The Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) share price suffered a 12% sell-off in July. That compared to a 4.2% rise for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), so there was significant underperformance by the ASX mining share.
As the chart above shows, this is just the latest month of pain for the ASX iron ore share.
It's common for major miners to see volatility, but Fortescue's 37% fall in 2024 to date is one of the most painful percentage declines, from high to low, in its history. It hasn't helped that the iron ore price has fallen from above US$140 per tonne at the start of the year to around US$100 per tonne now.
The latest update that investors can analyse was the ASX mining share's quarterly update, so let's remind ourselves what the company reported.
Quarterly report
Fortescue advised that in the fourth quarter, it shipped 53.7mt of iron ore, which was up 10% year over year. Total ore shipped for the 2024 financial year was 191.6mt, down slightly from FY23's 192mt total.
In FY25, the miner aims to achieve shipments of between 190mt to 200mt. How much it produces could have a significant impact on Fortescue shares.
Investors learned that in the fourth quarter it achieved average revenue of US$92.12 per dry metric tonne (dmt). For FY24 as a whole. The average was US$103.01 per dmt.
Fortescue also told the market that it ended June with a cash balance of US$4.9 billion and net debt of US$0.5 billion.
The company noted its Pecem green hydrogen project in Brazil has advanced to the feasibility phase, including commencement of the front end engineering design process. A Fortescue-Actis consortium has been awarded the right to develop green hydrogen projects in Oman.
It also said it had signed contracts for the sale of the first electrolysers from its electrolyser facility in Gladstone, Queensland.
Job cuts
During July, the business also announced a "management and organisational update" to "simplify the company's structure, remove duplication and deliver cost synergies".
As part of that plan, approximately 700 people from across the company's global operations will be offered redundancies, with that process supposedly finalised by the end of July 2024.
The company also announced the appointment of a chief financial officer, chief operating officer and company secretary.
Substantial sale
At the end of the month, a massive $1.9 billion sale of Fortescue shares took place as a major shareholder — reportedly The Capital Group — decided to sell.
As reported by my colleague Mitchell Lawler, this sale came after a de-prioritisation of green hydrogen. Fortescue's slowed plans surrounding green energy may see other some hydrogen-focused investors pull out as well.
Fortescue share price snapshot
Over the past year, the Fortescue share price is down 13%.
