Fortescue reported a slight rise in annual iron-ore shipments to a new record, but will write down the value of its Iron Bridge project by approximately $750 million amid a slower-than-expected ramp up of the mine.

The Australian company, the world's fourth-biggest producer of iron ore, said Friday that it shipped 201.3 million metric tons of the steelmaking ingredient for the year ended June, a 1% increase over the previous year.

Shipments of Iron Bridge concentrate totaled 9.0 million tons, up from 7.1 million tons a year earlier.

The ramp up of the magnetite operation, a joint venture with Taiwan's Formosa Plastics, has been delayed by operational challenges, including at a processing facility. The investment in Iron Bridge is intended to expand Fortescue's product mix by adding material with higher iron content and fewer impurities.

Fortescue expects to book a noncash, pretax impairment against Iron Bridge of around $750 million--roughly $525 million after tax--in its fiscal 2026 results. The charge reflects a revised ramp-up schedule and range of production scenarios, it said.

Fortescue projected total shipments for the year ahead to range between 197 million and 207 million tons, including 11 million to 14 million tons from Iron Bridge.

The miner said it will assess options to increase port outload capacity as it continues to ramp up Iron Bridge and make improvements across its main hematite mining operations. It will explore ways to increase annual capacity to 210 million tons from the current level of approximately 205 million tons.

Fortescue's hematite operations have a capacity of more than 190 million tons annually, while Iron Bridge aims to reach production of 22 million tons a year.

Production costs for the past year remained in line with guidance despite ongoing inflationary pressure.

However, unit costs at its hematite operations were 6% higher in the final quarter of the fiscal year compared with the three months prior, primarily driven by higher diesel prices.

Fortescue forecasts further cost increases for the year ahead.