Fortress Minerals has reported a net profit of US$4.49 million ($5.77 million) for the 3QFY2026 ended Dec 31, 2025, a surge from the US$0.7 mil net profit reported in the same period a year ago.

 

For the 9MFY2026, net profit grew 17.6% y-o-y to US$8.927 million.

 

The group&rsquo s revenue for 3MFY2026 came in 41.4% y-o-y higher at US$18.38 million, and grew 32.7% y-o-y for 9MFY2026 to US$50.81 million.

 

Fortress Mineral&rsquo s sales volume grew 43.8% y-o-y to 199,698 dry metric tonnes (DMT) for 3QFY2026. This was driven by higher local and export sales as well as offtake agreements secured in 2QFY2026.

 

The increase in sales volume was partially offset by the lower average realised selling price, which was 1.9% lower y-o-y at US$92.09/DMT for 3QFY2026 due to the weaker average benchmark IODEX CFR North China of Platts Daily Iron Ore Assessments price indices.

 

The group&rsquo s ebitda increased by 142.7% y-o-y to US$7.5 million and earnings per share was 0.85 US cents for 3QFY2026.

 

Fortress Minerals notes that the World Steel Association projects global steel demand to be broadly flat in 2025, and demand to rise by 1.3% in 2026. Steel demand in developing economies excluding China is forecast to increase 3.4% in 2025 and 4.7% in 2026.

 

Against this backdrop, demand for the group&rsquo s high-grade iron ore concentrate, being the base element of steel, is expected to remain well-supported by ongoing infrastructure activity and industrialisation across regional markets, alongside the steel value chain&rsquo s continued focus on productivity and decarbonisation.

 

Fortress Mineral is working towards the completion of the integrated processing facility in FY2027 following the completion of a new crushing plant in 1QFY2026 at the Bukit Besi mine.

 

Fortress Minerals has reported lower earnings of US$4.44 million ($5.74 million) for the 1HFY2026 ended Aug 31, down 35.1% y-o-y.

 

For 2QFY2026, earnings declined 56.7% y-o-y to US$1.96 million.

 

The group&rsquo s revenue for the 1HFY2026 came in 28.2% y-o-y higher at US$32.4 million, and grew 6.4% y-o-y for 2QFY2026 to US$16.5 million.

 

This increase in revenue was driven by higher sales volume, which increased by 8.6% y-o-y to 190,066 dry metric tonnes (DMT) due to an increase in local sales.

 

This increase in sales volume was offset by the lower average realised selling price, which was 2.4% lower y-o-y at US$86.32/DMT for 2QFY2026 compared to US$88.46/DMT in the year before due to the weaker average benchmark IODEX CFR North China of Platts Daily Iron Ore Assessments price indices.

 

Earnings per share was 0.38 US cents for 2QFY2026.

 

Fortress Minerals says that despite the broader tariff overhang, softer selling price, and higher unit costs, demand for its iron ore concentrate from regional steel mills remains strong, supported by recent offtake agreements and underlying decarbonisation trends.

 

Fortress Minerals has entered two new 24-months offtake agreements with an independent third-party domestic steel mill in Malaysia through its subsidiary Fortress Resources.

 

An offtake agreement is a contract between a producer and a buyer to purchase a specific amount of future goods or services from a producer' s upcoming project or production over a defined period and at agreed-upon terms.

 

Fortress Resources has agreed to deliver to the domestic steel mill in aggregate about 1.2 million wet metric tonnes (WMT) from Sept 1, 2025 to Aug 31, 2027.

 

The selling prices of the deliverables will be based on a formula guided by, amongst others, the average of the available daily price of Platts for 65% Fe and 58% Fe CFR North China, adjusted subject to the Fe content of each shipment of the deliverables, the release notes.

 

Fortress Minerals expects these agreements to contribute positively to the earnings per share for the group in FY2026.

