Fortress Minerals OAJ has reported earnings of US$10.0 million ($13.6 million) for the FY2024 ended Feb 29, a 17.1% decline compared to its earnings of US$12.2 million in the previous financial year.
For the full-year period, revenue increased slightly by 0.7% y-o-y to US$53.9 million due to higher volumes sold, but mitigated by lower average realised selling prices of iron ore.
Earnings per share decreased from 2.42 US cents in FY2023 to 1.93 US cents in FY2024.
For the same period, gross profit decreased 11.9% y-o-y to US$33.2 million, while gross profit margin came in at 61.7%.
The Malaysia-based miner plans to pay a final dividend of 0.6 cents for FY2024, representing a dividend payout ratio of 23.3% and lower compared to the final FY2023 dividend of 0.8 cents.
Fortress Minerals says it continues to leverage its strong business relationships with customers and the robust demand for high grade iron ore concentrate to expand and diversify its recurring revenue streams.
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The company says it is well-placed to strengthen its recurring income streams by increasing production with two new ball mills at Bukit Besi. They are expected to raise nameplate capacity by around 20% to 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes per month, with an expected completion by 2QFY2025.
“The demand for high grade iron ore domestically and regionally remains robust. We remain actively engaged with our customers, securing offtake agreements to meet this growing demand. This is a testament to our strong and long-standing business relationships with customers and reinforces our reputation as a trusted and reliable provider of high-grade iron ore products,” says CEO Ivan Chee.
“Simultaneously, we have growth plans at Mengapur as well as exploration plans in Sabah which are progressing well. All these initiatives set the stage for us to achieve sustainable growth and generate long-term value for our shareholders,” he adds.
Fortress Minerals shares closed unchanged at 31 cents on April 24.
