Ferrexpo declares dividend based on strong sales

Ferrexpo announced an interim dividend based on the iron ore pellet producer's higher sales in the first five months of 2020.

The FTSE 250 company declared a dividend of 6.6 cents a share payable on 3 July. Ferrexpo said Covid-19 had no adverse effect on its operations and that sales at the end of May were up 21% from the five-month period a year earlier.

The iron ore fines price has been resilient and lower freight and production costs have made up for weaker pellet premiums, Ferrexpo said.

"Higher sales have been driven by a strong production performance, de-stocking and the group's ability to offset weaker demand in Europe through increased sales to Asia," Ferrexpo said.