 

Fortress Minerals reported earnings of US$2.48 million ($3.15 million) for the 1QFY2026 ended May 31, 2025, a 7.2% y-o-y increase.

 

The group reported a revenue growth that grew 62.9% y-o-y to US$15.9 million for the quarter, driven by strong sales volume growth on the back of resilient demand from regional markets.

 

The group&rsquo s gross profit grew 13.5% y-o-y for the 1QFY2026 to US$8.1 million, with a gross profit margin of 50.8%.

 

Fortress Minerals said that sales volume increased by 102.9% y-o-y to 194,946 DMT for 1QFY2026 due to a combination of higher export shipment of iron ore to meet overseas demand and increased local sales.

 

This was partially offset by the decline in average realised selling price, which was 18.5% lower y-o-y at US$82.30/DMT for 1QFY2026, compared to US$101.01/DMT in the corresponding period a year ago.

 

The higher direct material consumption and costs during the period resulted in average unit cost of sales rising 43.9% y-o-y to US$36.66/WMT for 1QFY2026, compared to US$25.48/WMT in 1QFY2025.

 

The group&rsquo s net asset value (NAV) per share was 13.6% higher y-o-y at 16.20 US cents as at May 31, 2025, compared to 14.26 US cents a year ago. Earnings per share stood at 0.47 US cents for 1QFY2026.

 

Fortress Minerals says that demand for its iron ore concentrate from regional steel mills remains strongly supported by recent offtake agreements and underlying decarbonisation trends. It will continue to closely monitor the uncertain macroeconomic environment and the impact of global trade policies on steel demand and supply dynamics.

 

The group entered two agreements in April and May &mdash to subscribe for any undersubscribed portion of shares under its non-renounceable rights issue, and for the exploration and mining in Papua New Guinea respectively.

 

In addition, the group says that its diversification strategy continues to advance, with the construction of a new crushing plant in Bukit Besin mine completed as scheduled in 1QFY2026. It is also advancing the development of an integrated processing plant at the CASB mine to enhance production capabilities and support the production of iron ore, copper, and pyrrhotite concentrates.

Fortress Minerals has reported earnings of US$695,798 ($952,223.92) for the 3QFY2025 ended Nov 30, 2024, 70.1% lower y-o-y.

 

This brings the company&rsquo s 9MFY2025 earnings to $7.5 million, 20.7% lower y-o-y.

 

For the 3QFY2025, revenue rose by 19.6% y-o-y to US$13 million due to higher volumes sold. During the period, sales volumes rose by 19.6% y-o-y to 138,878 dry metric tonnes (DMT) with an average realised selling price of US$93.88 per DMT, 0.5% higher y-o-y. The average unit cost during the three-month period also increased by 29.6% y-o-y to US$37.58 per wet metric tonne (WMT).

 

However, 3QFY2025 cost of sales, which increased by 54.7% y-o-y to US$5.7 million, eroded gross profit margins.

 

3QFY2025 gross profit inched up by 1.4% y-o-y to US$7.3 million while gross profit margin fell by 10.1 percentage points y-o-y to 55.8%.

 

Other income fell by 79.6% y-o-y to US$113,000 mainly from the decrease in unrealised gain on foreign exchange differences by US$0.4 million. The decrease was due to the weakening of exchange rate movement of the ringgit against the US dollar (USD).

 

9MFY2025 revenue fell by 7.6% y-o-y to US$38.3 million due to the lower average realised selling price for the period. Sales volumes fell by 4.4% y-o-y to 410,049 while the average realised selling price fell by 3.3% y-o-y to US$93.23 per DMT. Average unit cost for the period fell by 1.2% y-o-y to US$30.44 per WMT.

 

Despite the lower cost of sales, which fell by 6.2% y-o-y to US$13.6 million, 9MFY2025 gross profit fell by 8.3% y-o-y to US$24.7 million. Gross profit margin for the 9MFY2025 dipped by 0.5 percentage points y-o-y to 64.4%.

