PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Iron-ore major Fortescue Metals has reported a 21% spike in revenue for the year ended June to $8.1-billion, compared with $6.7-billion in 2012.

Net profit after tax for the full year rose by 12% to $1.7-billion, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation reaching $3.6-billion.

“Fortescue’s record net profit and final dividend is built on strong performances by our operations and development groups,” said CEO Nev Power.

“This outstanding result underscores our strategy to grow production and drive down costs through enhanced processing capabilities, upgrading our ore and operating more efficiently.”

Power noted that Fortescue was already realising the benefits from its new production assets, and added that the company’s position would be further enhanced as it completed its expansion to 155-million tonnes a year.

During the year, Fortescue reported record production volumes across its mine, rail and port operations, with total shipments topping 80.9-million tonnes, including 77.8-million Fortescue equity tonnes.

The iron-ore miner noted that enhanced processing capability at the Chichester hub allowed for the mining of lower cutoff grades, which decreased strip ratios. This, along with the continued focus on operating efficiencies and the impact of low-cost Solomon ore decreased the C1 cash costs to $44/t, compared with the $48/t reported last year.

Fortescue reported that its capacity expansion, to 155-million tonnes a year, would be achieved by the end of December this year, following the commissioning of the Kings mine.

The miner was expected to ship between 127-million and 133-million tonnes of ore during 2014.

For the next financial year, Fortescue would spend some $1.9-billion on capital expenditure, which was a significant decrease on the $6.2-billion spent over this financial year, as the miner ramped up its output.

The total capital costs for the 155-million-tonne-a-year expansion programme had been capped at $9-billion.