Date: 31 May 2020 , 04:13
News ID: 9642

Iron ore dominates Australian resource 2018-19 profits

Australian iron ore producers accounted for the largest share of operating profits in the entire resources sector, including upstream oil and gas and coal mining, during the 2018-19 fiscal year to 30 June. The resources sector, at 8pc of the economy, accounted for more than a fifth of all industry profits.
Iron ore dominates Australian resource 2018-19 profits

Iron ore miners accounted for 39.4pc of pre-tax operating profit of A$99.45bn ($66bn) in the 2018-19 fiscal year, which was 70pc more than the A$58.59bn profit in 2017-18, and exceeded the previous profit record of A$85.16bn in 2010-11, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Iron ore miners earned A$39.2bn of pre-tax operating profit in 2018-19, up from A$28.02bn in 2017-18. Coal miners were the second largest profit generators within the resources sector in 2018-19, by commanding almost 31pc of pre-tax operating profit for the resources sector in 2018-19 or a total of A$30.65bn and up from A$24.34bn in 2017-18, the ABS data showed.

Australia is the world's largest exporter of iron ore with shipments dominated by Rio Tinto, BHP, Fortescue Metals and Roy Hill.

The upstream oil and gas sector accounted for about 20pc of resource profits in 2018-19 or A$20.33bn, which was up from A$2.35bn from 2017-18.

The resources sector accounted for 22pc of total industry pre-tax operating profits of A$448.99bn in 2018-19 and up from the 13.8pc share of the total profits of A$423.72bn in 2017-18. It was the highest share of total profits for the sector since the 23.6pc share achieved in 2011-12.

Iron ore producers, in the 2019-20 fiscal year, are expected to fare better than the coal sector and the upstream oil and gas sectors, as Covid-19 has not affected iron ore prices and export volumes as much as coal and upstream sectors.

source: Argus Media