 

Other income, on the other hand, more than doubled to US$1.4 million from US$703,000.

 

Fortress Minerals&rsquo ebitda for the 3QFY2025 and 9MFY2025 stood at US$3.1 million and US$14.4 million respectively.

 

" There remains strong demand for our high-grade iron ore products amidst long-term decarbonisation trends in the steel industry. We continue to enhance our production at Bukit Besi mine while working towards the development of our integrated processing plant at CASB mine to meet this demand,&rdquo says Ivan Chee, executive director and CEO of Fortress Minerals .

 

&ldquo This includes optimising our production capabilities, particularly with the upcoming commissioning of our new crushing and processing plants and the development of key deposits at Bukit Besi mine,&rdquo he adds.

 

In its outlook statement, the company says it is &ldquo well-positioned to meet the growing demand for high-grade magnetite iron ore&rdquo on the back of domestic demand, regional steel production and global decarbonisation efforts within the industry.

For Malaysian mining and iron ore producing company Fortress Minerals OAJ , the industrial boom since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic has been good for business. The firm supplies iron ore to steel mills to make various products, and currently sells over 600,000 wet metric tonnes (WMT) of iron ore per year.

 

&ldquo We are in the close vicinity of two major steel mills in Malaysia, which gives us a significant advantage including cost saving by means of logistic optimisation. The said mills and the industry in general are increasing their production capacity because of the surge in demand after the pandemic. There is an increasing need for iron ore &mdash especially high-grade ore, our specialty &mdash as the industry sees a growing focus on decarbonisation. The demand is so high that we can&rsquo t keep up,&rdquo says Fortress Minerals executive director and CEO Ivan Chee.

 

He believes that this voracious need for steel will be sustained in the long run, driven by the material&rsquo s usage in the growing global construction, manufacturing and automotive sectors. &ldquo For those two steel mills, increasing capacity is a long-term investment. This means that their careful calculations and demand forecasts, not just for Malaysia, but also Asia at large, justifies it.&rdquo  

 

With these trends in mind, Fortress Minerals is ramping up its own production capacity. In May, it commissioned two new ball mills &mdash core equipment required to produce iron ore concentrate. Next year, it will begin constructing a new, larger and more advanced crushing plant that is designed and equipped with technology to support scalable operations.

 

With the acquisition of the Mengapur polymetallic mine in 2021, Fortress Minerals has diversified from iron ore to include copper in its portfolio. Copper is in high demand globally as the metal required for the transition into clean energy and green technologies including electric vehicle batteries and wind turbines. Currently the Mengapur project produces iron ore from its top soil layer. Fortress Minerals will build an integrated copper, iron and iron sulphide processing plant in the near future. It also has two exploration assets in Sabah where it is exploring the potential for significant copper and nickel deposits, another vital material in sustainable technologies.

 

Chee explains: &ldquo This diversification into copper is in line with our company vision, which is to find and go into strategic materials that are likely to be in high demand for the upcoming 10 to 20 years. Copper is a good strategy, with the shift towards electric vehicles, renewable energy installations and other environmentally friendly technologies worldwide.&rdquo

 

Moves to modernise mining

Alongside these strategies, the firm is focusing on innovation and modernising mining. Chee says: &ldquo Even before we became the first iron ore miner to list on the Singapore Exchange S68 in 2019, we already had our mines for some time. Some of our machines are not as efficient as they need to be now. That&rsquo s why we&rsquo re changing them, as well as how we do some things.&rdquo

 

For example, the new crushing plant will feature state-of-the-art equipment and technology. These upgrades, as well as its size and location, will help the company to optimise operations, cut transportation and other costs, minimise manpower needs and reap other benefits. &ldquo We can uphold our safety standards and become more efficient at the same time.

