Fortescue Metals Group Stock

Welcome, everyone. It's great to be back with you. I'm in London this evening, joined by Gus Pichot, Growth and Energy CEO; and Apple Paget, our CFO. Last month, we reported our quarterly production results, including record first half shipments of 100.2 million tonnes. We did this while keeping our people safe and costs low.

Hematite C1 unit costs were $18.64 per tonne for the half, cementing our industry-leading cost position. We delivered $4.5 billion in underlying EBITDA and $1.9 billion in net profit after tax. Reflecting these strong results, the Board has declared a fully franked interim dividend of AUD 0.62 per share. That's a 65% payout of NPAT and returns AUD 1.9 billion to our shareholders. And we're also investing in decarbonizing our operations, which will drive our costs down even further.

We made a heap of progress this half. Construction is underway on the 133-megawatt Nullagine Wind project, 2 large battery energy storage systems have been delivered at North Star Junction and Eliwana, and our Cloudbreak solar farm is 2/3 complete. We are now installing over 3,600 solar panels each and every day with another gigawatt kicking off imminently. We started switching out our diesel equipment with 12 electric excavators and 1 electric drill now up and running.

Our first XCMG electric wheel loader and wheel dozer have just finished being built, and we'll start seeing them and our electric trucks rolling off the production line this year. We also recently started commissioning at two new battery electric locomotives. And we're not doing this alone. We're working with global partners like BYD, XCMG, Liebherr, Envision and LONGi to deliver decarb at scale.

By removing diesel from our operations, we're taking structural costs out of the business. The less diesel we consume, the less exposure we have to price volatility, and that means stronger and more predictable margins. On green metal, construction at Christmas Creek is going well. We're on track for first production this year, which will make it the first project at this scale to produce green metal using Pilbara fines. The steel industry is changing. Customers want low-emission steel and China is looking for partners to make that happen.

If the Pilbara wants to stay in the game, we need to adapt, and that means working with China to decarbonize its steel industry. There's an exciting opportunity here for Australia and China, and I'll be back there next month to continue these discussions with the mills and renewable energy companies. On Iron Bridge, it continues to ramp up steadily. Since operations began, we've shipped 14 million tonnes of high-grade magnetite concentrate at an average grade of 67% iron.

We're seeing record operating time and throughput and throughput and recovery are improving month-on-month as the team continues to optimize the secondary grinding circuit. During the half, we announced an updated Hematite life of mine plan. This creates significant value and gives us more certainty over the long term. The plan is underpinned by the inclusion of Blacksmith and involves a refinement of product mix. It is also designed to reduce the total material moved, which will help further reduce costs.

Exploration at Mindy South, Nydinghu and Wyloo North continues, expanding the resource base and keeping our options open. Before handing over to Gus, I'd like to give a big thank you to the entire Fortescue crew and all our partners for their outstanding efforts this half. We've had record production, strong safety performance and stayed laser-focused on lowering costs. With that, I'll hand over to Gus for an update on energy and growth.

Dino [Foreign Language] And congratulations to everyone on another incredible set of results. It's a huge team effort across our global Fortescue family. We're building on that rocket solid foundation, combining our expertise as a world-leading mining business with innovation and groundbreaking technology. We are exploring global opportunities in a disciplined and commercially focused way, looking at metals, critical minerals, energy and technology.

Our global partnerships are key to our future success and to achieving Real Zero. We've joined forces with BYD, LONGi and Envision Energy, Liebherr and XCMG, accelerating our deployment of solar, wind, batteries and energy storage. Those partnerships also strengthened and add a new layer to our long-standing relationship in China. For almost 2 decades, we have been a reliable supplier of iron ore, and we continue to see strong demand for our products with low-grade discounts continuing to narrow throughout the first half. This has helped us deliver stronger results for the business.

That track record means we are well placed to navigate market dynamics and continue to deliver reliable for our customer needs. Actively advancing growth opportunities also help securing long-term resilience and diversified returns. Exploration is a big part of that. It's how we started and continue to grow our Pilbara operations. Beyond that, we are strengthening our global footprint through a diversified portfolio of metals and critical mineral projects.

We expect to finalize shortly the acquisition of Alta Copper, strengthening our copper portfolio in Latin America. Once this transaction is completed, our immediate focus will be on technical reviews, community engagement and advancing the studies required to inform future development decisions. This will build on our existing critical mineral exploration activities in Argentina, Australia, Canada and Kazakhstan. Exploration and study activities also continue to advance at the Belinga Iron ore project in Gabon.

Planning is also advancing for the delivery of an integrated mine, rail and port solution. We continue to look at future opportunities to diversify and develop green energy globally, maintaining a pipeline of electron molecules and technology projects. We're doing this with a disciplined and commercial focused mindset. When markets are ready and when the economics stack up, we will provide updates on the progress of projects. In the meantime, we're not just waiting for that to happen.

Technology is key to unlocking our global growth opportunities. We're investing in research and development to engineer the breakthrough technologies we need. Fortescue Zero is a driver of that innovation for our business. In the last 6 months, we progressed the power system for our T 264 trucks with the first two on site later this year.

Our battery intelligence software, Elysia, has acquired Zitara to boost capability beyond EVs to support and monitor battery energy storage system. We're also investing in developing the technology that will drive down the cost of green hydrogen, launch a green iron industry and deliver our green metals project. On that note, thank you again to our teams for an incredible first half. Let's go now to Apple to dive deeper into our financial results.

Thank you, Gus, and a big hello to everyone from London. It is my absolute pleasure to share some details of our financial performance, where highlights for me include margin expansion underpinned by cost discipline and an increase in cash generation and further optimization of our balance sheet. On the results, first half revenue of $8.4 billion was 10% higher than the same period last year, driven by record first half shipments and a 7% increase in our Hematite realized price to $91 per tonne.

Our focus on operational efficiency and cost discipline is reflected in our industry-leading cost position with the Hematite C1 unit cost of $18.64 per tonne, 3% lower than H1 last year. This is despite inflationary pressures. We have a clear pathway to delivering on our full year C1 unit cost guidance of $17.50 to $18.50 per tonne at the guidance exchange rate of AUD 0.65. Just a reminder, FX sensitivities are important given the recent strengthening of the Aussie dollar and a $0.01 movement in the exchange rate impact C1 costs by around $0.16.

Strong cost control, together with higher prices, resulting in underlying EBITDA increasing 23% to $4.5 billion as the EBITDA margin expanded 5 percentage points to 53%. This flowed through to a 23% increase in NPAT to USD 1.9 billion with a healthy return on capital employed of 20%. For those, who are on the webcast, you can see from this slide the reconciliation of the year-on-year change in NPAT. Below EBITDA, the key moving parts include higher depreciation and amortization and an increase in exploration development and other expenses.

Depreciation rose 19% on H1 FY '25, mainly attributable to our growing asset base, consistent with our capital program. Moving to the next slide, which shows Fortescue's consistently strong generation of cash. Net cash flow from operating activities increased by 32% to $3.2 billion, and free cash flow more than doubled year-on-year to $1.5 billion. This is after investing $1.7 billion in CapEx, including $1 billion in sustaining and hub development and $426 million on decarbonization.

As you can see here, our balance sheet remains in great shape. Cash on hand at 31 December was $4.7 billion and net debt was $1 billion. And during the first half, we have further enhanced our debt capital structure, including the successful syndication of a low-cost RMB term loan, the repayment of our U.S. dollar term loan facility and the repurchase of some of our senior unsecured notes. This diversified our funding sources and lowered Fortescue's weighted average cost of debt by over 60 basis points while increasing the weighted average tenor.

You can see Fortescue's credit metrics on this slide with gross debt-to-EBITDA of 0.7x and gross gearing of 22%, resulting in plenty of headroom. A strong balance sheet is fundamental to Fortescue's capital allocation framework as is our commitment to return capital to shareholders. And as you already heard from Dino, the Board has declared a fully franked interim dividend of AUD 0.62 per share.

The dividend is 24% higher than the FY '25 interim dividend and represents a payout of 65% of first half NPAT, consistent with our dividend policy to pay out 50% to 80% of full year underlying NPAT. In closing, we've delivered strong financial results in the first half, underpinned by record shipments, strong pricing and disciplined cost and capital management. I'll hand back to the operator to facilitate the Q&A where we welcome your questions.

[Operator Instructions]

Your first question today comes from Rahul Anand with Morgan Stanley.

I just wanted to ask a couple of questions. The first one on perhaps the CMRG side of things. A couple of your peers in the industry have briefly discussed and talked about sort of how those discussions are progressing.

Just wanted to get your views on sort of how you're seeing those discussions? And basically, are you making any progress in terms of which direction you're headed in? Or are we still in the testing phase of sort of what's going to eventuate. Obviously, the newspapers are also talking about the government looking at it. So any sort of color there would be much appreciated. And I'll come back with a second.

Thanks, Rahul. Look, this is not a new conversation for us is how I'd start out the answer. It's been ongoing now for a couple of years. We have a strategy on how to diversify our overall relationship with China. It's been a long-standing relationship. Our products are moving well. We expect that to continue. On maybe the more specificity of the current conversations, I'll hand over to Ben Kuchel, who's with me here, our Director of Marketing.

