Andrew Forrest (left) in conversation with China's Premier Li Qiang at a research facility operated by Forrest's iron ore mining company, Fortescue, in the Australian city of Perth. (Photo by Colin Murty - Pool /Getty Images)Getty ImagesAndrew Forrest, Australia’s third richest person, has taken a modest ‘pay’ cut after Fortescue, the iron ore mining company he founded and still chairs, trimmed its annual dividend by 2% after a 15% profit fall.The divided decline reduces the payout to Forrest and his family to an estimated $840 million for the year, with the 2% decline an insignificant reduction when measured against his net wealth estimated to be $18.2 billion.Most of Forrest’s fortune, which is share with his wife Nicola, is tied to their jointly-owned 37% stake in Fortescue which earlier today reported a profit $2 billion (A$2.87 billion) for the June 30 year compared with $2.36 billion in the previous year.Iron ore stockpiles at Fortescue's Cloudbreak mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Photographer: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg© 2023 Bloomberg Finance LPThe lower profit was largely the result of higher charges associated with a troubled iron ore upgrading project called Iron Bridge which has failed to perform as planned, resulting in a $525 million non-cash impairment charge.MORE FOR YOUAnother write-off of $73 million was associated with compensation paid to traditional Aboriginal owners of the land under a mine operated by Fortescue.The Iron Bridge write-off follows earlier impairment charges made by Fortescue in ‘green’ hydrogen projects which Forrest hoped would cement his company as a global leader in production of the low pollution fuel.When green hydrogen failed to perform Forrest turned his environmental focus to a vast solar farm near the mines Fortescue operates in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.Electricity from the solar farms, and associated wind turbines, is powering much of the company’s mining operations, including heavy duty electric ore hauling trucks he is buying from China.Chinese Haul TrucksThe truck purchases, along with other items of mining equipment, are seen as a way of Fortescue demonstrating its close trading relationship with China, a strategy which has not gone entirely to plan as China pressures Fortescue and other Australian iron ore mining companies for lower iron ore prices.Fortescue executives have been critical of China’s demands with the head of the Australian company’s energy division, Gus Pichot, saying it was important for the future prosperity for Australia and China that the countries follow fair and proper market practices.Total iron ore mined by Fortescue last financial year was a record 246 million tons, up 3% on the previous year, with shipments (mainly to China) rising by 1% to 201.3m/t. The cost of mining the ore rose by 5% to $18.74/t.The head of the metals division of Fortescue, Dino Otranto on the sidelines of the China Development Forum in Beijing earlier this year. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg© 2026 Bloomberg Finance LPAnnual revenue from ore sales increased by 9% to $16.9 billion. Underlying Ebit (pre-tax earnings) was up by a similar percentage to $8.6 billion, representing a gross profit margin of 51%.Fortescue Metals and Operations chief executive Dino Otranto said the record operating performance resulted in a 25% increase in free cash flow.“We invested $3.6 billion across the business and finished the year with $5.1 billion in cash and net debt of just $0.9 billion,” Otranto said.