 

&ldquo With the new and larger machines, we can take advantage of SCADA [supervisory control and data acquisition] systems. We can harness automation to minimise human error. With years of uptime data that we have collected over the years, we can deploy predictive maintenance plans to replace parts before they break down. This will increase our uptime.&rdquo

 

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He adds that the firm is constantly on the lookout for potential improvements. &ldquo We go to conferences and learn about better mining methods, and think about how to incorporate the latest technology to make work safer and elevate us to the next level. In the end, that&rsquo s what innovation is really about: utilising what is available around you to become better.&rdquo

 

The same principle applies to its workforce. Chee shares that, besides boosts from technology, Fortress Minerals has raised its efficiency simply by encouraging departments to communicate more with one another. &ldquo Our work is interdependent. When everyone knows what to expect, things go more smoothly. We also place emphasis on leaders passing down their knowledge.&rdquo

 

The company has prioritised recruiting and retaining talent too. This has included hiring mine geologists to map its mines and carry out other tasks to help ensure a consistent extraction of ore, and exploration geologists to support its search for new mining sites in the region. Both have been critical to its success and progress.

 

Building a great business

Ultimately, Chee aims to build Fortress Minerals into a great Malaysian mining business. &ldquo We want to be one of the go-to companies, not just for the government when they need a mining firm to lead their projects, but also for the local job market. We want to be the first choice for people when they graduate from mining engineering, geology or other relevant studies.&rdquo

 

He says that the company has a solid foundation from which to achieve this ambition. &ldquo Most mining firms in the region are not full-fledged ones like us. We do exploration from the ground up. We do geophysical surveys. We develop projects, mine, process the ore and supply the material to mills. Most of our competitors are not so comprehensive in their scope of work.&rdquo  

 

While the mining sector has a fraught relationship with sustainability, Fortress Minerals has committed to a range of eco-friendly practices, such as planting trees and replenishing plantations in its mining areas to restore the natural habitat of mined land. &ldquo Our upgraded plants will also use less electricity. We want to have a more sustainable future in Malaysia.&rdquo

 

He highlights: &ldquo When you look at our core values, integrity is the first. We are accountable for the things that we do, and we believe in empowering people in the communities that we operate in, including by hiring them. We want to share our prosperity, not just with shareholders, but also with all the stakeholders around us, especially those in the community.&rdquo  

Fortress Minerals has reported earnings of US$2.31 million ($3.10 million) for the 1QFY2025 ended May, a 7.6% y-o-y decrease from the 1QFY2024&rsquo s US$2.50 million.

 

For the period, revenue was slashed by 26.2% y-o-y to US$9.78 million due to a decrease in the company&rsquo s sales volume, as well as a lower average realised selling price.

 

Similarly, gross profit in the 1QFY2025 fell by 13.9% y-o-y to US$7.13 million from US$8.28 million from the previous period.

 

Despite this, Fortress Minerals OAJ 0.00% &rsquo gross profit margin increased by 10.4 percentage points (ppts) to 72.9% for 1QFY2025, as higher production volume achieved in 1QFY2025 allowed the company to benefit from economies of scale. 

 

Ivan Chee, executive director and CEO of Fortress Minerals, says: &ldquo Our unwavering commitment to operational excellence and strategic growth has resulted in the early completion of the two additional ball mills at Bukit Besi. This will allow us to continue to improve efficiency, preserve shareholder value in challenging periods and position Fortress Minerals for sustainable success in the evolving market landscape.&rdquo

 

He adds: &ldquo Reinforcing our growth ambitions, we have secured two new twelve-month offtake agreements. These agreements strengthen our relationships with key partners and affirm our position as the preferred producer of choice for our customers. We remain committed to expanding our revenue streams and diversifying our portfolio to ensure long term profitability and stability.&rdquo

Fortress Minerals OAJ 0.00% has reported earnings of US$10.0 million ($13.6 million) for the FY2024 ended Feb 29, a 17.1% decline compared to its earnings of US$12.2 million in the previous financial year.

 

For the full-year period, revenue increased slightly by 0.7% y-o-y to US$53.9 million due to higher volumes sold, but mitigated by lower average realised selling prices of iron ore.

