10th Mar 2015 06:24
MELBOURNE (Alliance News) - Miner BHP Billiton Ltd said it will reaffirm its ongoing commitment to safely maximising returns on installed capacity at its Western Australia Iron Ore business or WAIO. WAIO achieved record production of 124 million tonnes in the first half and is on track to deliver 245 million tonnes in the 2015 financial year.
Speaking in Perth at the annual Global Iron Ore and Steel Forecast Conference, BHP Billiton President Iron Ore, Jimmy Wilson, will highlight the exceptional returns from the Company's productivity agenda.
"For the first half of this financial year the team has delivered a solid underlying EBIT margin of 49% and a return on assets of 34%," Wilson said.
Wilson will also reiterate WAIO is on track to achieve unit cash costs of less than USD20 per tonne through a relentless pursuit of equipment availability and utilisation, efficient procurement and supply management and capital and workforce productivity.
The company expects China's crude steel production to peak at 1 to 1.1 billion tonnes in the mid-2020s and plateau through to 2030.
The company said its targeted about USD1 billion reduction in external expenditure by fiscal 2017 is already delivering.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
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