Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s huge windfall as Fortescue ups payout before a big China pricing test

The Forrest family has lined up a massive payday after Fortescue boosted its dividend on the back of increased Pilbara iron ore earnings.

Fortescue’s half-year net profit jumped 23 per cent from $US1.6 billion to $US1.9b ($2.7b) to underpin a rise in the interim dividend from 50¢ to 62¢.

The separated Andrew and Nicola Forrest will share in a dividend of about $690m for their major stake in the mining giant.

Higher profits were driven by record shipments of more than 100 million tonnes of iron ore from its Pilbara mining machine and a lower spend on international green energy projects.

Its green energy arm bled $US201m for the half versus $US365m during the prior corresponding period.

Fortescue’s green energy focus is shifting away from developing standalone hydrogen production hubs scattered across the globe. The miner is instead now focused on decarbonising its core iron ore operations.

“It’s been a standout first half of the financial year. We delivered record shipments of 100.2 million tonnes while keeping our people safe and costs low,“ Fortescue chief executive Dino Otranto said.

“We have the lowest operating cost in the industry, and decarbonisation is pushing that even lower. By removing diesel across our operations, we’re structurally improving our cost position.”

An average tonne of Fortescue’s Pilbara ore fetched $US90.87 — higher than market expectations.

Revenue rose 10 per cent to $US8.4b, with the share of earnings derived from Chinese customers growing from 86 to 89 per cent.

Fortescue in recent months has taken out loans with Chinese banks, boosted its managerial presence in the country, and has gone out of its way to buy mining equipment and battery electric storage from Chinese companies.

This is all been part of a concerted effort to curry favour with Beijing in hopes state-run iron ore procurer — China Mineral Resources Group — gives it a favourable long-term trade deal.

CRMG was set up to push down the prices that China’s steel mills have to pay for iron ore.

Its latest tactic has been to force suppliers to adopt new price indexes that China has greater control over.

Fortescue has readily adopted the new indexes while some of its peers, notably BHP, have pushed back against the demands.

Analysts expect any impacts on realised iron ore prices from index changes to start materialising in the current half.

Fortescue started 2026 with cash on hand of $US4.7b and net debt of $US1b.

Shares in the miner were up 2.1 per cent on Wednesday morning at $20.63.