Iluka revenue, production slides
Iluka Resources says quarterly mineral sands production fell 9.6pc on year and revenue was hit by lower zircon sales.
Iluka Resources says quarterly mineral sands production fell 9.6 per cent on year and revenue was hit by lower zircon sales.
The Perth-based company (ILU) reported combined third-quarter production of 289,100 tonnes of zircon, rutile, synthetic rutile and ilmenite, down from 319,900 tons in the same period the year prior.
Sales revenue in the quarter fell by 30 per cent on year to $134.2 million from $185.9 million a year earlier.
Zircon sales in the third quarter were affected by liquidity issues downstream in the China ceramics sector and ceramic plant closures associated with the G20 meeting in China, Iluka said.
“Iluka’s implementation of a small price rise, albeit less than what was targeted, also impacted sales early in the quarter resulting in a minor loss of market share,” the company said.
Iluka is the world’s largest producer of zircon, used by the ceramics industry to make household products such as bathroom tiles and kitchenware, and a major supplier of rutile and synthetic rutile, used to create the pigments that give products like paint a bright white colour.
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