Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Iron-ore miner Atlas Iron has swung back into black during the full year ended June, with the company reporting after-tax net profit of A$48-million, compared with a net loss of A$159-million in 2016.
Revenue for the full year rose by 11% to A$871-million, while net operating cash flows increased from A$31-million to A$154-million.
The higher revenue was attributed to an increase in the overall price for iron-ore, as well as additional lump sales which attracted a premium to fines.
These factors more than offset a fall in sales volumes from 14.5-million tonnes in 2016 to 14.4-million tonnes.
MD Cliff Lawrenson said on Tuesday that the results marked a sharp turnaround in Atlas’s profitability and its overall financial position.
“This result highlights the remarkable progress Atlas has made on all levels over the past year.
“Atlas once again has the capacity to generate strong cash flow and profit despite iron-ore price volatility. The key to this is maintaining our agile business model, with a focus on tight cost discipline and a prudent level of hedging.”
Meanwhile, Lawrenson said that the company’s decision to re-commission the Mt Dove operation reflected Atlas’s flexibility and capacity to add low-cost production capacity as desired.
“We will continue to explore other low cost opportunities,” he added.
“As part of this approach, we are continuing to advance the Corunna Downs project by progressing the approvals and optimisation processes. This is consistent with our strategy of expanding our production flexibility and options, which in turn maximises our ability to tailor our operations to prevailing market conditions.”
Lawrenson added that the company would also continue to seek growth options for Atlas by capitalising on its core strength and the company’s improving financial position.
At the end of the financial year, the company had reduced its debt facility to A$103-million and had A$81-million cash in hand, in addition to A$20-million held in a reserve account.