Thanks, Dino, and thanks for the question. I mean we won't be going into, obviously, the specifics of the discussion, but they are ongoing. I think you can probably think of them as phased discussions. These sorts of commercial negotiations are, in many ways, are part of our industry and have been so for many years. So in that sense, no major changes.

Sure. Okay. And then, look, the second one is just around future growth, and we briefly talked about in the introductory comments around Gabon and also the copper side of things. I guess these are genuinely transformational opportunities for the company and basically on the iron ore side with the high grade and then obviously, copper is well liked by the market.

I guess my question is more around where do you see the critical path items for both these projects? At what point do you think you can start materializing a bit more in terms of studies, CapEx numbers, time lines for these two growth opportunities just for the market to perhaps give them a bit more value or to understand the impacts on the business better?

Yes. Thank you for the question. In both, you mentioned Gabon, clearly, we are advancing in the ground. We have been working in Gabon for the last couple of years. We can -- we have Nick online if you want to -- if Nick, do you want to give any update on the exploration front on what we are doing in Gabon?

Concerning the updates on Cañariaco it is too premature to discuss about them. Both in Gabon and probably, as I said, in the acquisition that we are finalizing for Alta Copper. So Nick, do you want to discuss about both because they're in an exploration phase. Do you want to give any update of people on the ground in both Gabon and in Peru, please?

Yes. Thanks, Gus. From a Belinga project perspective, drilling continues. We're excited over the coming months to test some of the other targets in the eastern part of the concession, which we've just secured approvals for. So we'll be doing some initial drilling there. The results to date have been in line with expectations, and we're looking to really focus, I guess, in on the areas that have the most high grade and lump potential as priority for our exploration projects in Belinga.

From a Peru perspective, specifically the Alta Cañariaco project, initial work will very much be focused on securing community and social access so we can get on ground to reassess the work that has been done previously by Alta and then start progressing our own exploration study work as we push that project through.

We are excited about the project. There's a significant resource there that has the potential to grow. So we're very keen to progress that as fast as we can to ensure we get on ground as quickly as we possibly can to push the study work.

Your next question comes from Rob Stein with Macquarie.

Look, a quick one just on, I guess, costs going forward and where you see the industry structure settling out. Obviously, iron ore with supply growth and potentially demand flatlining, we'll see limitations to price upside. But on the cost side, you're obviously taking a lot of action to reduce your cost base, decarbonization, the investments in AI. I'm just sort of curious around where you see yourselves leading the drive to take cost lower.

Thanks, Rob, for acknowledging the industry-leading cost position that we announced today. And it's part of our DNA really. So we pull every single lever that we can. The real exciting ones for us, though, is decarbonization. You're talking about the offset of all of that diesel and you can do the numbers yourself. We've already flagged a potential $2 to $4 a tonne cost impact before 2030.

So that's really exciting for us. You've rightly mentioned AI. We have already have a number of agents operating within our scheduling and rail network, which is yielding more volume upside at this stage. However, we are -- have banked some cost savings already this coming forecast in that space. So look, for us, just to recap, being the forefront of the curve has been existential for Fortescue and that will remain.

And Rob, just to further add to Dino's excellent comments. As you mentioned, it is about controlling what we can control. And one of that is cost. But you have to remember, we also have a very, very healthy balance sheet that is well set up and positioned to support future growth and CapEx as required as evidenced by our credit metrics.

Maybe just to take that a bit further. So what are you seeing in your investments to date and what you're developing from an IP point of view that allows you to take more bets on differentiated resources, maybe I'll put it all resources that may not necessarily be hotly contested. How are you thinking about using that to extract value? For example, what do you see in Ultra Copper that means that you can develop the resource cheaper, faster with low labor intensity that can ultimately drive value?

Yes. Look, I mean, I think our record for capital intensity speaks for itself. We have historically deployed capital, I'd say, ahead of our peers in the Pilbara. We expect to apply that same project mentality to any of our projects around the world. One specific technology that we have already disclosed is an investment we made in a process which removed arsenic from copper ore bodies, and we look to then apply that at our Alta Copper project to further improve the deployed capital in the processing infrastructure.

Your next question comes from Paul Young with Goldman Sachs.

First question is more just a housekeeping one actually on decarb CapEx. Dino, I think it was a bit over $400 million in the half and guidance implies it has to step up to $500 million to $700 million in the second half. More broadly, though, actually, the question is on looking on the go for, when is the peak year for decarb spend?

Next couple of years, Paul. This is really the first significant year of expenditure. We see our equipment turning up this year. It's where the majority is expense, then it will take a couple of years for that to conclude.

And Paul, just to add to that, you're absolutely right. We're not changing our guidance. We spent $426 million in the first half. We will still -- we will continue to spend up to the $900 million to $1.2 billion guidance. Just FYI, we spent about $800 million up to 30 June last year. Let's say we spend another $1 billion. We've given the $6.2 billion in real terms. We've probably got a run rate of about $1 billion left to the end of the decade. However, it is going to be lumpy. And as Dino said, probably the next couple of years would continue to grow.

Okay. And then broadly, just looking at the go forward, I mean, the strategy and the outlook for CapEx and projects for FMG has changed considerably over the last sort of 2, 3 years. I mean you're not spending anything on hydrogen projects now that's reduced and that pipeline is reduced. The balance sheet is strong, but the forward-looking CapEx will probably stay around the $4 billion to $4.5 billion mark at the decarb program.

Then you've got the replacement mines, which kick in, and I see you've added another one to the mix Wyloo North, which is Eliwana on the small side. But still the replacement mine CapEx, Dino will kick in quite aggressively at the end of the decade and then over a 5-year period. And at the same time now, we're taking on potentially two, yes, exciting interesting projects, Gabon and Cañariaco in Peru.

And just basic benchmarking, I mean these are minimum $5 billion projects, I would have thought and possibly FID by the end of the decade. So yes, the balance sheet is probably stronger now than what you thought. So I'm just trying to match up how do you think about -- do you have enough capacity towards the end of the decade? And is FID on these projects by end of the decade sort of realistic within your budgeting?

Yes. Thanks, Paul. Look, I think largely, you're on point based on what we've said. I mean we've been talking about Nydinghu and Mindy for the last 5 years. And every time it's still another 5 to 10 years out. So that's our objective. Thank you for picking up Wyloo North that we bought in. So that's another one of the smaller outlooks.

I think I remind everyone on the call last time Blacksmith as a stand-alone will open up a corridor for [ Serenity ] as well. So we're looking forward to that coming in. So our objective is to decarb Mindy and Nydinghu as much as we can. They're currently still in the time line as you have suggested. I'll just let Apple speak to the balance sheet capacity for any projects. And I think, again, we're really well positioned.

Yes, Paul, we have, as I've mentioned in the past, purposely entered into this investment cycle with very, very strong cash position to draw from. We've got plenty of headroom. I do question some of your comments around $5 billion here and there on FIDs. We're not there yet.

I think the best prediction of the future is probably the past, including this year. It is going to be lumpy in nature, but we have done everything that we possibly can to keep it as even as possible and as low as possible whilst not impacting production, safety and of course, OpEx.

Your next question comes from Kaan Peker with RBC.

First question is on Hematite shipments. Have there been any annual contracts reset on a blended benchmark basis already? And if so, can you quantify the portion of that? And I'll come back with a second.

We'll go straight to you, Ben.

Thanks, Kaan, for the question. Look, I mean, again, we don't comment on contractual specifics, which, of course, are confidential in nature. What I am happy to say is that when it comes to the termination of pricing for our products, whether it's under long-term contract or spot contracts or any other form of pricing intended to ensure that we achieve competitive market-based pricing.

And the index component of that is one component. But importantly, for our products, there's a discount that is applied on a product-specific basis. And the net result, we'll continue to deliver market-based pricing for our products.

Sure. I mean just maybe pressing on that. I mean it is -- you have previously mentioned that you are going to mix benchmarks. There's no indication of when that would start? Or has that already started?

When it comes to the pricing references that we are using, look, I mean, we've historically used Platts 62 when that was existed Obviously, the shift to 61 indexes applied from January. There was always going to be some shift in underlying reference indices from that point in time.

Your next question comes from Lachlan Shaw with UBS.

Two from me. So firstly, just in terms of the decarb, obviously, pleasing progress. You're stepping up the pace of rollout of solar cells, batteries and Nabrawind turbines in the Pilbara. I wanted to ask how is the sort of performance and cost of install they're progressing versus expectations? And I'll come back with my second.

Look, really, really well. Every solar installation is coming in cheaper than the last. And the batteries, as we talked about before, we've got an amazing partnership with BYD, and we're really just starting to roll out the batteries. So I guess the next important milestone for us on our solar installation is looking at an automated process.

So in Australia, more than half the costs are in labor for installation. So we're really excited about a couple of technologies we've got in our back pocket that we're rolling out now for the rest of the solar farm that we're building.

Great. And then just my second one is, I suppose, a market question. So sitting here today, we've got elevated port stocks in China. We've just come out of Lunar New Year. Interested in what your team on the ground is reporting back to you about the sentiment and the mood in the market there? And to what extent the current fundamentals you think reflect sort of the usual seasonality around port stocks or maybe there's more of an underlying issue there. So any comments or color that you can help us with in terms of the market would be appreciated.

Yes. Thanks for the question. It's Ben Kuchel here. Sales and Marketing Director, I'll take that one. Look, I think we've only just come out of Lunar New Year. So it's probably quite early to get a lot of detailed information from the ground post New Year. But I think the expectation leading into the new year was that there would be a continuation of existing production, at least for a period of time after the holidays.