 

Earnings per share decreased from 2.42 US cents in FY2023 to 1.93 US cents in FY2024.

 

For the same period, gross profit decreased 11.9% y-o-y to US$33.2 million, while gross profit margin came in at 61.7%.

 

The Malaysia-based miner plans to pay a final dividend of 0.6 cents for FY2024, representing a dividend payout ratio of 23.3% and lower compared to the final FY2023 dividend of 0.8 cents.

 

Fortress Minerals says it continues to leverage its strong business relationships with customers and the robust demand for high grade iron ore concentrate to expand and diversify its recurring revenue streams.

 

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The company says it is well-placed to strengthen its recurring income streams by increasing production with two new ball mills at Bukit Besi. They are expected to raise nameplate capacity by around 20% to 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes per month, with an expected completion by 2QFY2025.

 

&ldquo The demand for high grade iron ore domestically and regionally remains robust. We remain actively engaged with our customers, securing offtake agreements to meet this growing demand. This is a testament to our strong and long-standing business relationships with customers and reinforces our reputation as a trusted and reliable provider of high-grade iron ore products,&rdquo says CEO Ivan Chee.

 

&ldquo Simultaneously, we have growth plans at Mengapur as well as exploration plans in Sabah which are progressing well. All these initiatives set the stage for us to achieve sustainable growth and generate long-term value for our shareholders,&rdquo he adds.

Fortress Minerals&rsquo OAJ -5.08% subsidiary, Fortress Resources, has entered into a new 12-month offtake agreement with an unnamed independent third-party domestic steel mill in Malaysia.

 

Under the agreement, Fortress Resources has agreed to deliver approximately 240,000 wet metric tonnes of iron ore to the domestic steel mill from Jan 2 to Dec 31. The deliverables are subject to a variance of an additional or a reduction of 20% at the option of Fortress Resources.

 

The selling price of the deliverables will be based on a formula guided by the average of the available daily price of Platts for 65% Fe CFR North China, adjusted subject to the Fe (iron) content of each shipment of the deliverables. 

 

According to Fortress Minerals OAJ -5.08% , the agreement will provide recurrent income and cash flows to the group during the period it has signed for.

 

It will also strengthen its financial position, although it will not have any impact on the group&rsquo s net asset value (NAV) for the FY2024 ending Feb 29. It will, however, contribute positively to the group&rsquo s earnings per share (EPS) for the FY2024.

Fortress Minerals has reported earnings of US$2.2 million ($2.9 million) for the 3QFY2024 ended Nov 30, down 27.3% y-o-y compared to its earnings of US$3.0 million for the same period last year.

 

The company&rsquo s revenue was down 3.4% y-o-y to US$10.9 million in 3QFY2024, while its cost of sales increased by 3.6% y-o-y to US$3.7 million. The decrease in revenue in 3QFY2024 was due to lower volume of iron ore sold, amounting to 116,106 dry metric tonnes (DMT), representing a 11.7% decrease from 3QFY2023. 

 

However, the revenue decrease for the period was partially offset by an increase in average realised selling price of US$93.45/DMT compared to US$85.81/DMT in 3QFY2023.

 

Still, Fortress Minerals&rsquo gross profit fell US$0.5 million or 6.7% y-o-y to US$7.2 million in 3QFY2024, with its gross profit margin decreasing by 2.3 percentage points to 65.9% for the same period.

 

As at Nov 30, the company&rsquo s cash and cash equivalents stood at US$5.0 million.

 

Ivan Chee, executive director and CEO, says Fortress Mineral remains well-positioned to deliver on its growth strategies to provide enhanced long-term value to shareholders. &ldquo Iron ore demand remains robust, especially from the region and for our high-grade products. This is supported by the recent offtake agreements we entered into with a local steel mill.&rdquo

 

&ldquo To continue to meet this demand, we' re actively expanding our production at the CASB mine and advancing exploration in East Malaysia to diversify our revenue streams,&rdquo he adds.

