BHP Billiton Limited (ASX:BHP) has bumped up its annual iron ore production guidance after reporting a record result over the nine months to the end of March.
Australia’s biggest miner produced 49.6 million tonnes of iron ore in the third quarter, rising 23 per cent from the year before and beating analyst expectations.
The company now expects iron ore output from its global operations to increase by 5 million tonnes to 217 million tonnes over the full year to the end of June.
Overall BHP says it’s maintained strong momentum in the period to the end of March and achieved record production for four commodities and at 10 operations.
The results have been attributed to the relatively limited impact of the wet season and the continued ramp-up of the Jimblebar mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
BHP Billiton reported a net profit of $9.9 billion in the first half of the 2014 financial year.