You can probably anticipate that we're going to head into sort of March, April, May, and that's typically a period of higher crude steel production. And that's what I would anticipate this year as well. The outlook for this year more generally, I think, is similar to last year. And in that sense, it should be a stronger year for crude steel production similar to last year.

Your next question comes from Lyndon Fagan with JPMorgan.

Dino, I just wanted to focus in on the Energy division. There was some talk of it being EBITDA breakeven. We're still losing a couple of hundred million in a half. I can see that revenue ticked down ever so slightly, and there's been a bit of R&D spend pullback. But have you got any sort of new guidance on when we can expect that division to -- I guess, not be a drag on the numbers?

Lyndon, but I'll hand over to Gus. He laid that.

No, yes. No, it's a straight answer. Again -- R&D, again, it's a dynamic process. Again, we take care and we try, as I mentioned before, to bring technology constantly into every single project that we take on. Clearly, we had, again, as everything on R&D, it has its risks. But again, we're on the forefront of that technology, trying to make it happen. So we will address this when it comes if there's some breakthroughs into our projects.

And to add to that, Lyndon, we are heading in the right direction. Our H1 net OpEx is $201 million. That's a -- 45% reduction from USD 365 million in H1 last year. And as Gus would attest to, our R&D has reduced a lot, but that reflects our strategic pivot and refocus of Fortescue during that period.

And we have moved away from in-house manufacturing and streamlined the portfolio to focus on priority technologies. And this will result in a reduction in R&D run rate, but we will see, hopefully, over the next handful of years, a turnaround of that into a positive [Technical Difficulty]

And I guess my next one is just more thinking about Fortescue as an investment proposition. I guess you're going into a period of being X growth from an earnings point of view. I guess what would you say to prospective investors to make them want to buy the stock? I mean, we've got Gabon coming, Copper coming, but the next decade in reality, we've got high CapEx for the foreseeable future. I guess what would you put out there as a reason for shareholders to -- or prospective shareholders to buy the stock?

I think relative to our peers, trading at a pretty good price. Right? We will continue to strip costs out of the business. We're deploying technology at a rate of knot unseen in any other organization in mining. We believe that's a commercial proposition. And we're going hard at diversifying our copper business.

So yes, you call out Alta, which has got some in that time we talked about, we've got a couple of other exploration copper plays in our own backyard, which we're really excited about. Look and fundamentally, look at the divvy. I mean it's a significant cash-generating business in whatever way you look at it, in whatever cycle we're the cheapest iron ore producer in the market. I mean I think it's a no-brainer.

Your next question comes from Glyn Lawcock with Barrenjoey.

Just a couple of ones. Firstly, Dino, just you said you've rolled out some, I think, electric excavators, a couple of trains, locomotives. Anything you're seeing at the moment? Are there any teething issues? How is the battery life going maybe a little bit early, but just any observations you might be able to share?

And then the second one is for Apple very quickly. Just [ D&A ] stepped up again in the first half, about $150 million half-on-half, and that was -- that previous one was up $100 million on the half before that. So just anything you could share with what the second half looks like? Conscious you are obviously stepping up your spend. So just anything you could add?

I'll take the first one and I'll hand over to Apple, Glyn. Look, these electric excavators, for instance, are performing well above our expectations that we're basically getting to record equivalent rates within the first month, a couple of months of using them. As with any new piece of equipment, you have a few teething issues in commissioning, but we're well through that. I think the upside is coming back to the energy grid that we're building.

It's phenomenal what you can do with electrification now. The grid is working exactly as expected. Our battery storage facilities, for instance, have already saved a number of blackout situations on our network as the system is much faster to respond than the typical hydrocarbon or diesel generator, for instance. So we see it to be a much more reliable, much less maintenance intervention as the fleet goes on. So I'd just remind everyone, we're at the start of the technology at the moment, and we're already cheaper than the diesel counterpart.

And Glyn, to your second question, absolutely right, $1.45 billion in the half, up 19% compared to prior period. It's attributable to a few things. And as you mentioned, when you have a growing asset base, you do have an increase in depreciation and a step-up in depreciation. And that's attributable, I think, to the investments in sustaining and hub development. And also don't forget the transition of our decarbonization assets, which have now become operational like [indiscernible] and Iron Bridge. And to your question, what does it look like for the second half, we expect the same run rate as this half.

Your next question comes from Mitch Ryan with Jefferies.

Just a follow-up to Lyndon's question just around the R&D spend. So it was running at sort of $270 million, that was a half last year and then $175 million in this half. How do we think about that going forward? Will that continue to fall as you're decreasing some of that spend?

Again, as I mentioned, I think I addressed earlier, but I will enforce it is, we relook at the R&D budget last year, mainly because we had a lot of programs there that we were, again, testing to see which was the most suitable for the decarb and other project objectives.

We are redoing the budget again for next year as we speak, addressing again all what Dino mentioned about what is being taking advantage into our decarb products. So again, we will be disciplined and we look at how commercial this R&D will be, mainly having the main objective to decarb our own projects as we are doing. And then that will have the commercial analysis into the budget that is coming in the next couple of months.

Your next question comes from John C. Tumazos with John Tumazos Very Independent Research.

We have so much wonderful work that's been done on the green front and a lot of money that's been spent. And I know it takes time for the projects to come together and show us revenue. Do you think Fortescue would take a partner, sell a 20% stake so that there'd be a marker in the market quantifying the value where a partner shows respect and pays to get in and bear some of the cost?

Again, yes, -- well, we analyze, again, we are on the stage that we are trying to bring, as I said, bring forward the projects as long as we can. Obviously, we will derisk if we have to into partnerships and derisking capital if needed. At the moment, we are not in that stage, as I said, and I think on the latest calls and you heard me since I took this position that the market is not there for most of the projects, and that comes back to the growth new mindset of being commercially disciplined.

And that decision that at the moment, and I appreciate your observation, but at the moment, we are not in that stage to look at partnerships. So -- but yes, it's always an option, and we always look at every potential partnership to just bring projects to late, but it's not looking at the moment that we are going through that.

Your next question comes from Brad Thompson with the Australian.

Congratulations on the record shipments from Port Hedland in the first half. Just wondering about that, your guidance is up to 205 million tonnes. You've got an allocation of 210 million tonnes. Would you -- have you got any interest in another berth there in Port Hedland? Or are you happy at 210 million tonnes for the foreseeable future?

Thanks, Brad. Look, we are always evaluating optionality -- right now, we see our license limit at 210 million tonnes in our current capacity is a pretty good sweet spot for our portfolio in the near term.

And if I could just ask Gus a question about Fortescue Zero. With the reset last year, Gus, how many employees did you -- what sort of size workforce did you settle at?

Well, yes, we went through that process. And again, it's still going. So that detail I can -- I don't have. So -- but as we discussed previously, we are going through, again, the process. And as I said before, R&D for us and technology is very important.

So we are -- what I can tell you, and I've been today with Travis going through the different projects and programs that we have in Zero and still, it looks really promising. I would probably update it a little further down, as I said, in the next couple of weeks. But again, we have a lot of people still doing amazing things.

Your next question comes from Melanie Burton with ThomsonReuters.

So we can see that you--we can see that you're increasing your copper footprint with Alta. And perhaps there could be some more near-dated copper growth. So are you -- there's obviously a lot of M&A in the sector. I mean, a big scale M&A. I wonder how you're thinking about that given your growth options in copper and iron ore are much longer dated. Is that something that you're actively thinking about?

Yes.

Again, we have a lot of options, but -- and mainly, as you know, critical minerals is clearly on our main strategic view. Alta Copper is there. Again, like Dino mentioned, there are other exciting projects that we cannot update at the moment because they are not significant, but they look quite promising.

So again, as I said before, some of the other projects on molecules and electrons are taking longer because, again, as we said, the market is not there, and we are not -- again, we are being disciplined commercially, and we wait for the right moment to happen. But again, focusing in diversification in critical minerals.

Your diversification in critical minerals at the minute appears to be Alta Copper, which is in the 2030s. Is there any color that you can give us around these copper exploration that you found in Australia or otherwise, when we think about critical minerals, we're thinking about an array of minerals beyond copper. Is that the way that you're thinking about it or just focusing on copper?

No. I mentioned critical minerals because we have a rare earth project in Brazil. And Nick, I don't know if you want to expand on that. Also, copper in Kazakhstan and in North America as well. So apart from Latin America, as we mentioned, with Peru, Argentina, Chile. Nick, do you want to expand into the portfolio, please?

Sure. Thanks, Gus. Yes, that's right. We've got a number of copper projects globally. I'll call out a couple specifically in Canada, in British Columbia, where we've got some very exciting tenements that sit between two world-class mines that we are going to fast track to drilling this year.

Similar in Kazakhstan, we've got a suite of projects that will be progressed to drilling. We look to drill about 15,000 meters this field season, testing a number of both porphyry targets as well as a couple of sedimentary copper targets within the Chu-Sarysu.

So our focus from an exploration perspective is still try and pick up tenements in world-class terrains. And that's what we're doing. As Gus touched on, we'll be aggressively testing these targets through the portfolio over the coming 12 to 24 months.

Your next question comes from Brandon How with Capital Brief.

