Miner Mount Gibson Iron has nearly tripled its interim earnings as it took advantage of the recovering Chinese iron ore market in the first half of the 2010 financial year.
In its interim report released today, Mount Gibson reported a net profit after tax of $39.4 million, up 194 per cent from $13.3 million recorded in the previous corresponding period.
The profit was on the back of sales revenue of $242.3 million from 3.38 million tonnes of iron sold.
Managing director Luke Tonkin said the first half of the 2009 financial year was one of the most difficult for Mount Gibson.
"This included the failure of some customers to honour their long term iron ore agreements, the severe downturn in commodity demand and the resulting global financial crisis," he said.
"The Board, management and employees moved quickly to mitigate the impact of these adverse conditions and have delivered a strong operational and financial performance on the back of the recovery of the Chinese iron ore market.
"This has provided us with the confidence to recommence construction and development of the Extension Hill Direct Ship Ore Project in the Mid West."
At the end of the reporting period, the miner had $222.17 million in cash and cash equivalents.