Kiev, 13 May (Argus) — London-listed iron ore pellet producer Ferrexpo, which has assets in Ukraine, increased its sales by 15pc to 2.5mn t in the first quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, but 5pc down on last year's final quarter.
Half of Ferrexpo output was sold to traditional markets, with the rest shipped to natural and growth markets, the company said. The pellets were supplied to steel mills in Europe, Russia, as well as southeast and east Asia.
The company's average achieved price increased by 19pc during January-March to $63.90/t compared with $59/t in the 2012 fourth quarter, reflecting the improvement in market prices.
The company's iron ore pellet output rose 10pc to 2.5mn t in the first quarter from a year earlier, following the launch of its second production plant in 2012.
Production at the company's Polvata mining facility located in central Ukraine dropped by 4pc to 2.1mn t in the first quarter against a year earlier. Iron ore pellet production from ore from Ferrexpo's other plant, at Yeristovo launched in July last year, rose to 328,100t during January-March, doubling from output in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Ferrexpo produces iron ore pellets with a Fe grade of 62pc and 65pc. Production of iron ore pellets with the 62pc iron content rose by 21pc to 1.4mn t in the first quarter from the same period in 2012. Output of the 65pc grade fell slightly by 2pc to slightly above 1mn t.
Ferrexpo aims to produce 10.5mn-11mn t of iron ore pellets this year and reach a 12mn t/yr production level by 2014, which will be a 24pc increase from the 9.7mn t manufactured last year. It also plans to launch iron ore concentrate production in 2016, with a target of 8mn-10mn t/yr of Fe-67 iron ore concentrate from 2017.
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