Just a couple of questions. First of all, does Fortescue have any concerns about the potential flow-through impact to iron ore earnings from the Australian government's move to put tariffs on Chinese steel?

And secondly, Fortescue's green iron partner, Baowu Steel has warn that these tariffs if not given an exemption for its own green steel products could undermine Australia's transition assets. Is that a position that you agree with?

Sure. It's Ben Kuchel here. Thanks for the question. I mean I've noticed the commentary in this space. Look, I think we're not a party to the discussions going on around steel tariffs, as you might imagine.

But I think from our perspective, free trade is a key to our success and has been a key element to Australia's success over many, many years. So from our perspective, trade barriers are something that we would have to understand in detail.

And did you have any thoughts on Baowu, Steel's comments?

I think your question is probably better directed to Baowu Steel.

Your next question comes from Mark Wembridge with AFR.

Just a quick one from me today. Everyone else has covered everything quite well. Is there any update on Gladstone and your discussions with the Queensland government there?

Well, we are -- as you know, we have very good discussions, and we are progressing into finding a solution. Again, as we said, we are probably one of the biggest taxpayers in Australia, and we want to do the right thing. So we are working very collaborative with the government, and we'll continue to do so.

But you haven't reached a figure yet?

Not yet.

The next question comes from Kaan Peker with RBC.

Sorry, I got cut off before I could ask my second. Just on the 55% Fe strategy, have you guys shipped any trial parcels of the new product? Any comments about realization? And if there is a difference in the spread, what would trigger the reintroduction of West Pilbara Fines or something similar of that grade?

Sure. Thanks for the question, Kaan. It's Ben Kuchel here. I'll have a crack at answering it for you. At this stage, the lower grade product goes into production later this calendar year. We're going to be focusing closely on engaging customers over the well, we've already been engaging with customers, but we'll continue to engage closer with customers in the coming months ahead of the start of production to place that product for maximum value. At this stage, it's probably too early to form a view on what realization we will average over time in the future.

[Technical Difficulty] Fines.

Sorry, Kaan, it's Andy here. We didn't quite catch the last part of that question. But if you recall, the refinement in product mix and the change in mine plan has resulted in a very significant reduction in TMM over the life of mine. So that's over the next 20 years. The strip ratio is going to be smoother.

It's going to average about [ 1.6 ]. So we talked about some very significant value accretion as a result of the product mix refinement and life of mine sort of change. So we need to see a very significant and evidence of a sustained move in pricing relativities to look at walking back the strategy.

But clearly, that would remain an option for us. And I think that we said at the time, Kaan, that we would have the flexibility to reintroduce a higher-grade product once we've developed some of the larger hubs into the next decade.

Your next question comes from Lachlan Shaw with UBS.

Thanks for taking my follow up question. I just had one long better than no, about the molten oxide electrolysis cell that you're now sort of starting to talk to in terms of zero carbon iron. What's the critical pathway here?

There's a lot of new elements in terms of how that comes to market, potential reagents, waste management. How do we think about that? That's obviously -- is it mid-2030s we should be thinking about? What's the sort of thinking there on timing?

Well, thanks for the question, Lachlan. It's actually pretty exciting some of the development we've done on it. There is -- the critical path is now to get the balance of plant design done. It's similar to a bayer circuit that we're looking at. So it's not too complex. The most exciting thing, though, is the energy intensity.

So it's -- the work is to get the cost of the electron down, which we're working pretty hard on, and then we'll see that technology come through. We are looking at building a pilot -- a much larger pilot plant up in the Pilbara when we're ready.

There are no further questions at this time. I'll now hand back to Mr. Dino Otranto for closing remarks.

Look, just thank you, everyone, for joining us on the call today with some great questions. We went over time. So I appreciate everyone for coming, and we'll see you all again soon.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Mona Gill, and I'm Fortescue's Company Secretary. Before we begin, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we're meeting today, the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation, and I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging. It's my pleasure to welcome you to Fortescue's 2025 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.

And before we begin today, I would just like to take you through a few quick housekeeping notes for the Ritz-Carlton. Restrooms are in the foyer near the stairs leading down to the hotel lobby. This is a smoke-free venue, including e-cigarettes. And in the event of an emergency, please follow the directions of hotel staff and lifts are not to be used. The nearest assembly area is the Bell Tower opposite the hotel. And as a courtesy to all others, please now switch off your mobile phones or turn them to silent mode.

In today's meeting, you will hear from your Executive Chairman, Dr. Andrew Forrest AO; CEO, Metals and Operations, Dino Otranto; and CEO, Growth and Energy, Gus Pichot. After presentations, we will move to the formal business of today's meeting. And at conclusion, please join us for some light refreshments. I would now like to invite Trevor Stack to conduct the -- Welcome to Country. Thanks, Trevor.

Thank you, Mona, and thanks once again, Andrew and Fortescue for -- allow me to come and do the -- I call them blessing of countries because the welcome side of things as a nation is the divisional side of things. But what they are is a blessing, a blessing of country when we come and stand and we share as we are doing here today. And it's important to understand these old protocols that have been in the land for thousands and thousands of years.

And it's quite respectful and quite fitting that in an organization like Fortescue is still adhering to the old protocols of land because what it's about is a balance, balance of business, balance of land, a balance of people, balance of spirit. And you guys are obviously on the right track of doing that.

When I stand in this country, I speak in my grandmothers and grandfathers tongue [Foreign Language] I welcome grandmothers and grandfathers spirits to come and sit with you here today in this country, which is Whadjuk country. May they hold you safely and they carry you home to your family on your return. In the words that I speak, there are songs, there are dances, there are stories, and they've been in the land for thousands and thousands of years, and they still roll out on occasions like this.

And like I said, what they are is blessings and they hold you safely. So if you can just put up with my singing for about a couple of minutes, and we'll go through it [Foreign Language] That song has been echoed throughout this country for thousands of years. And it's about when we come and sit and we share as we are doing today. It's about ancestors holding you safely and then your return to your family. So I wish your best for today and your engagement where you are as an organization and everything works out for you.

Thank you once again, Andrew, for the invitation. In passing, this time last year, I wish the well-being to a brother of mine that has been involved with you guys for a number of years, Mark Tazewell. He started the process last year in the cancer side of things, visiting me so he's not traveling too well, but he holds you guys in a high stead. So this one goes out to my brother, Mark Tazewell. Thank you.

Thank you, Trevor. That was beautiful. Please now join me in welcoming your directors and Chief Executive Officers. On my left, Fortescue's Founder and Executive Chairman, Dr. Andrew Forrest AO; Elizabeth Gaines; Dr. Larry Marshall; Yifei Li; Dr. Jean Baderschneider; and Dino Otranto, CEO, Metals and Operations.

On my right, Deputy Chairman, Mark Barnaba; Yasmin Broughton; Noel Quinn, Penny Bingham-Hall; Usha Rao-Monari; and Gus Pichot, CEO, Growth and Energy.

Joining us via Weblink is Non-Executive Director, Lord Sebastian Coe; and Non-Executive Director, Noel Pearson. We're also joined here today by Fortescue's Chief Financial Officer, Apple Paget, together with members of your executive team. The company's auditor, PwC, is also represented here today by Mr. Chris Dodd. We will now play a short video reflecting on the year that has been. And after that, you will hear from your Executive Chairman, Dr. Forrest, who will deliver his address.

[Presentation]

Ladies and gentlemen, fellow shareholders fabulous to have you with us. Mum, David, well done for coming in. I think it's fantastic to have you guys here. So yes, Fortescue has had a ripper of a year, delivering record operating performance, decarbonizing machines, decarbonizing major milestones ahead of us and strong capital returns to our shareholders. All this anchored by high morale across an entire workforce who have delivered an absolutely spectacular safety record, including an injury frequency rate of world's best, just 1.3 and a critical incident rate way below even our most ambitious targets of 0.02.

Safety is an indicator of performance, ladies and gentlemen, and these safety records tell you the litmus test that we are strongly performing. Indeed, we have never been stronger. Project design, execution and operations, your little company, Fortescue has now emerged into a world leader. And I'm confident that the values that drive our culture will continue to drive our performance no matter where we turn.

Gold and copper in Argentina, rare earths in Brazil, massive new iron ore discoveries in Gabon to rival Simandou and green energy projects under study around the world to profitably replace fossil fuel. Did I mention green energy? Yes, I did. So I happen to be standing in front of you very proud that we're leading a coalition of companies and supporters now from all over the world who are simply replacing the customer base to fossil fuel.

We know for sure that while monopolies think they have a monopoly, they're not going to change. Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, the Russians, they think they've got you by the throat. They're not going to change. But they're no longer a monopoly. You've got these 2 stories unfolding, ladies and gentlemen, one of progress, one of retraction. One side is racing to deploy renewables at record speed. The other is changing to a view of a romanticized past that never even existed as their own economics fall away.

So in 2025, renewables overtook coal as the biggest source of electricity, the trend, ladies and gentlemen, as your founder, I've never believed in data points and dot points in history. They are always misleading. Look at the trend of renewables. Look at the trend of coal. It's now crossed. The trend is what I've always back, ladies and gentlemen, to deliver you the results we have. And it's because the cost of green energy has continued to plummet, has continued to expand in volume that since 2010, say, just since 2010, seen the cost of solar and batteries fallen over 90%, while onshore wind costs down by 70%.

