Ferrexpo posts ‘best performance’ since start of Ukraine war

London-listed Ferrexpo, the iron ore mining group that operates out of Ukraine, has posted its best production figures since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

Production at the firm, which produces iron ore pellets and is listed on the London Main Market, rose by 83 per cent in the first six months of 2024 compared with the previous six months to December 2023.

Production also showed a dramatic improvement compared to the same period the previous year, up 75 per cent.

The war in the country has taken a substantial chunk out of the company’s business.

Production at the firm dropped from around 3.1m tonnes per quarter in 2021 to 0.4m tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2022, as it was rocked by the loss of electricity and other operational disruptions from the invasion.

Since then, it has gradually recovered its operational capabilities and produced 3.7m tonnes in the first half of this year.

Improved access to the Black Sea maritime corridor also improved the firm’s shipping numbers, it said. It estimated over 800 ships passed through the passage since it was reopened in late 2023.

The firm has also been battling several thorny lawsuits. In May it announced it had partially posted bail for Viktor Lotous, a senior manager of its mining operation in its Poltava mine, who is accused of underpaying a supplier.

Meanwhile in January, its billionaire majority owner, Konstantyn Zhevago, won a bid to throw out a London lawsuit over allegations he embezzled money from Finance & Credit Bank, a now bankrupt lender in which he had a 95 per cent indirect shareholding.

In its full-year results published in April, the firm set aside $131m (£102m) to cover “any possible negative outcome” from two ongoing legal cases.

Commenting on Ferrexpo’s performance, Lucio Genovese, Interim Executive Chair, said: “It is pleasing to report strong production results for the first six months of 2024, an 83 per cent increase compared to the previous six months to December 2023 and a 75 per cent increase compared to the first six months of 2023. This is our best performance since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.”

Genovese added: “The war continues to challenge our business in many ways. I am saddened to report that four more of our colleagues have been killed while serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the period, bringing the total to 39 since the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

“As of today, 693 members of our workforce are serving in the Armed Forces and 132 have been decommissioned. We have programmes in place to support our colleagues when they return as veterans, including specific support that they may require.”