FSUMF - Fortescue posts Q1 iron ore shipments record but costs keep climbing

Fortescue Metals ( OTCQX:FSUMF ) reported Thursday a 4.2% increase in Q1 iron ore shipments , helped by higher production at its key operations in Western Australia, but costs were sharply higher.

The miner said it shipped 47.5M metric tons of iron ore in the September quarter, compared with 45.6M tons a year earlier, but rising prices of diesel and labor pushed its direct costs up 16% Y/Y and 3% Q/Q to $17.69 per wet ton.

Fortescue ( OTCQX:FSUMF ) said shipments were a record for a Q1 but were weaker than the 49.5M tons shipped in the final quarter of FY 2022.

The company kept its full-year guidance unchanged, expecting to ship 187M-192M metric tons of ore in FY 2023.

Fortescue's ( OTCQX:FSUMF ) Q1 sales and unit costs were marginally better than expected but offset by weaker than anticipated prices , RBC Capital analyst Kaan Peker said.

Weighed by a gloomy outlook for global steel demand, benchmark iron ore prices recently slumped to YTD lows .

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