Ferrexpo plc

Ferrexpo said first-half 2021 revenue increased 74% year over year, EBITDA rose 147% year over year, and EBITDA margin reached 64%. C1 cash cost increased to $47 per ton. CapEx was $142 million in the period, up 48%, including $93 million on expansion projects. The company repaid its main debt facility on 30 June and remained in a net cash position. For shareholder returns, it distributed $0.53 per share during the period and announced an interim dividend of 39.6 U.S. cents per share. For full-year 2021, management said CapEx should be around $300 million, while second-half costs are expected to keep tracking commodity prices and iron ore prices are expected to soften from first-half levels but remain above historic norms.

Lucio Genovese emphasized disciplined capital allocation, saying the company does not yet have an explicit dividend policy and is managing returns on a piecemeal basis alongside high-return growth projects. He also said the related-party investigation issues are effectively behind them and that Ferrexpo is maintaining dialogue with authorities to separate company matters from issues involving the controlling shareholder. His tone was confident but cautious, especially on Ukraine-related risk, financing flexibility, and governance.

Nikoley Kladiev highlighted that the business benefited from higher iron ore prices and pellet premiums, driving the 74% revenue increase and 64% EBITDA margin. He said C1 cost rose to $47 per ton as commodity input inflation returned, but noted management is using financial, commercial, and production measures to keep costs under control. On capital spending, he cited $142 million in first-half CapEx, including $20 million for pelletiser upgrades, $21 million for press filtration upgrades, $3 million for a solar pilot, and $2 million for mining fleet automation, and said the company repaid its main debt facility on 30 June while remaining in net cash.

Analysts pressed management on capital returns, and the company said there is no explicit dividend policy yet, but it is evaluating what form a formal policy could take. Questions also focused on DR pellets, where management said it is already producing them, the process requires no major capital, and current pricing follows international benchmarks with about a $10 per ton premium to normal ferrous pellets. Other concerns included Ukraine-related risk, the Galeschynske license cancellation, and governance issues around the controlling shareholder; management said the license challenge is ongoing, the company is operating normally, and matters related to the shareholder should not affect minority investors.