Fortescue Ltd

Good, thanks very much and hello everybody and welcome to Fortescue's annual result presentation. At the outset, I'd like to take you through a change of our leadership team. The board has decided to expedite the appointment of Dino Atranto as Chief Executive Officer of Fortescue Metals. I want to congratulate Dino who is a very valued member of the Fortescue family. I've worked with Dino over the last few years or so, and it's very exciting to have you in this position. So congratulations, Dino. Fiona Hick has made a joint decision with the Fortescue board to leave the company and leaves it in very good hands. The departure of Fiona has been both friendly and mutual, and we warmly wish her the best for her future. Joining me today in Perth is Dino Otranto, Fortescue Metals' new CEO, and Christine Morris, Fortescue Metals' Chief Financial Officer. Whether you are participating by phone or webcast, thank you for joining us today. Those who have joined us by webcast will be able to follow along with the slides on the screen. For those who have dialled in separately, a copy of our FY23 result presentation is available on our website. Before handing over to Dino, I'd like you to draw your attention to the forward-looking statement disclaimer, which is included in the presentation on slide two. It is important to refer to this disclaimer as a presentation as today's call contains forward-looking information. So Dino, congratulations and over to you. Thank you so much, Hutch.

And I would like to begin by thanking Fiona for her contributions over the last six months and second Hutch's comments in wishing her well. I'm thrilled to be here today with you as CEO of the Fortescue Metals business. This business is built on a culture unlike any I have ever seen. And over the past 20 years, our team has drawn on its DNA to achieve amazing things. I'm honoured to be part of the Fortescue team and I firmly believe that our strength is in our people. We are a unique company at a unique point in time. The opportunity before us is immense. And I'm so proud and humbled to be working alongside our people and alongside you, Hutch, as we forge the next chapter in our history. And one of the clearest examples of the strength of our team is our operational performance. Today, our full year results build on the record operational performance we shared at our quarterly updates a few weeks ago. FY23 was our fourth consecutive year of record shipments, a true testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire Fortescue team, who were guided by our unique culture and values. And these values are just as relevant today as they were when Fortescue was established 20 years ago. This coming year, we're aiming to break further records with guidance of 192 to 197 million tonnes shift. Turning to safety, I want to commend the entire team for continuing to look out for their mates. Safety is our most important value and is deeply ingrained in our culture. In FY23, we recorded a total recordable injury frequency rate of 1.8 across our iron operations and successfully reduced our injury risk profile by 22% compared to the previous time last year. So on to the financial results and the strong performance by the team across the entire supply chain contributed to record shipments of 192 million tonnes, achieving the top end of market guidance. And our laser focus on cost management and ongoing investment in innovation and technology contributed to our industry-leading cost position with C1 costs for FY23 of $17.54 per metric tonne. This contributed to revenue of $16.9 billion, statutory net profit after tax of $4.8 billion, and underlying net profit after tax of $5.5 billion. Reflecting this outstanding performance and our strong commitment to delivering shareholder returns, We have today announced a final dividend of $1 Australian per share, and I'll hand over to Christine shortly, who'll provide a few more details. So in addition to shareholder returns, Fortescue continues to invest in growth. At Ironbridge, the first shipment has arrived at Formosa Steel Plant in Vietnam. And I'll add to that, on spec. Ironbridge is a premium-grade magnetite product, not only broadening our portfolio of products and providing diversification opportunities, but is also critically important in the energy transition to make green iron. Today, we have provided an update on its carrying value and costs, which Christine will detail shortly. Fortescue is not immune to industry-wide cost inflation over the past few years, and discount rates are largely out of our controls, but do have a material impact. IronBridge adds significant value to our iron ore operations. increasing our production and shipment capacity, while enabling us to further enhance our product mix to our customers. This is, as I said before, particularly important in decarbonizing the steel industry. Our focus is now on achieving a safe and efficient ramp up to full capacity of 22 million tons. We also focused on unlocking the potential value of the Belinga iron ore project in Gabon, where we have a major exploration drilling campaign underway. Geological mapping and sampling programs continue to show that the Belinga project has the potential to be of significant scale and grade. In parallel with the exploration, studies continued on the potential for a large-scale development with a focus on the infrastructure solution and transport corridor. Additionally, this year we commenced the early stage mining development during the financial year and remain on track for a shipment by the end of this calendar year. The insights from this early work is so critical for us in ensuring we set this project up for success in the future. And we've had tremendous support from the local communities and government, and we continue to work together to maintain the highest standards of community and environmental consultation. The fourth port excuse, sustainability, is inherent in everything we do. We are dedicated to be a leader in this space by integrating sustainability in all aspects of Fortescue's business. Today, we released our annual reporting suite, which includes our sustainability report and our climate change report. Fortescue's economic contribution helps give back to the communities in which we operate in Australia and around the world. With payments to employees, suppliers, shareholders and governments totaling $26.3 billion Australian dollars this year. And we continue to see the benefits of initiatives such as our Billing Opportunities Program, which has awarded more than 4.6 billion Australian dollars in contracts to First Nations businesses since 2011. And I'm so proud to have First Nations colleagues representing 10% of our Australian workforce and 16% of our operational workforce in the Pilgrim. We know diversity delivers the best results and I believe Fortescue's inclusive, diverse culture has strongly influenced our industry-leading performance. Through our Fortescue Family Diversity Plan, we are building a workforce that reflects the communities in which we live. Increasing female participation remains a key priority for us. Our female employment rate was stable in FY23, with females holding 23% of total positions and 30% of senior leadership positions. Through Fortescue Energy, We are taking action to eliminate emissions. And on that note, let me hand over to Hutch to tell a little bit more about this exciting journey.

