Fortescue lifts quarterly shipments, keeps FY guidance

The news: Mining giant Fortescue Metals Group has kept its full year production guidance after shipping near-record levels of iron ore in the first half.

The numbers: Iron ore mined slipped 2% from a year ago to 55 million wet metric tonnes. However, the company lifted shipments 6% in the December quarter to 48.7 million tonnes, taking the first-half total to 94.6 million tonnes, its second-highest first-half shipments ever. Shares in the company were up 2.3% to $29.05 in early trading on the ASX.

The context: The miner maintained its full year guidance at 192 million tonnes-197 million tonnes. Fortescue flagged further delays to a ramp-up of its Iron Bridge magnetite project, saying an additional USD140 million will be needed to get the plant running at full tilt. It cut production guidance for the operation this year from 5 million tonnes to 2-4 million tonnes. Fortescue owns 70% stake in the operation in WA.