SYDNEY, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- One of Australia's largest mining companies and the fourth-largest iron ore exporter in the world Fortescue Metals posted a solid profit result on Monday, more than doubling their result from the previous year.
The total net profit for the miner came in at 2.64 billion Australian (2.09 U.S. billion) dollars, beating out the previous 1.24 billion Australian dollars (985 U.S. million dollars) mark from last year - while revenue was up 19 percent to 10.65 billion Australian dollars.
The safety measures undertaken by the mining giant have also improved, according to chief executive officer Nev Power, who said that the 33 percent increase in safety performance was one of the key reasons for the drastic turnaround over the past year.
"Costs improved by 17 percent and we achieved a record low C1 operating cost of 12.16 U.S. dollars per wet metric ton for the June quarter," Power said.
"Fortescue has continued to generate excellent cashflows allowing further repayment of debt, strengthening of our balance sheet and increasing returns to our shareholders."
The miner has benefited from increased iron ore demand out of China, with the ore a required ingredient in the production of steel - a market currently booming in China.
Fortescue will pay a final dividend of 25 Australian cents per share to investors, which when combined with the previous dividend, signals a 52 percent payout of net profit after tax.
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