Ferrexpo pellet production down 1.2% yoy in 2012
8 January 2013
Ferrexpo’s total iron ore pellet production slid 1.2% yoy in 2012 to 9.7 mmt, the company reported on Jan. 8. Total quarterly production in 4Q12 grew 4.2% qoq to 2.5 mmt by means of a 2.8x qoq increase in third-party ore reprocessing to 167.2 kt, while pellet output from own ore declined marginally in 4Q12.
Roman Topolyuk: The company’s total pellet output came in 4% better than we expected, but the impact of the positive surprise is limited. Production from own ore, which is the main EBITDA driver, was 2% higher than our projections. We expect the company will continue to maintain a high pellet capacity load in 1Q13 (81% in 2012), supported by growing iron ore prices (USD 153.9 per tonne, CFR, China, as of beginning January). Ferrexpo can also increase the load with new iron ore extracted from its Yeristovo Mine in forthcoming quarters. Ferrexpo planned to launch the mine in 2013.
