adequate level of working capital.
“Should the iron-ore price not recover from its current levels in the near term, and should the company not be able to successfully implement the measures described, the viability of the company is threatened,” Beckmand said.
In the six months to June, Northern Iron reported a big decrease in its net profits, compared with the previous corresponding period, with the miner shifting to a net loss of $35.7-million, compared with a net profit of $2.5-million.
The loss for the interim period included $115.9-million of operational expenses, including $11.6-million of depreciation and amortisation charges, $9.2-million of noncash production expenses and $5.4-million freight costs.
Revenue for the interim period reached $108.4-million, an increase of 7% over the previous corresponding period, with some 1.196-million tonnes of ore sold from the Sydvaranger Gruve operations, in Norway.
Earlier this month, Western Desert became a casualty of the iron-ore price when it went into voluntary administration. The Roper Bar project owners had failed to secure financial support from its banker, Macquarie Bank.