SYDNEY--Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FMG.AU) more than halved its dividend after a sharp fall in annual profit and offered more detail around plans to reinvigorate earnings by changing the type of iron ore it sells. The world's fourth-biggest exporter of iron ore on Monday recorded a 58% slump in net profit for the 12 months through June, to US$879 million. Directors declared a final dividend of 12 Australian cents (US$0.088) a share, down from a payout of A$0.25 a share a year ago. Fortescue recorded an average iron ore price of US$44 a metric ton for the year through June. Fortescue shipped 170 million metric tons of the steelmaking commodity, in line with its annual target and with prior-year shipments of 170.4 million tons.

Source: Wall Street Journal August 20, 2018 00:33 UTC