PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Iron-ore junior Mount Gibson has reported record sales revenues for the six months ended December, on the back of record half-year sales.

Revenue for the interim period increased to A$509.5-million, compared with the A$416.2-million reported in the first half of the year, as sales volumes soared to 5.1-million tonnes, compared with the 4.4-million tonnes delivered in the previous half-year period.

Net profit after tax increased by 111% to A$78.3-million, the miner reported.

“Our headline profit for the half-year tells only part of the story. Our ongoing focus on business optimisation and continuous improvement delivered record sales volumes and revenue, a fourfold increase in operating cash flow and a significant boost in our total cash reserves by over A$100-million to a record period-end total of A$484-million,” CEO Jim Beyer said.

He added that the company had also established a strong platform for future success by maintaining a diligent focus on cost control, increasing ore reserves at its existing operations, and expanding its suit of exploration and development opportunities.

“This approach, together with our healthy balance sheet, positions Mount Gibson extremely well for the remainder of the 2013/14 financial year and prepares us well for any future volatility in the iron-ore price and market conditions.”

Beyer told shareholders that the company remained on track to achieve record full-year sales of between 9-million and 9.5-million tonnes during the financial year, which would reflect the production ramp-up being undertaken at its Koolan Island project, which was expected to reach four-million tonnes a year by the end of calendar year.

Meanwhile, Mount Gibson on Wednesday also announced that chairperson Geoff Hill would step down in 2014, and would also retire as an independent director.

Deputy chairperson Lee Seng Hui would assume the role of chairperson. Simon Bird had also been appointed as lead independent director to manage any perceived conflict situations that might arise from having a non-independent director as chair.