You've got a President of the United States declared that climate change is the greatest con job in history, straight in the face of massive investment by some of the smartest people I will ever meet. And oil and gas numbers are telling us that oil and gas players that say, "Hey, look, oil and gas demand is rising. Don't worry. We've got this monopoly. We're going to hang on to it." Yes, really. What's your independent authority say? International Energy Agency. It's telling us that by 2026, there will be an unprecedented 4 million barrel per day glut in terminal oil demand. The world is dividing in 2 ladies and gentlemen, at exactly the same time as we should be bringing it together.

So I just want to take a moment -- you've got an iron ore industry, ladies and gentlemen, which you own, and it's going hard green. We're developing an energy industry, which is green. What's your competition? Let's just look at the competition. Let's look at a historical perspective of your competition. On one side, I know we can produce batteries, solar, wind, AI-optimized grid systems, operating at an efficiency the world has never yet seen.

Let's look at oil and gas. Many of you know the industry well. You know the complexity and the lead time for oil and gas project developers is hell. If you take the privilege of a monopolistic industry, you might be able to put up with these huge costs and these huge delays. But as I've mentioned, you no longer have a monopoly. Competition is here, renewable firm 24/7 baseload green energy.

Let me give you an example. If you want to pick up an oil and gas design, say take -- Wheatstone just down the road, pick it up, shift it over to, say, Norway or the North Sea Britain or Texas, put it in, the complexity of that geology, the chemical content of that oil or gas means it's probably going to, at best case, not work. Likely case, could blow up. Worst case, cause serious multiple injuries. We don't have that problem in the renewable energy industry.

Our designs can be picked up and placed anywhere. You can pick up your Fortescue decarbonization, bring it across to Texas plant there, bring it across to Britain plant there, bring it across to Morocco plant there. It's not going to be perfect, but it's going to work. It's going to work. Now it needs to be optimized, of course. We're pouring your capital into making sure that happens. But a, it works; b, it will be profitable; c, we won't harm anyone; d, it's simple; e, it's highly economic.

I know which side I want to be on in a head-to-head global historical context. Ladies and gentlemen, I want you with us. I want to be on the side of simplicity, speed, economics and not having to prop up my industry by playing politics or paying politicians. In the not-too-distant future, oil and gas, ladies and gentlemen, is going to be seen like burning sticks and logs. It is actually already burning sticks and logs. They're just very old sticks and logs, complexes held chemistry and going up with the pages of history.

But you look at your Fortescue, the strength of Fortescue. It's no coincidence that your business has never been stronger. This financial year, we shipped some 200 million tonnes, an impossible thought, ladies and gentlemen, only a few years ago. But today, it's an absolute reality. Our economic contribution to this country of yours, we love, $26 billion this year, including $5.2 billion back to you, shareholders.

Fortescue was Australia's largest -- third largest taxpayer. Imagine that. We started from scratch and became our nation's third largest taxpayer. I have to admit to you all. I'm immensely proud of that. Yes, sure. We have accountants. We don't pay more tax than we should, but we're proud of the tax that we pay. But I'm here to say I'm equally disgusted at this massive industry we compete against in the fossil fuel sector and at the tax and royalties, they have managed to evade and compare one of our mining industries just iron ore compared to the entire fossil fuel industry, not pulling your weight mate.

Their money goes into lobbyists. Ours goes into moms and dads across our nation. As you can see by our unwavering focus to pay our share while at the same time, delivering the shareholders outstanding returns, moms and dads to shareholders, not lobbyists. And look at this remarkable track record and dividends since we breathed life into this deserted prospect known as the Chichesters. We've paid out more than $45 billion in dividends. Past 5 years alone, that's $10 per share. Our average yield has been well over 8%, far above the ASX 200 average.

Put simply, if you had invested in Fortescue 15 years ago, many of you did. Those who didn't hang on to your shares. Your dividends alone would have paid your investment back several times. And through it all, we remain the lowest cost, most efficient, safest iron ore producer in the world. Operational excellence for shareholders, sustained performance built on discipline. Fortescue is really Australian. Casual and cavalier on the surface like is the Australian culture, very efficient underneath. I love that about our nation.

Yes, we make mistakes to entertain a fourth estate. But I promise you this, trying and failing, failing and trying is the fast track to success. So let me talk about 2030 Real Zero for a second. This is why we are fully decarbonizing and lowering our costs across our mining operations as quickly as we can. By 2030, just over 4 years, ladies and gentlemen, not 2040, not 2050, not net, nothing, just stopping burning fossil fuels.

We'll have a fossil fuel-free run company. This USD 6.2 billion investment you took back in 2022 will pay dividends. I give you my assurance. And sure, we're the guys up front with the arrows in the back. Quick to be dragged down, quick to be told we failed here, we failed there. Honestly, it just put steel into the spine of the 20,000 people who work at Fortescue, getting constantly criticized. Failure is a fast track to success.

And decarbonization is not linear. It's not a straight line. It demands creativity, experimentation and relentless innovation. We've literally had to invent our way through, ladies and gentlemen. 4 years of hard invention since 2022, 4 years before that since 2018, really thinking this through, then announcing and now we're well through the job. And we'll stop burning almost 1 billion liters of diesel equivalent per year, saving you shareholders hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars a year.

And we're seeing these savings now. This year, we turned off Eliwana Diesel Power Station. Switched it off. Our Pilbara Energy Connect network operating, saving almost 50% of cost of power now for this site. Look at Iron Bridge, already at 25%. We're making our own power. We're not shipping it in from overseas. We're not making some oligarch richer and fatter. This is our power system. This is your power system. You're going to own a very big power company, ladies and gentlemen. It will be yours.

You won't have smoked $6.7 billion or $8 billion like companies our size do. You'd have actually invested in it. And at the end of it, carbon emissions out, big energy, green energy, power company owned by you. I actually don't really see why the math and the logic is so hard, but I know this for sure. No one is following us yet. No one's say, hey, we can do this, too. They're watching to see if Fortescue fails.

Fortescue, ladies and gentlemen, is not going to fail. We will go fully green. We will go more profitable. The advanced AI systems, which integrate with the sun and wind forecast for our mine plants, best in world, energy efficiency that I've ever seen anyway, best in world. We've designed our own autonomy. We've designed our own battery management systems, our own battery intelligence. We have cut time to delivery and boosted productivity. Invention, invention, invention and fourth estate, that was coupled with error mistake, error mistake, learning, learning, learning. I'm proud of that. Pick yourself up, have a crack, go again.

But let me tell you what doesn't work, carbon sequestration. Let's be clear, the best way to cut your cost and recover carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is not to put it in the atmosphere in the first place. The oil and gas sector, watch this happens all the time, will be demanding you taxpayers pay for their so-called carbon sequestration. If it's so good, pay for yourself. That's what Fortescue does.

Why are you hanging your hat on your fossil fuel industry and saying to the taxpayer and the government, look, it's got this really great idea to keep pumping out oil and gas and burning the environment, it's called CCS. It's so good, we want someone else to pay for it. No, fossil fuel. You want to hang your hat on carbon sequestration is a reason why you should stay in business when you know your energy is destroying the livelihood of people and you've got a choice, you could go renewable energy, yet you don't, then pay for it yourself, made, logical.

And if they don't, of course, ladies and gentlemen, believe mostly what someone does, but everything of what they do. And if fossil fuel companies want the taxpayer around the world to pay for carbon sequestration and not themselves, you know what's happening. They don't believe in it either. They're just waiting for the next idiot to come along to believe an old lie. So that's CCS. I just want to talk to you about offset regimes. Oil and gas companies and fossil fuel relies on it as did Fortescue years ago. We buy offsets. These fancy little things which are meant to actually offset carbon dioxide.

Major studies around the world, 6 out of 6 didn't work, didn't work. 5 proven not to work and 1 jury's out, but looking bad. Offsets are a game for bankers, for financiers and not for companies who should just stop burning fossil fuel. So we are capturing these people capturing emissions, not offsetting them, it's just not going to work. Our decarbonized mine sites will prove that entire countries and cities can operate without fossil fuel.

Ladies and gentlemen, we're at a crossover point in history. You know you've lived before at these major turning points. You kind of feel it. You're not sure. But when you look back on history, oh my God, I lived through that. That's what's happened now. When renewable energy goes 24/7 baseload energy, not intermittent, but round-the clock firmed energy by batteries, the world changes.

You've got energy for the first time, which is nearly free, cost of capital and maintenance, that's solar and wind. You firm it, you store it with batteries, which are just escalating in efficiency and falling in cost at around the same cost as you can make energy from LNG, then that combination is going to give you the lowest cost energy in history. Oh, by the way, it does no harm. So that's where we're going.

Right now, we'll be the first Green Island state, self-sufficient, resilient, unaffected by volatility. The how, let me give you the how. We're building out right now up to 3 gigawatts of generation, and we're going to firm it. Our engineers a bit cautious with nearly 5 gigawatts, that's 5,000 megawatts of storage managed by our own AI-optimized Fortescue Grid. And we're building this linking the Pilbara, our serious operational expertise, which everyone now globally respects with world-leading research and development strength from America, from Australia, from the U.K., from Asia, all over the world, anchoring it all in scale and cost-efficient manufacturing capability in China and the U.S.

