In 2019, Ferrexpo plans capital investment worth $220–300 million

According to the 2018 financial performance report of Ferrexpo plc, the Ferrexpo Group plans capital investment in development projects in 2019 in the amount of $220–$300 million.

“Our balance sheet is now strong and this gives us a platform to deliver the next stage in our planned expansion. This year we plan to increase investment once more to be able to hit our medium-term production target of 12 million tons per annum by 2021 and lay the foundations for our longer-term intention to move to annual output of 20 million tons per annum,” said Steve Lucas, Ferrexpo’s Non-Executive Chairman, in his commentary.

The company plans to invest around $35 million in the Concentrator Expansion Program 1 (CEP1) which will enable the Group to increase pellet output by 13%, up to 12 million tons per annum, by 2021.

Furthermore, Ferrexpo is going to commence construction of a new press filtration plant and other pellet capacity upgrade projects as well as purchase of additional rail cars.

This capital investment portfolio aims to increase pellet production capacity up to 20 million tons per annum.

In 2019, the Ferrexpo Group’s production of iron ore pellets is expected to be in line with 2018 at approximately 10.6 million tons.

The last year’s amount of capital investment raised by around one third, or 31%, up to $135 million.

“Ferrexpo’s investment strategy remains to identify opportunities which are value accretive to the Group and that can reduce operating risk,” the report reads.

Ferrexpo (FXPO) is a Swiss-based mining company with iron ore assets in Ukraine. It produces and exports high-quality iron ore pellets for steel production. The Ferrexpo Group is the largest producer and exporter of iron ore pellets among the countries of the former Soviet Union.

Its production assets include Poltava Mining, Yeristovo Mining and Belanivske deposit.

Ferrexpo plc holds 100% of shares in Ferrexpo AG, which, in its turn, owns 99.11% of shares in Poltava Mining and 100% of shares in Yeristovo Mining.

The main consumers of its products are steel-producing companies of Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany and other European countries, as well as Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and China.

In 2018, Ferrexpo exported 10.3 million tons of iron ore pellets.

The Group twice postponed the publishing of the 2018 report.