Oct 22 (Reuters) - Australia's Fortescue said on Thursday its operations might be affected if talks with state-backed buyer China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG) did not conclude by year-end, as the world's fourth-largest iron ore miner released results that showed sales lagging shipments.
Fortescue maintained its full-year 2027 forecast for iron ore shipments, C1 unit cost for hematite and metals capital expenditure.
Maintenance activities and a standoff with CMRG over supply contracts and price negotiations
hurt the Perth-based miner's iron ore shipments and sales during the September quarter.
During annual supply talks earlier this year, CMRG asked some mills not to take delivery of Fortescue's flagship iron ore product and sought a bigger role in iron ore contract negotiations with major miners, seeking to secure better terms for domestic steelmakers.
Fortescue's iron ore sales stood at 42.9 million metric tons (Mt) for the first quarter and was more than 9% below iron ore shipments of 46.8 million Mt. That compared with 49.7 Mt shipped a year ago and a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 47.5 Mt.
The company said earlier this month its cash balance fell 37% in the three months ended September 30.
The miner said on Wednesday it had fired a senior executive following an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and bullying.
(Reporting by Sherin Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
