The Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) share price is up more than 2% after the ASX mining share announced its FY26 half-year result.
Fortescue is one of the world’s largest iron ore miners with multiple projects across Australia, as well as an African iron ore project called Belinga in Gabon.
Fortescue FY26 half-year result
Here are some of the main financial highlights from the first six months of FY26 to 31 December 2025:
- Revenue grew 10% to US$8.4 billion
- Underlying EBITDA (EBITDA explained) rose 23% to US$4.5 billion
- Net profit after tax (NPAT) increased 23% to US$1.9 billion
- Operating cashflow rose 32% to US$3.2 billion
- Free cashflow soared 134% to US$1.5 billion
- Dividend per share increased by 24% to A$0.62
What happened?
There was a strong performance by the company’s operations, leading to a half-year record level of ore shipped of 100.2 mt, an increase of 3% year on year.
On top of that, the business reported that the average realised price for hematite (iron ore) increased by 7% to US$90.9 per tonne. That’s a big help for growing profit (and the Fortescue share price).
Impressively, the company said that the hematite C1 unit cost (production costs) were down 3% to US$18.64 per wet metric tonne (wmt). The record level of production helped the business reduce its cost per tonne.
Project and exploration progress
The business recently entered into a binding agreement where it will buy the other 64% of Alta Copper’s shares not already owned.
Fortescue also continues to make progress on its decarbonisation, including the first battery energy storage system (BESS), deployment of electric mobile equipment and new technology partnerships.
Fortescue has also commenced construction of the 133MW Nullagine wind project.
The company said that there’s ongoing exploration across the Pilbara at Mindy South, Nyidinghu, Wyloo North and Blacksmith is “supporting resource growth and increasing development optionality”.
Fortescue also said that exploration and study activities continue to advance at the Belinga iron ore project. Planning continues for the delivery of an integrated mine, rail and port for the project.
Exploration activity within Fortescue’s critical minerals portfolio continued in Argentina, Australia, Canada and Kazakhstan.
The company also hinted that it has not fully abandoned its green energy goals and technology projects. It continues to assess project viability and timing in line with “evolving customer demand, regulatory settings and its disciplined capital allocation framework.”
Management comments
The Fortescue Metals and operations CEO Dino Otranto said:
We have the lowest operating cost in the industry, and decarbonisation is pushing that even lower.
By removing diesel across our operations, we’re structurally improving our cost position. The more diesel we eliminate, the less exposure we have to price volatility, and the stronger and more predictable our margins become.
We’re now delivering decarbonisation at scale across the Pilbara. Around 3,600 solar panels are being installed every day at our Cloudbreak mine, with another one gigawatt of solar in the immediate pipeline. Construction is underway on our first wind farm, we’ve delivered two large battery energy storage systems at our sites, and we’re working with leading global manufacturers to roll out electric mining equipment, battery systems and large-scale renewable infrastructure.
A few years ago, this would have seemed ambitious. Today, it’s part of how we operate – and it’s lowering our cost base as we build it.
Outlook for the Fortescue share price
The business is guiding that for FY26, it’s expecting to hit iron ore shipments of between 195mt to 205mt, including between 10mt to 12mt for Iron Bridge.
The C1 unit cost for hematite is expected to be between US17.50 per tonne to US$18.50 per tonne. That suggests lower costs in the second half than the first.
The Fortescue share price is up 15% in the past year, so it doesn’t look cheap at the moment considering the relative strength of the iron ore price.
I’d be happy with the result if I were a shareholder, however I don’t think this is an opportunistic time to buy when profits are jumping. Resource prices can move in cycles and iron ore doesn’t seem weak right now, so I’d rather wait for other ASX dividend shares instead.
