China’s iron-ore discounts hit Fortescue revenue, profit falls sharply

Chinese steelmakers’ demand for better-quality ore has had a significant impact on Australian miner Fortescue Metals’ half-year financial performance, with revenue contracting by 18% and net profit falling sharply, sending shares down about 4% on Wednesday. Australia’s third major iron-ore producer reported revenue of $3.68-billion in the six months ended December 2017, compared with $4.49-billion in the same period of 2018, as blast furnaces in China turn to higher iron content ores to reduce emissions.