PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Despite weaker commodity prices, iron-ore junior Mount Gibson reported record sales revenue and a strong after-tax net profit for the year ended June.

The miner said on Friday that sales revenue for the 12 months under review had reached A$852.9-million, compared with the A$648.5-million achieved in the previous financial year, while net profit after tax was recorded at A$157.3-million, compared with the A$162-million reported in 2012.

Mount Gibson told shareholders that the reported net profit was achieved after recognition of a noncash tax credit of A$64.5-million related to technical accounting requirements for the mineral resource rent tax.

Excluding this tax credit, the iron-ore miner achieved an underlying net profit after tax of A$92.2-million.

The ASX-listed Mount Gibson noted that the financial results reflected a number of substantial operational achievements during the year, with ore sales reaching a record 8.8-million tonnes during the period, including 8.1-million tonnes of direct shipping ore product. This was a 68% increase on the previous financial year.

As a result, sales revenues also increased by 32% on the previous financial year.

CEO Jim Beyer said the full-year results were a strong result for Mount Gibson in challenging conditions and were built on significant underlying business improvements.

“Our profit for the year tells only part of the story. In extremely volatile conditions, Mount Gibson not only delivered record sales volumes and revenue, but also trebled operating cash flow and increased total cash reserves to A$376-million.”

Beyer added that the company’s ongoing commitment to continuous improvement, positioned it well in the year ahead. Along with its balance sheet, it also allowed Mout Gibson to better capture the benefits of the current iron-ore price and the lower Australian dollar.

“While iron-ore prices can be expected to remain volatile, the general outlook for established Australian dollar-denominated producers such as Mount Gibson is fundamentally positive,” he added.

For 2014, Mount Gibson was targeting stronger sales of between 9-million and 9.5-million tonnes, which Beyer said would reflect the production ramp-up, which was currently under way at the Koolan Island project, which was set to reach four-million tonnes a year by the end of 2014.

The expected increased output also reflected the extension of the Tallering Peak operation by another year, to mid-2014.