In defence of Fortescue

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From Barclays via the SMH blog:

“Lower iron ore prices (and consequently a lower share price) would increase the risk/reward for FMG,” the broker says.

Barclays points to the following “under-appreciated” factors which could help the share price:

Currency: “a [5 cent] change in the $A/$US rate would impact NPV by 13 per cent, on our estimates”;

Shipping costs: “a 200-point change in the BDI could change NPV by 7 per cent”;

State royalties: “a reduction in royalty costs could cushion the impact of pricing by 6 per cent”;

Grades: The grade discount has overshot and “now appear due for a small reversal”

And here’s the only line that matters: “On the balance sheet, we do not see much risk unless iron ore remains at $US85/t or less for five years out to 2019.”

Fortescue impact of commodity price on valuation
I expect iron ore to stay at $US85/t or less for five years out to 2019.
About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific's leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.
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