We're bringing these production systems into Fortescue at such advantageous terms that the most efficient, largest production manufacturing systems ever built in history are being internalized into Fortescue because they share with us one passionate vision. Renewable energy can fully replace fossil fuel.

In Europe, Liebherr is producing our haul trucks and Spain's Nabrawind is building our next-generation wind tower systems. We've partnered with BYD, LONGi, one of the biggest, if not the biggest solar manufacturers, XCMG, one of the biggest equipment manufacturers; Envision Energy, one of the largest wind manufacturers, unmatched scale, unmatched manufacturing. And we're starting with green iron ore and moving straight to green iron.

These partnerships will lead to steel mills, which are also going green. Financing institutions amongst the best in the world watching this like hawks, ladies and gentlemen, traveling with us, working with us, lending us capital, investing long term in us because we're going to build a low-carbon iron industry here in Australia. We're proving it can be done. Our Pilbara iron ore to high-purity green iron, that's 99%, 98% of the step to take pollution out of steelmaking, ladies and gentlemen. We're looking at decarbonizing the steel industry.

Look at the Green Pioneer, the ship itself ranked as one of TIME’'s most valuable, useful inventions this year, TIME Magazine. Dual-fuelled ammonia, active role in encouraging international maritime support, a revolutionary consensus was reached. It got rolled by the Trump administration, their old friend, Russia and Saudi Arabia, fossil states. Saying, okay, you can do that, but what you're ignoring is where the world is going. Remember, ladies and gentlemen, not the point in time, but the trend.

The first Nature paper endorsed by scientists all over the world measures the pollution, which we all put out. It's making us resilient against this coming risk. It measures the contributions which individual companies make to the intensity and probability of heat waves across the world and the people they kill.

Companies like Woodside, Chevron, Santos individually made heat waves well over 10,000x more probable by extracting and selling hydrocarbons when they could have been doing renewable energy. If you think of that tobacco litigation moment when the tobacco companies were finally forced to say, yes, okay, we are causing lung cancer. We hid it from you for 50 years. We knew it all the time. We knew it every one of those years, but we hid it from you. We can't hide it anymore. So let's just switch to vaping and pretend we didn't do that.

So -- we're going to roll through that, ladies and gentlemen. One of the organizations which we see as phenomenal organizations, which I have also founded is the mighty Minderoo Foundation. Through that foundation, through my foundation, Minderoo, Fortescue's dividends flow straight into helping communities, addressing the challenges that governments often can't do or won't. Minderoo Foundation's impact is made possible by Fortescue's exceptional performance. So thank you, shareholders. Thank you, executives. Thank you, Board.

I'm proud to see those dividends funding humanitarian relief in conflict zones, restoring ocean health, advancing early childhood development, driving the global fight against slavery. So you can probably hear, ladies and gentlemen, I'm deeply proud of Fortescue. I'm deeply proud of my Board. I'm phenomenally proud of our workers, our leaders, our operators all over Fortescue, 20,000 strong of us are galloping herd. We turn up every day. We do whatever is required, and we don't stop there. That's not Fortescue.

We treat every single day as a chance to improve to push the boundaries, to trial crazy plan A's, which probably will fail because we have bulletproof plan B's. But when those plan A's work, you can change a shift, you can change your company, you can change the world. Shareholders, thank you for being on this journey with us. Thank you for supporting the spirit of adventurous determination. You are proof and we're all proof. The best days are ahead. Now Dino Otranto, hop up mate. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

Well, this is the toughest speech I need to give all year. How do you follow our Chairman, Andrew Forrest, an amazing recount of our journey, but I'm going to give it my best crack. So good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. This year has been one of delivery, doing what we'd say we'd do and finding better ways of doing it.

It's been a year defined by focus, by consistency and the relentless pursuit of excellence across every part of our operations. As our Chairman mentioned, we shipped a record 198.4 million tonnes of iron ore in FY '25 -- a result built on the discipline and absolute focus on performance, and we achieved this safely whilst being the lowest cost iron ore producer in the world.

At Iron Bridge, we've certainly turned the corner, and our ramp-up is in full flight. The plant is delivering high-grade magnetite on spec and on plan to our customers, which now gives us many product options in our portfolio. The market for our product remains solid. The Chinese government is committed to achieving its economic targets and steel demand is holding up well, driven by investment in infrastructure, the energy transition and strong steel exports. Prices have been resilient and demand from our customers has been consistent. That strength in the market supports the work we're doing right now across our operation. And our pipeline also keeps getting stronger.

Take the acquisition of Red Hawk Mining, for example. It's a great fit for Fortescue, adding another high-quality project amongst a long list of options in our mine plan. We've now integrated the project into our life of mine plan and the move has really paid off. The new plan delivers significant value through optimized material movements, ore body use, which ultimately means lower costs and enhanced capital efficiency and lowering our overall emissions.

And when we remove the heavy reliance on diesel by 2030, our cost position will improve even further. By bringing Blacksmith in, we've also been able to defer first production of our next major hub developments, Mindy South and Nyidinghu until well after 2030. This is a great example of Fortescue's discipline in action, seizing opportunities quickly, thinking long term and making sure every decision creates value. All the work over this past year will ensure we maintain our leading cost position well into the future.

That same mindset, discipline backed by innovation is driving how we operate every single day. Across the Pilbara, our operations are more connected than ever. We've unleashed a new era of intelligence where AI and automation power every single link of the chain from pit to our customers. Real-time insights now flow through our fixed plants, our mines and supply lines, turning hours of decision-making into seconds of clarity.

This results -- sorry, this result is a business that thinks faster, adapts sharper and continuously transforms the way we work. At the heart of this transformation is complex purpose-built software. Think of it as the brain that allows us to run the greenest, safest and most profitable operations. This technology will allow us to make the best use of nearly 3 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, connecting those green electrons directly into our operations in real time.

This will integrate with our industry-leading battery management system, Elysia, to predict energy use, define optimal haul routes and schedule maintenance windows during low energy periods. This all gives us a level of precision and control that just did not exist in our industry before. And that's what makes decarbonization profitable for us and the rest of the planet.

We've also built the region's largest green energy distribution network, connecting generation, storage and demand seamlessly across our sites. And as our Chairman mentioned, this year, we saw that translate into lower power costs as we commissioned new solar projects and connected our Eliwana site into our grid.

Turning to our financial resilience, which remains one of our greatest strengths. We have a cost base that is tightly managed and enables us to continue to generate strong margins and strong cash flow through any part of the cycle. Our approach to capital management is actually very simple: be disciplined, stay efficient and back the things that deliver returns. We maintain one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry with low gearing and solid liquidity.

That gives us the confidence to reinvest in the next wave of growth and continue to deliver value to everyone in this group. The recent RMB loan broadens our funding options and deepens our partnerships in our critical markets. It also gives us flexibility as we invest further into decarbonization across the Pilbara. And that's the benefit of running a disciplined business.

We can make long-term decisions from a position of strength. Looking ahead, our focus remains the same, deliver consistent returns through the cycle on a platform of operational excellence, smart growth and innovation that will keep us ahead. This, ladies and gentlemen, is Fortescue at its best, focused, disciplined and relentlessly improving. And on that note, I'd like to introduce my good friend, Growth and Energy CEO, Gus Pichot, to start.

Okay.

Ladies and gentlemen, we're just going to give this another minute just to make sure that there's nothing life-threatening here. If there is, we'll take appropriate responses. So thank you for your patience.

Ladies and gentlemen that I don't know, of course, know the lady either. Thank you, Madam, for looking after us so well. We're just going to take an adjournment, if you don't mind for 5 or 10 minutes. I just want to make sure she's okay. And then we'll get back to it. So please enjoy a short break. Thank you.

[Break]

Okay. You're back to work. I have a message from [ June. June ] says, get on with the Board meeting. At 80, she was getting a little bored, so she spiced up her life by buying Fortescue shares. She's never looked back. She asked me straight up if she could go up to the site and I said, "You know, there's a long set of steps there." She said, "Yes, yes, I know. I'll have to get through that." I said, "Let's just get you through the Annual General Meeting." Well, I will certainly chat with [ June ] in the next couple of days. She gave us a bit of a scare. She did seem to have a weak pulse, but she's now got a very strong pulse. And she wishes just passing this on personally from [ June ], this Annual General Meeting, a fantastic meeting.

With that, Gus Pichot, what a welcome.

I just said to her that she was -- when I missed my speech, she was very happy with it. So that's good. Again, hello, it's my first time here. So I'd just like to say hello to everyone. Most of you don't know me. I'm a proud Argentinian that fall in love with Australia and with Fortescue and also my daughter fall in love with an Australian. So I'm nearly Australian now. Andrew is always inspiring, beyond inspiring. It's a pleasure to be here. Dino, again, it's a pleasure to work with you, and I learn every day. And again, amazing results this year. Congratulations to you and the whole team. You've been amazing.

We have an incredible track record that give us a solid foundation for us to grow as a company. Beyond the Pilbara, we're looking at what's next. Our team is investigating global growth opportunities in a disciplined and commercial-focused way. Given this amazing company options for the demands of the future. In this search, we're looking at metals, critical minerals, energy and technology. We're exploring for new projects across Australia, Europe, North America, Latin America, Kazakhstan, Canada and of course, Gabon.

