Ferrexpo delivers best H1 production since Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Ferrexpo said H1 total commercial production increased 83% to 3.72m, with total pellet production rising 76% to 3.29m and concentrate production growing 171% to 429,865. Premium pellets were up 55% to 2.83m, while other pellet production skyrocketed 498% to 298,465.

The London-listed group stated that during the quarter, access to the Black Sea maritime corridor had enabled it to continue shipments from Ukrainian ports, with an estimated more than 800 ships safely passing through since the corridor was opened in late 2023, including 90 with ferrous commodities.

"The increased number of owners prepared to charter vessels to Ukrainian ports, resulted in improved availability, however freight rates and insurance risk premiums remain high, not only for the passage to Ukraine, but also through the Red Sea," said Lucio Genovese, Ferrexpo's interim chairman.

Ferrexpo added that other cost pressures continued to rise during Q2, especially electricity prices, noting that attacks on energy generation and transmission infrastructure had greatly reduced Ukraine's domestic power supply, and cautioned that the war had continued to challenge its business "in many ways".

Genovese said: "Despite the many challenges that we must manage, it is pleasing that we are able to report strong. 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, while maintaining a workforce level for higher production levels, generating taxes and royalties for the government and continuing our humanitarian activities."

As of 0925 BST, Ferrexpo shares were up 4.42% at 54.30p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com