Good. Thanks very much, Dino. The progress we are making on our decarbonisation journey really does demonstrate how committed we are as a company to stepping beyond fossil fuels. Watching the way our metals and energy businesses are working together so efficiently and effectively towards this shared mission really does speak a lot about the Fortescue DNA. Not only are we developing new technology, we're testing new systems, rethinking the way traditional mining operations are powered and run, and mitigating a lot of business risks aimed to reduce operating costs and demonstrating that some of the largest emitting sectors can actually profitably decarbonize. Eliminating emissions can also deliver great value for our shareholders as it enables us to enter the growing market for zero emission power systems, commercialization of green technologies as well and access across sustainable financing opportunities. It has just been under a year since we announced our Real Zero target at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Real Zero means no fossil fuels and no offsets. Every day since, we've been looking at new and innovative ways to get there. We have identified solutions we plan to adopt to eliminate approximately 90% of terrestrial Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions from our Australian iron operations, and we're working on the additional 10% diligently. We are planning to eliminate Scope 1 and 2 emissions from across the rest of the business as well, including Fortescue Energy. As part of this, the financial year 24 onwards, Fortescue will no longer buy carbon offsets unless required to by law. It has long been our view that offsets must only be used as a temporary solution while the technology or innovation required to decarbonize completely is developed. As our progress to date demonstrates, we are hard at work driving this innovation and through our energy business helping to produce green alternatives to fossil fuels. Throughout the 2023 financial year, Fortescue Energy prioritize and progress our global portfolio of green energy projects. We have a target, as we've talked about before, to take five of these to final investment decision by the end of this calendar year. We're also investing across the value chain, developing the technology, the IP, and the manufacturing capability we will need to support both the green energy transition and the decarbonization of heavy industry. We're working at speed and scale never seen before. And over the course of the last financial year as a business, we've put the building blocks in place to help deliver on our mission and reflect our global energy and technology portfolio. In recent months, we've also formalized the structure of Fortescue Energy, which at this stage comprises three vertical integrated operating segments. Firstly, Fortescue Future Industries will focus on the production of green energy infrastructure. Secondly, Fortescue WAE, which brings together the Williams technology business and Fortescue's green fleet technology, will focus on battery and fleet technology to decarbonize heavy industry. And thirdly, Fortescue Hydrogen Systems, which will lead our work on hydrogen production systems and including electrolyzers, product development and supply chain, as well as manufacturing of that. It would also oversee the Green Energy Manufacturing Center in Gladstone, which will test our prototype electrolyzers and our manufacturing of our PEM technology, which will be fully automated. The establishment of this segment comes alongside the appointment of Dr. Larry Marshall to the Fortescue Board, who brings with him considerable experience in the commercialization of new technology. The green energy transition and the demand for alternatives to fossil fuels are gaining more and more momentum, and the policy landscape for renewable looks markedly different than it did a year ago. Key programs like the IRA in the United States and the Green Industry Plan in Europe, which includes funding mechanisms like H2 Global, targeting at green hydrogen production, are already supercharging investment in the green energy transition. We are also optimistic that governments here in Australia and in other jurisdictions are will continue to respond to staying competitive. As a business, we are driving green energy projects at scale and speed, and our delivery timetable means we need to focus our efforts on those that make the most commercial and economic sense. We are committed to progress projects to FID this year. As outlined a few weeks ago, projects in Australia, the US, Brazil, Norway, and Kenya are tracking well, and we do have others in the global portfolio as well. We know that this is an ambitious target with an ambitious timeline, but we also know that the world can no longer afford to wait for green energy at scale. I look forward to updating you further on our progress in the coming months. And with that note, I'd like to hand over to Christine.