Since Fortress Minerals : OAJ 0% reported that its Q2FY24 (ended Aug 31) revenue increased by 11.6 per cent from Q2FY23 to US$17.3 million, non-executive and non-independent director Loong Ching Hong has acquired 10,000 shares on Oct 25, and another 20,000 shares on Nov 15.

 

Loong maintains a 1.39 per cent total interest in the company.

 

The increase in Q2FY24 revenue from Q2FY23 was mainly attributable to the 16.5 per cent increase in volume sold.

 

With the results, Fortress Minerals noted that it focused on leveraging the sustained demand for its high-grade iron ore products and is also actively executing its longer-term strategic growth plans to expand and diversify its revenue streams.

 

The group commenced exploration at the Telupid and Tongod Projects in May 2023 and is entering phase 1 of its exploration plan by performing geological mapping, geochem, and geophysical survey. Types of key minerals present are copper, iron ore, nickel, cobalt.

 

Loong is presently the group general manager of Selangor Dredging, a property development company listed on Bursa Malaysia and the holding company of SDB Mining, a controlling shareholder of Fortress Minerals.

 

In addition, he is also presently a substantial shareholder and non-executive director of Norwest Minerals, a gold and base metals exploration company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Fortress Minerals&rsquo subsidiary, Fortress Resources, has entered into two new nine-month offtake agreements with an unnamed independent third-party domestic steel mill in Malaysia.

 

The two agreements will run at the same time.

 

Under the agreements, Fortress Resources has agreed to deliver approximately 150,000 wet metric tonnes and 90,000 tonnes per agreement to the domestic steel mill from Oct 1 to June 30, 2024.

 

Both deliverables are subject to a variance of an additional or a reduction of 20% at the option of Fortress Resources.

 

The selling price of the deliverables will be based on a formula guided by the average of the available daily price of Platts for 65% Fe CFR North China, adjusted subject to the Fe content of each shipment of the deliverables. It will also be guided by the average of the available daily price of Platts for 58% Fe CFR North China, adjusted subject to the Fe content of each shipment of the deliverables. Platts refers to the price benchmark service for the oil industry.

 

According to Fortress Minerals OAJ 0.00% , the agreements will provide a firm source of recurrent income and cash flow to the group during the period it has signed for. It will also strengthen its financial position, although it will not have any impact on the group&rsquo s net asset value (NAV) for the FY2024 ending Feb 29, 2024. It will, however, contribute positively to the group&rsquo s earnings per share (EPS) for the FY2024.

 

Although Fortress Minerals OAJ 0.00% announced a 21.8% drop in net profit to US$7.084 million for the six months to Sept 30, its 1HFY2024, the Group reported a 1.5% yoy increased in revenue to US$30.6 million in the same period, driven by higher volumes sold in 2QFY2024. Sales volume rose 16.5% to 186,587 dry metric tonnes (DMT) of iron ore and 11.1% to 312,911 DMT for 2QFY2024 and 1HFY2024, respectively.

 

The increase in revenue was partially offset by the lower average realised selling price of US$97.47/DMT for 1H FY2024 compared to US$106.85/DMT in 1H FY2023. Average unit cost of sales rose 12.4% yoy to US$31.47 per wet metric tonne (WMT) for 1H FY2024 mainly attributable to higher inflation of production costs. The cost increases were partially mitigated by a 17.3% y-o-y increase in volume sold for 2QFY2024 which yielded cost efficiencies for the Group. Consequently, the Group reported a gross profit margin of 64.5% for 1H FY2024, from 71.3% for 1H FY2023.

 

On June 28 this year, Fortress Minerals secured the approval of its shareholders to diversify beyond its core business to include the mining of manganese, copper, nickel, cobalt, zinc, lead, tin, chromite, tungsten, gold, silver and other minerals, trading in iron ore. The new minerals will be able to be mined from its own mining assets, third parties, joint ventures and partnerships, Fortress Minerals says.

