LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Ferrexpo Plc. (FXPO.L) reported that its profit attributable to equity shareholders for the 12 months ended 31 December 2019 rose to US$402.37 million or 68.4 cents per share from US$333.62 million or 56.7 cents per share in the prior year.
Profit for the year increased 20% to US$403 million from US$335 million in 2018, reflecting a 16% increase in operating profit and lower net financial expense, offset by a non-operating foreign exchange loss.
Profit before tax was $459.58 million, up from $392.02 million in the prior year.
Group revenue increased by 18% to US$1.5 billion from last year's US$1.3 billion, principally due to a 17% increase in Ferrexpo's realised free on board price and an increase in pellet sales volumes. Higher realised prices during the period mainly reflected a significant increase in the iron ore fines price.
Ferrexpo said,'The spread of the virus into Europe, however, could result in further economic uncertainty. Prior to the virus, we had expected steel profitability in Europe to show a mild recovery in key markets from the second half of the year onwards.'
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