Ferrexpo production levels surge in Q1

Iron ore pellets producer Ferrexpo said on Tuesday that production levels had significantly increased during the three months ended 31 March despite experiencing more conscriptions from its workforce throughout the quarter.

Ferrexpo stated that with "more stable production" from each of its pelletiser lines, total iron ore pellet production for the quarter was 1.81m tonnes, an 189% increase compared to the previous quarter. In addition, 240,516 tonnes of 67% Fe concentrate were also produced.

The FTSE 250-listed group added that total sales volumes for the quarter came to 1.99m tonnes, with all sales being for products grading 65% Fe or above.

Ferrexpo added that at present, 669 Ferrexpo employees were serving in the Ukrainian army, the highest number since the start of the full-scale invasion. To date, 67 serving members have returned.

It also noted that it was able to export from Ukrainian ports, allowing it to export larger volumes to Europe and resume sales to MENA and Asian customers.

Chairman Lucio Genovese said: "The challenges of the war are constantly changing our work environment and we must continuously adapt to shorter and tighter time scales, which requires a flexible workforce. To ensure our continued resilience we have placed a very strong focus on training where we have multiple initiatives in place at the Ferrexpo Technical Expertise Centre to upskill, cross-skill and re-skill employees, including fast-tracking vocational qualifications.

"It is pleasing that despite facing so many challenges, we are able to report solid production and sales numbers for the quarter. As long as we believe the level of risk is acceptable, taking into account the ongoing war in Ukraine, we will continue to use all the export capacity available to ensure that we are supporting the interests of all stakeholders."

As of 0935 BST, Ferrexpo shares were up 9.75% at 52.90p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com