I would like to acknowledge here on the room, there are a lot of Gabonese. It's great to have you here, guys. Thank you for being here. Amazing outfits. We also have rare -- an amazing, rare earth exploration portfolio in Brazil. We see the recent -- the critical minerals agreement between Australia and the United States as a positive development for our exploration portfolio. So that's very important.

We have been working hard to assess and refocus our energy projects and research and development around the world. I know you guys know that. We're in a strong position now, not only to maintain but to grow our potential energy projects as long as we keep our discipline and frugal DNA.

Fortescue needs green electrons and green molecules right now in our operations. Dino mentioned it very well, Andrew as well. We're also sure that others will need them in the future, and we will be the first to prove that it can be done. Some may criticize how aggressive we have been pursuing our mission to change the world. It's true. But we know you can't grow without failure. You mentioned it, Andrew. And we have planned for that. Fail fast, you always say, and then we'll get the success needed.

In that, we must give it all. When you are creating path, no one else has walked before, it might feel lonely at times. But with you guys' support, we will change the world and make the best of our investment and set Fortescue up for a long and even more successful future. [Foreign Language] Have a great day.

Thank you, Gus. We will now move to the formal business of today's meeting. I can advise that a quorum exists and declare the business of the meeting open. The minutes from the last AGM have been approved by the Board, and a signed copy is available to be viewed by any shareholder, and the notice of meeting will be taken as read. To streamline, details of the resolutions and the proxy votes will be displayed on the screens, and I don't intend to read each of them out to you. Shareholders and their proxies, corporate representatives will also be given the opportunity to ask questions relevant to the management of the company and the resolutions prior to each resolution being considered.

If you have a question, please raise your white or blue admission card, which you received today when you registered, and please state your name when you address the meeting. Please note that if you have a red or green card, you're not entitled to vote or speak at the meeting today. In accordance with the constitution, the voting procedure is at the Chair's discretion, and I can advise that we will hold a poll in relation to Resolutions 1 through to 8. Mr. Chris Hernandez from the company's share registry, MUFG Corporate Markets, has been appointed to conduct the poll.

The persons that are entitled to vote on this poll are all shareholders, representatives and attorneys of shareholders and proxy holders holding the white voting cards. An example is now being shown on the screens. On this card, you will find a series of boxes for voting. Please indicate on your card how you wish to vote by ticking the for or against box.

If there are any aspects of the voting of which you are uncertain, please ask representatives of the MUFG team who will be circulating with the ballot boxes after all resolutions are read. The formal business will close following collection of poll papers with the results being announced to the ASX later today.

The first item of business on the agenda is in relation to receiving the financial reports. Details are now on the screens. Are there any questions in relation to the financial reports, including questions of the company's auditor, PwC, represented by Mr. Chris Dodd.

Chairman, good afternoon. Ros Ferguson of the Australian Shareholders' Association standing in for Len Roy today. We are holding proxies for 233 shareholders and will be voting in support of all resolutions on behalf of open proxies.

Firstly, we'd like to thank the directors and Fortescue team for their time at our pre-AGM meeting. It was most informative. We congratulate Fortescue on a strong year. Considering the volatility of iron ore pricing, most financial performance metrics at FY '25 year-end were good. Strong cost control and record shipment volumes are clear strengths. Two comments we wish to make regarding the Fortescue Metals.

Given that FY '25 achieved record iron ore shipments, FY '26 guidance could be seen as conservative. Does this suggest that gross tonnages and shipments may be plateauing? Can you give shareholders an indication of significant changes to the tonnage and shipping outputs proposed over the next 2 to 3 years?

Thank you, Ros. I think you're right on it. I think we are conservative. Thanks for pointing that out. I'd love to answer this, but let's roast the person who's being conservative. Dino?

Great question. And look, we never ever give up. So the opportunity ahead of us is to incrementally grow our production profile towards a 210-million-ton license limit that we have. So that's certainly the target we have internally over the next 2 to 3 years. Beyond that, you're talking about a considerable investment in a new berth at Port Hedland. So the focus, as Gus mentioned, is Gabon, for instance, and green iron as the next phases of growth of our metal units to the market. Thank you. Great question.

The importance of the magnetite Iron Bridge output is vital for improved Platts rating and iron ore gross margins. The latest guidance for achieving nameplate capacity of 22 mega tonnes per annum by FY '27, '28. Can you comment on the major items that are influencing the schedule?

Certainly, and I think we should get hold of the guys got his hands on these levers. Dino?

Thank you, Chairman. Iron Bridge is quite different from our other operations. It's a much more complex plant. It's got a smaller mine, but a much, much bigger OPF, ore processing facility, as we call it. So really, the next 12 to 18 months, our focus is getting all of those instruments in our orchestra to play really loudly to the crescendo of 22 million tonnes. Unfortunately, it's a little bit more complicated than the hematite operations where the complexity is in the mine.

Thank you. And last but not least, to the Fortescue Energy, we acknowledge Fortescue's disciplined approach and commitment to strong risk management and assessment of planned projects as demonstrated with the cancellation of the Arizona hydrogen project and the Gladstone project. The sizable impairments, however, have been painful for both Fortescue and its shareholders. Going forward, can you assure shareholders that future expenditure in the Energy division will be transparently reported and disclosed as appropriate?

Ros, absolutely great question. We absolutely can give you that assurance. Let's hear from the lady from the horse of mouth. Apple, come on up, CFO.

Wonderful question and thank you for that. Yes, we did listen to the shareholders, and we increased our disclosures in financial year 2025 for the Energy segment, and we'll continue to be transparent as required and in full compliance with the accounting standards AASB 8. So thank you.

Are there any other questions? If there are no further questions, I propose that we take the reports as read. The next item on the agenda is in relation to the adoption of the remuneration report. Details for this resolution are now on the screens. Before we open for questions, I would just like to make some comments on behalf of the Board in relation to the remuneration report.

Fortescue's remuneration framework is designed to be competitive in attracting and retaining the best talent whilst also delivering outcomes valued by our shareholders by setting challenging stretch targets and rewarding for performance. When assessing outcomes, the Board maintains a holistic view of performance. Consideration is given to what has been achieved and how it was delivered in alignment with our values and the experience and expectations of our shareholders. At its core, the remuneration strategy drives accountability across management for the achievement of our objectives and strategy through a considered balance of both financial and nonfinancial measures and supports Fortescue's continued progress towards accelerating decarbonization on a global scale rapidly and profitably.

Are there any questions on this resolution? If there are no questions, I will put the resolution to a vote. Please complete your vote now.

[Voting]

I now propose the resolution to reelect Elizabeth Gaines as a Director. Details for this resolution are on the screens. Ms. Gaines led Fortescue as CEO and Managing Director from 2018 to '22 after joining the executive team as CFO in 2017 and the Board as Non-Executive Director in 2013. She is a highly experienced leader with extensive experience in financial and commercial management, both internationally and in Australia. Ms. Gaines is currently also the Chair of the West Coast Eagles AFL Football Club, Deputy Chair of Greatland Resources, Non-Executive Director of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute and Senior Adviser to Oryx Global Partners Limited.

In 2019, Ms. Gaines was ranked second in Fortune Magazine's Business Person of the Year. And in 2020, she was awarded the Women in Resources Champion by the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA and the AFR Joint Australian Business Person of the Year. I would now like to ask Elizabeth to make a brief statement.

Thank you, Mona, for that introduction. It is wonderful to be here today and to see so many familiar faces in the room. My fellow shareholders, it is both a privilege and an honor to address you today as I seek reelection to the Fortescue Board. Having served this great company as Chief Executive Officer and now as a Director, I've really had the unique opportunity to witness Fortescue's remarkable evolution from a pioneering iron ore miner in the Pilbara to a global leader in decarbonization, green energy and future-facing iron production.

And at the heart of that transformation lies a set of values that define who we are. And those values include empowerment, family, integrity and courage. These values are not simply words. They are the foundation of our culture. They shape how we operate, how we care for our people and how we engage with our communities, customers and partners around the world.

As Dino mentioned, our operational achievements continue to set industry benchmarks, reaffirming our position as one of the world's most reliable, efficient and lowest cost producers. This performance reflects not only world-class assets, but the dedication and innovation of our workforce, those people who live our values every single day.

Our long-standing partnership with China remains central to our success. It is a relationship built on trust, mutual benefit and shared ambition. Fortescue's high-quality ore has supported China's industrial growth for nearly 2 decades. And together, we're working towards a new era of low-carbon steelmaking, one that aligns with both nations' commitments to a sustainable future. And that future depends on our determination to decarbonize. Fortescue has taken bold decisive steps to lead this transformation, not only within our own operations but across the broader resources sector. We are investing in technologies that will enable the development of a green iron industry, reducing emissions while creating new pathways for growth and value creation. And green iron is not just an aspiration. It is the logical next chapter, not only in Fortescue's journey, but in the West Australian iron ore industry.

By integrating renewable energy, advanced processing and Australian innovation, we can supply our customers with iron that carries both strength and sustainability, ensuring that Fortescue remains at the forefront of global change. Personally, I remain just as excited about the future of your great company. And together with our Executive Chairman and my fellow directors, we remain ambitious about the future and the growth opportunities that lie ahead. We're courageous at a time when others have all but abandoned their commitments to ESG.

