In a preliminary quarterly performance update, Fortescue reported total iron ore shipments of 46.8 million tonnes for the September quarter, about 6 percent less than a year earlier on planned maintenance including port shutdowns, with 2.5 million tonnes from Iron Bridge. Cash was $3.2 billion and net debt $2.8 billion at September 30, compared with net debt of $0.9 billion at June 30, after payment of the $1.0 billion FY26 final dividend and $0.9 billion of capital expenditure. Hematite’s realised price averaged $80 per dry metric tonne, 82 percent of the Platts 61% CFR index.
The tell is in sales. Iron ore sales of 42.9 million tonnes fell short of shipments, which the company attributed to ongoing negotiations with state-backed China Mineral Resources Group. Fortescue kept its fiscal 2027 guidance for shipments, C1 cash cost and capital spending but said it remains subject to reaching an agreement with CMRG. Reuters has reported that CMRG has pushed some Chinese steel mills to avoid taking delivery of Fortescue’s flagship products as it seeks better terms for Chinese buyers, with China the company’s dominant end market and its lower-grade product mix leaving it most exposed among the Pilbara majors.
Shares fell about 1.4 percent to A$15.79, dragging the broader ASX mining index lower in a weak session where BHP slid to A$61.19 and Rio Tinto dropped 2.9 percent to A$161.97, per AAP. With Chinese port inventories bulging and mills’ appetite for seaborne material dull, the standoff is becoming the template for how centralized Chinese procurement reshapes iron ore contracts.