Between Aug 2 and 3, Greger International increased its substantial shareholding in Fortress Minerals : OAJ 0% from 6.99 per cent to 7.03 per cent. This saw 174,300 shares acquired at S$0.307 per share for a consideration of S$53,475.

 

This increased the deemed interest of chief executive officer Ivan Chee Yew Fei in the Catalist-listed stock to 48.43 per cent and the deemed interest of chief operating officer Ng Mun Fey to 7.03 per cent. Both Chee and Ng are executive directors of Fortress Minerals.

 

Greger International&rsquo s preceding acquisition of Fortress Minerals shares was filed back on Mar 23, with one million shares acquired in a married deal at S$0.45 per share.

 

Fortress Minerals produces high grade iron ore mined from its Bukit Besi mine and Cermat Aman mine in Malaysia and sells its iron ore primarily to steel mills in Malaysia and trading companies in China. The Bukit Besi mine has a land area of 526.20 hectares which was leased to the group from the state government of Terengganu under a mining concession agreement expiring in year 2033.

 

On Apr 7, 2021, the group completed the acquisition of the entire issued and paid-up capital of Fortress Mengapur and its subsidiaries, which comprises Cermat Aman and Star Destiny, covering 951.68 ha. The group commenced production at the Cermat Aman mine in FY23.

 

Since the iron ore price index is beyond the group&rsquo s control, its primary focus is to optimise its output and production volume through continuing to expand and increase production throughput efficiency, yielding higher revenues and earnings. All Fortress Mineral&rsquo s iron ore is priced in US dollars against international iron ore indices as practised world-wide.

 

On Jul 12, Fortress Minerals reported revenue of US$13.3 million for its Q1FY24 (ended May 31), which declined 9.2 per cent from Q1FY23.

 

This was mainly attributable to a 12.4 per cent decrease in average realised selling price from Q1FY23 to US$104.92/dry metric tonne (DMT).

 

The decrease in revenue was partially offset by a 4.0 per cent increase in sales volume to 126,324 DMT for Q1FY24.

 

An increase in total production volume for Q1FY24 also yielded cost efficiencies for the group, which saw the it report a healthy gross profit margin of 62.5 per cent for Q1FY24, albeit narrowing from 70.6 per cent for Q1FY23.

 

Back in FY23, Fortress Minerals reported revenue of US$53.5 million, which increased a 23.5 per cent from FY22, mainly due to higher volume of iron ore sold.

 

The group noted that demand for its iron ore concentrate from regional steel mills remains strong and that increased focus on high grade magnetite iron ore continues to underpin demand, supported by efforts to decarbonise the global iron ore and steel industry.

 

Chee is responsible for the overall management and operations of the group, including formulating, implementing, and monitoring its strategic directions, growth plans, financial and risk management.

 

He also has extensive experience in civil and structural engineering and the mining industry and has undertaken several iron ore mining projects since the early 2010s and has built up his reputation and portfolio in the mining industry.

 

Ng is responsible for the overall management and day-to-day operations of the Bukit Besi Mine, including heading the group&rsquo s marketing, geology, mining, processing, and other supporting divisions. Prior to joining the group, Ng served various positions in several private companies in the advertising, Internet, publication, and engineering consultancy industry.

 

On Jun 28, the company gained the approval of its shareholders for the diversification of its business to include the mining of manganese, copper, nickel, cobalt, zinc, lead, tin, chromite, tungsten, gold, silver and other minerals, and the trading in iron ore and these minerals mined or sourced from third parties.

 

Chee noted last month that this diversification will enable fortress Minerals to expand its revenue streams and broaden its growth prospects for the long-term. He added that by leveraging its extensive industry expertise and strong relationships, the group remained cautiously optimistic in executing its next phase of growth as it strives to provide stable, diversified returns and enhanced value for shareholders.