Bluescope showing encouraging signs with share price increasing - refer chart attached
With a change of government to Liberals in September, potential of cancellation of carbon tax could be good news for BSL!
Encouraging report in todays The Age
http://www.theage.com.au/business/iron-ore-miners-out-of-favour-20130530-2neq9.html
The decline in the iron ore price is potentially good news for local steel producers such as BlueScope Steel, which is working as well to limit the impact of high iron ore prices on earnings.
BlueScope is ramping up export volumes of iron sands, for example, to help offset overly strong iron ore prices on its bottom line. It is doubling iron sands exports to 1.7 million tonnes, which coupled with using some of the product at its Port Kembla steelworks, will help to lift overall iron ore sales to 2.7 million tonnes annually.
The company operates its own iron sands mine in New Zealand, with part of the output used at its local steelworks. The boost to exports will give BlueScope a 55 per cent ''hedge'' against iron ore prices, it said.
Additionally, BlueScope is still boosting exports of coke, following the closure of one of the two blast furnaces at Port Kembla, which has left it with surplus production capacity. It now devotes one of its coke ovens solely to service export markets.
From coke export volumes of 172,000 tonnes in fiscal 2011, this rose to 516,000 tonnes in the next financial year, in the wake of the closure of one of the two blast furnaces at Port Kembla.
It rose further, to 360,000 tonnes in the December half alone, which has lifted it to an annualised rate of 720,000 tonnes.
To help boost coke exports further, it has reconfigured some of its port capacity.
BlueScope is believed to be selling a large part of its coke to international trader Noble Corp.
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