Quarterly revenue of $333M, EBITDA of $85M1 and EPS of $0.05 FY2024 revenue of $1,524M, EBITDA of $553M1 and EPS of $0.45 Declares a dividend of $0.10 per ordinary share DRPF project advancing as planned with an expected completion in H2/2025 MONTRÉAL, May 30, 2024 /CNW/ - (Sydney, May 31, 2024) - Champion Iron Limited (TSX:CIA) (ASX: CIA) (OTCQX:CIAFF) ("Champion" or the "Company") reports its operational and financial results for its financial fourth quarter and financial year ended March 31, 2024. Champion's CEO, Mr. David Cataford, said, "Our mission to participate in the decarbonization of steelmaking globally is matched by our commitment to produce responsible materials locally. As such, I am proud of our environmental track record and of our team's ability to meet our ESG commitments, which are aligned with our values and essential to the success of our Company. With our financial and operational achievements, we completed the 2024 financial year with a robust balance sheet, enabling us to maintain our capital return strategy with a sixth consecutive semi-annual dividend. Furthermore, our DRPF project is on track to produce one of the highest purity iron ores in the world, enabling Champion to play a greater role in the green steel supply chain. As we march forward with our growth projects, we are grateful for the continuous trust and support of all our stakeholders, including our First Nations partners." Conference Call Details Champion will host a conference call and webcast on May 31, 2024, at 9:00 AM (Montréal time) / 11:00 PM (Sydney time) to discuss the results for the financial fourth quarter and financial year ended March 31, 2024. Call details are outlined at the end of this press release. 1. Quarterly Highlights Operations and Sustainability No serious injuries or major environmental incidents reported in the quarter; Met and exceeded most annual sustainability Key Performance Indicators detailed in the Company's 2023 Sustainability Report, which incorporated industry best practice disclosure frameworks, including the Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI"), Sustainability Accounting Standard Board ("SASB") and Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures ("TCFD"). The 2023 Sustainability Report is available on the Company's website at www.championiron.com; Quarterly production of 3.3 million wmt (3.2 million dmt) of high-grade 66.1% Fe concentrate for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, down 19% from the previous quarter, and up 6% over the same period last year; and Quarterly iron ore concentrate sales of 3.0 million dmt for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, down 8% and 4% from the previous quarter and the prior-year period, respectively. Financial Results Gross realized selling price of US$123.4/dmt1, compared to the P65 index average of US$135.9/dmt in the period; Net realized selling price of US$82.9/dmt1, representing a 28% decrease quarter-on-quarter, and 25% year-on-year; C1 cash cost of $76.6/dmt1 (US$56.8/dmt)2, an increase of 5% quarter-on-quarter, and a decrease of 3% year-on-year; EBITDA of $85.1 million1, a decrease of 65% quarter-on-quarter, and 57% year-on-year; Net income of $25.8 million, a decrease of 80% quarter-on-quarter, and 71% year-on-year; EPS of $0.05, a decrease of 79% quarter-on-quarter, and 71% year-on-year; Strong cash position at quarter-end with $400.1 million in cash and cash equivalents as at March 31, 2024, an increase of $12.7 million since December 31, 2023, and $73.3 million since the beginning of the financial year; Available liquidity to support growth initiatives, including amounts available from the Company's credit facilities, totalled $942.1 million1 at quarter-end, compared to $937.6 million1 as at December 31, 2023; and Semi-annual dividend of $0.10 per ordinary share declared on May 30, 2024 (Montréal) / May 31, 2024 (Sydney), in connection with annual results for the period ended March 31, 2024. 2. Bloom Lake Mine Operating Activities  Bloom Lake's Phase II reached commercial production in the third quarter of the 2023 financial year and produced at nameplate capacity for thirty consecutive days for the first time during the first quarter of the 2024 financial year. During the third quarter of the 2024 financial year, the Company ran both plants beyond their nameplate capacity to identify operational bottlenecks. The strategy was successful and both plants produced well above their nameplate capacity, but it impacted the availability of the equipment in the fourth quarter causing unplanned maintenance activities due to premature wear and tear on the equipment and earlier than expected major maintenance of the plants. As the Company was completing additional maintenance during this quarter, it also solidified its operations and the team was mobilized to identify and analyze work programs and investments required to structurally increase Bloom Lake's nameplate capacity beyond 15 