We're curious about technology developments, and we're generous when it comes to supporting the communities in which we operate. If reelected, I will continue to champion our culture and our people. I'll also uphold strong governance and transparency and ensure that every decision we make reflects Fortescue's purpose, which is to generate enduring value for you, our shareholders, while contributing to a cleaner, more inclusive and more sustainable world. Together, we have truly built something exceptional. With your continued support, we will lead the next phase of Fortescue's story, one that's defined by innovation, resilience and responsibility. Thank you for your trust, your confidence and your belief in Fortescue's people future. Thank you.

Thank you, Elizabeth. Are there any questions on this resolution? If there are no questions, I will put the resolution to a vote. Please complete your vote now.

[Voting]

I now propose the resolution to reelect Yifei Li as a Director. Details are now on the screens. Ms. Li is the President of the Li Qibin Foundation and currently serves on the Board of BlackRock China. She has previously acted as Global Trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation and was an Independent Board member of The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation. She has over 18 years of senior management experience, having successfully led the expansion of several multinational companies into China. I would now like to ask Yifei to make a brief statement.

[Foreign Language] Dear shareholders, good morning. That was Mandarin. Well, thank you, Mona, for the kind introduction, and it's a great pleasure to be here today. I'm deeply honored to serve as a Director of Fortescue and to be part of such a dynamic, visionary and passionate Board. Climate change remains the defining challenge of our generation.

Fortescue is showing that with courage and innovation, we can be the solution to decarbonizing and stepping beyond fossil fuels. I'm excited by the change Fortescue is leading globally in the transition towards renewable energy and opportunities that this continues to bring. I bring more than 2 decades of international leadership experience across investment, media and global foundations. And as someone who has spent much of my career to build bridges between China and the rest of the world, I'm proud the role that Fortescue is to play as a strong and reliable partner for China.

China is not only our most important export market, but also an essential partner in building a shared green future. Together, we have the potential to drive technology breakthroughs and scale renewable energy and accelerate the world's transition beyond fossil fuels. Fortescue is an outstanding company, an outstanding business, a business of purpose, diversity, inclusion and determination. We achieved that others believe cannot be done while staying true to our unique culture and values. You have my commitment to work to deliver our vision of a decarbonized future and to ensure that in doing so, we continue to create value to you, our beloved shareholders. Thank you very much for your support.

Thank you, Yifei. Are there any questions on this resolution? Okay. If there are no further questions, then I will put the resolution to a vote. Please complete your vote now.

[Voting]

I now propose the resolution to elect Noel Quinn as a director. Details are now on the screen. Mr. Quinn has over 37 years of experience in the finance industry, having served as Group Chief Executive of HSBC Bank. He is involved with the Sustainable Markets Initiative, which was founded by His Majesty King Charles III, as Prince of Wales, in 2020 and previously chaired its Financial Services Task Force. As former CEO of HSBC, Mr. Quinn was a principal member of the Glasgow Alliance for Net Zero. More recently, Mr. Quinn was appointed Chair of Julius Baer, an international private bank headquartered in Switzerland. I would now like to ask Noel to make a brief statement.

Thank you, Mona, and thank you all of you, ladies and gentlemen. And I just want to share 3 messages with you, if I can. Firstly, a little bit about my background. Secondly, some first impressions on Fortescue; and thirdly, some comments about decarbonization and the future.

As a banker and a corporate banker, I spent 38 years banking pretty much every industry that exists in today's global economy across all of the geographies of the world. And one of the things that have struck me in that time is the spirit of entrepreneurialism. And the nature of businesses continue to evolve. They constantly innovate and they constantly look forward. The successful businesses of today, if they want to be successful in the future, they have to innovate, evolve and take on difficult challenges. That is a common theme that I see in 38 years as a corporate banker.

Now I've used the word banker twice, and you know how much Andrew loves bankers. So it was a truly great honor to be asked to join the Board by Andrew. And let me share some first impressions. Three messages are loud and clear in my mind in the first few months that I've been on the Board. Operational excellence is not just 2 words. It is embedded in every fabric of the organization. If I listen to the conversations when I went to the mines, to the people who work for Dino, it's constant in their dialogue that they are seeking operational excellence. And I see that as a core attribute of Fortescue that is unique and should be preserved at all costs.

But at the same time as that, there is a constant appetite for improvement. So they have operational excellence, but they're not complacent. They constantly want to improve. And improvement is not just through hard work, it's with innovation, a pursuit of innovation in everything that takes place. And probably most people do not associate innovation with the industry of mining, but it is embedded in the fabric of Fortescue.

Finally, decarbonization. It's actually why I joined the Board. And I hope, and I put myself before you that you may elect me today. Decarbonization is something that actually Fortescue did not have to do. It is a very well-run business, delivering very good results. But it's chosen to take on one of the hardest challenges that any mining organization could take on. It's taken on the challenge of decarbonizing a very hard-to-abate sector mining. Why? With an immense vision, strong leadership, but really because what it wants to do is position the business not on the success of the past 20 to 30 years, but to be successful 20 to 30 years from now.

And at times, that vision and that leadership is a really tough decision. But the Board and Andrew have taken on that mission, and it is absolutely the right thing to do. Industry has to continue to evolve. The other amazing attribute of that is it's not just a vision for the sake of the earth. But it's a vision that is trying to be achieved with economics at the core. It is not just the right thing to do, but it's the right thing to do commercially as well. And it will be an economic outcome, not just good for the planet. So on that, they are my thoughts as a new director. I'm still learning the business of mining. And I hope that I can be elected, and I can try and add value to the future journey of Fortescue. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Noel. Are there any questions on this resolution? If there are no questions, I will now put the resolution to a vote. Please complete your vote now.

[Voting]

I now propose the resolution to elect Yasmin Broughton as a director. Details are now on the screens. Ms. Broughton brings over 25 years of experience in nonexecutive and executive roles within the mining and energy sectors and across mergers and acquisitions, finance, legal and corporate governance. In addition to Fortescue, she currently serves as a Non-Executive Director of Greatland Resources Limited, Wright Prospecting Pty Limited and is the Executive Chair of VOC Group Limited. I would now like to ask Yasmin to make a brief statement.

Thank you, Mona. Good morning, everyone, and a very warm welcome to our shareholders. I am delighted to be here with you today to seek your approval for my election to the Fortescue Board. I joined the Board in July this year at a pivotal time in the company's journey to decarbonize its operations and lead the global transition to clean energy.

To play a role in helping guide a company of Fortescue's standing is a real privilege I take very seriously. Fortescue's journey to decarbonize its operations aligns not only with my professional experience, but also my deep passion for sustainability. Fortescue, as Noel mentioned, is a company defined by its ambition and true innovation, and I'm excited to be part of this important journey. I bring 25 years of corporate, commercial and legal experience at Board, management and corporate governance roles working in ASX-listed companies and government-owned entities in both the resources sector, particularly iron ore and the energy sector, particularly renewables.

I look forward to leveraging my experience and my expertise and my passion for sustainability to deliver on the company's growth strategy. I will always remain committed on delivering value to our shareholders whilst also achieving positive impact for the communities in which we operate. I'm committed to working alongside my esteemed Board colleagues and the fantastic Fortescue team to deliver on the company's goals and its vision of becoming a global leader in the green energy transition. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Yasmin. Are there any questions on this resolution? If there are no questions, I put the resolution to a vote. Please complete your vote now.

[Voting]

I now propose the resolution to approve participation in the performance rights plan by Mr. Dino Otranto. Details are now on the screens. Before we open for questions, I would like to make some comments on behalf of the Board in relation to Resolutions 6 and 7 being Mr. Otranto's and Mr. Pichot's participation in the performance rights plan.

Fortescue remains committed to providing transparency on executive remuneration with enhanced disclosures in both our remuneration report and the Notice of Meeting to provide shareholders with a clear understanding of our remuneration framework. Whilst legally, there is no requirement for shareholder approval for the grant of the rights to the CEOs, in the interest of transparency and good corporate governance, shareholder approval is being sought.

Details of the maximum number of rights that may be granted to Mr. Otranto and Mr. Pichot in the performance period are set out in the Notice of Meeting. Are there any questions on this resolution? If there are no questions, I will now put the resolution to a vote. Please complete your vote now.

[Voting]

I now propose the resolution to approve participation in the performance rights plan by Mr. Gus Pichot. Details are now on the screens. Are there any questions on this resolution? If there are no questions, I'll put the resolution to a vote. Please complete your vote now.

[Voting]

I now propose the resolution for the renewal of the proportional takeover approval provisions in the company's constitution as a special resolution. These provisions are currently contained in Rule 13.12 of our constitution and are required to be renewed every 3 years, or they cease to have effect. They were last renewed by shareholders at the 2022 AGM as part of the adoption of the constitution. And if Resolution 8 is approved, these provisions are reinserted in the same form as they currently appear in the constitution for a further 3-year period from the date of this meeting.

Are there any questions on this resolution? If there are no questions, I'll put the resolution to a vote. Please complete your vote now.

[Voting]

If there are no other questions, I will now proceed to the closing poll. Please lodge your voting cards in the ballot boxes that are now circulating the room.

I now take it that all persons intending to vote have done so and therefore, declare the poll closed subject to finalization. Final results of all resolutions will be announced on the ASX later today.

Ladies and gentlemen, this now concludes the formal business of today's meeting. Thank you for joining us. We really appreciate you being here with us today and now invite you to join us for some light refreshments. Thank you.

And just to let you know that Gail, the lady who fainted is back in great shape. See you outside for a cuppa.