IlukaResources Ltd. said April 7 that its zircon sales for the currentyear might be below initial expectations as it will reduce the zircon referenceprice for the second quarter by 10% to about US$950 per tonne.

The company may also adjust this year's zircon production ofabout 350,000 tonnes; however, combined sales of zircon, rutile and syntheticrutile are still expected to exceed the aggregate production of about 660,000tonnes.

The reference price is the benchmark against which a rangeof the company's zircon products are priced. Iluka is adjusting its referenceprice after a price reduction for the April to June period of about US$100 pertonne by a major competitor, it said.

Iluka returned to profit in 2015, booking a posttax net profitof A$53.5 million, from the A$62.5 million loss incurred in 2014.