Mtpa over time. Shipments were negatively impacted during the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, as a result of continued lagging railway services as well as planned and unplanned maintenance activities on the railroad. Due to the ongoing disconnect in railway services and Bloom Lake's increasing production capacity, the iron ore concentrate stockpiled at Bloom Lake increased significantly since June 2023. As at March 31, 2024, the iron ore concentrate stockpiled at the site totalled 2.7 million wmt, an increase of 0.2 million wmt since December 31, 2023. The Company continues to seek improvements from the rail operator to receive contracted haulage services to ensure that Bloom Lake's production, as well as iron ore concentrate currently stockpiled at Bloom Lake, is hauled over future periods. The Company expects to incur additional handling costs in future periods to reclaim the iron ore concentrate from the stockpile which should negatively impact the cost of sales in future periods. Q4 FY24 Q3 FY24 Q/Q Change Q4 FY23 Y/Y Change Operating Data Waste mined and hauled (wmt) 6,498,700 6,993,200 (7) % 5,023,900 29 % Ore mined and hauled (wmt) 9,471,200 11,215,800 (16) % 9,193,800 3 % Material mined and hauled (wmt) 15,969,900 18,209,000 (12) % 14,217,700 12 % Stripping ratio 0.69 0.62 11 % 0.55 25 % Ore milled (wmt) 9,349,100 11,137,000 (16) % 9,054,600 3 % Head grade Fe (%) 28.7 29.4 (2) % 28.4 1 % Fe recovery (%) 80.2 81.4 (1) % 78.6 2 % Product Fe (%) 66.1 66.3 — % 66.1 — % Iron ore concentrate produced (wmt) 3,275,400 4,042,600 (19) % 3,084,200 6 % Iron ore concentrate sold (dmt) 2,968,900 3,227,500 (8) % 3,092,900 (4) % During the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, 16.0 million tonnes of material were mined and hauled, compared to 14.2 million tonnes during the same period in 2023, an increase of 12%. This increase is attributable to the contribution of additional equipment, a higher utilization and availability of mining equipment, and reduced trucking cycle time associated with the construction of additional ramp accesses. Material mined and hauled during the previous quarter was 18.2 million tonnes, representing a quarter-on-quarter decrease of 12%, mainly attributable to the lower availability of loading equipment and winter conditions. The stripping ratio of 0.69 for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, was as expected and higher than the same prior-year period. Lower concentrate production, impacted by mill availabilities during the quarter, reduced the quantity of ore required to be mined and hauled to feed the plants, enabling the reallocation of mining equipment to move additional waste materials. This resulted in a slightly higher stripping ratio for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, compared to a ratio in the previous quarter of 0.62. The Company plans to maintain higher stripping activities in accordance with the LoM plan over the next quarters. During the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, the two plants at Bloom Lake processed 9.3 million tonnes of ore, compared to 9.1 million tonnes for the same prior-year period and 11.1 million tonnes in the previous quarter, an increase of 3% and a decrease of 16%, respectively. Ore processed during the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, was negatively impacted by longer than planned maintenance activities, unplanned outages as well as an advanced schedule of expected major plant maintenance, driven by additional production in the previous quarter. This was attributable to the Company's strategy during the previous quarter to operate the plants beyond their expanded nameplate capacity to prove their ability to do so and to identify and confirm bottlenecks. The iron ore head grade for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, was 28.7%, compared to 28.4% for the same period in 2023, and 29.4% during the previous quarter. The variation in head grade was within expected normal variations in the mine plan. The Company's average Fe recovery rate was 80.2% for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, compared to 78.6% for the same period in 2023, and 81.4% during the previous quarter. The year-over-year increase in Fe recovery is attributable to work programs that increased throughput and ore recoveries. With continuous efforts made to optimize its recovery circuits, the Company expects to reach the LoM Fe recovery rate target of 82.0% in the near term. With higher Fe recovery and comparable head grade, Bloom Lake produced 3.3 million wmt (3.2 million dmt) of high-grade iron ore concentrate during the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, an increase of 6% compared to 3.1 million wmt (3.0 million dmt) during the same period in 2023, and a decrease of 19% compared to the previous quarter. 3. Financial Performance  Q4 FY24 Q3 FY24 Q/Q Change Q4 FY23 Y/Y Change Financial Data (in thousands of dollars) Revenues