MELBOURNE, July 21 (Reuters) - Australia's South32 Ltd S32.AX said it is on track to meet its cost guidance for the coming fiscal year after a heavy round of restructuring, and reported full-year production results in line with its forecasts.
South32 said in February that it would write down its assets by $1.7 billion, axe hundreds of jobs, and cut global manganese supply by about a quarter as it battled an expected prolonged slump in commodity prices. off by BHP Billiton BHP.AX BLT.L a year ago with little debt, South32 produces nickel, manganese, aluminium and coal, commodities that have all slumped over the past year due to oversupply and slowing growth in China.
The miner said it has completed restructuring at its Worsley Alumina, Illawarra Met coal, Australian and South African Manganese operations, and its Columbian nickel unit and was well positioned "to achieve previously announced FY17 unit cost guidance."
The Australian financial year runs from July to June.
Quarterly alumina production slipped 2.8 percent to 1.296 million tonnes in the June quarter from the previous quarter, while nickel output edged down 1 percent to 9,600 tonnes. Aluminium output dipped 1 percent to 238,000 tonnes.
South32 also said that it had reached agreement with the Northern Territory's Anindilyakwa Land Council to expand exploration around its current manganese operations.
For the 2016 financial year, nickel production at Cerro Matoso in Colombia fell 9 percent to 36,800 tonnes.
An increase in grades and recovery of zinc ore pushed yearly zinc production up 9 percent to 79,000 tonnes.