Thank you, Stefan. It's great to be with you all. As I join you today here from Perth, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, the Wadjuk people of the Noongar Nation, and pay my respects to their elders, past, present, and emerging. I'd like to extend this respect to other Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people who might be joining us today. Thank you to our hosts, Stefan and Jess, for the opportunity to speak to you all today, and obviously for being very highly engaged shareholders. I would like to congratulate Alphinity Investment Management on achieving 10 years and their very strong track record as an investment manager. My intent today is to provide a brief overview of Fortescue, and I'll touch on our most recent production and financial results.
I will spend some time speaking about our values-based approach to sustainability. We understand the importance our shareholders and the community place on companies acting responsibly and sustainably. We believe that keeping our values at the heart of everything we do has allowed us to build positive and enduring relationships with our stakeholders. Finally, I will share some thoughts on the role business can and should play in driving positive social and economic outcomes. This year, it will be 17 years since Fortescue was founded by our Chairman, Dr. Andrew Forrest, AO. In those 17 years, Fortescue has well and truly established itself as a world-class company. Today, we operate from two mining hubs in the Pilbara, and we are doubling that with the Eliwana and the Iron Bridge developments.
We fully own and operate our rail and port infrastructure, and we have five berths at the port of Port Hedland. We ship at an annual rate of 175-180 million tons. As Stefan mentioned earlier, since 2008, when we first shipped iron ore, we have delivered over 1.3 billion tons of iron ore to our customers. We have been recognized as the world's lowest cost producer of seaborne iron ore to China, and our focus on using technology and innovation to drive productivity and efficiency ensures we remain in an industry-leading cost position. We are a values-based business, and our unwavering focus on safety, family, empowerment, and stretch targets underpins everything we do. Our values are integral to our success, and they continue to be as fresh and relevant today as they were when Fortescue was first established.
Fortescue's unique culture has really shone through in our financial year 2020, and I am incredibly proud of the entire team who, in true Fortescue spirit, have adapted to the significant changes we asked of them as we had to proactively implement and expand a range of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. It is a real credit to the whole team that during these unprecedented conditions, we also achieved an overall improvement in safety performance, with our total recordable injury frequency rate reducing by 14% to 2.4% at 30th June. Safety is both a Fortescue value, and it is our number one priority. Our strong safety culture has seen our TRIFR reduced by 44% over the past five years.
Our safety performance underpinned our very strong operational performance for FY 2020, which included record full-year shipments of 178.2 million tons, 6% higher than FY 2019. Our C1 costs, so C1 costs are the cost of mining, processing, rail, and getting the ore on a ship. Those costs for FY 2020 were AUD 12.94 a wet metric ton, and that does include AUD 0.22 per ton of COVID-19-related costs. This excellent operating performance drove record financial results, including revenue of AUD 12.8 billion, 29% higher year- on- year. That is due to strong demand for our products as well as the market. We have seen the iron ore index price increase by 16% year- on- year, and our average revenue per ton increased by 21% over the prior year.
That was due to the successful execution of our integrated operations and marketing strategy, including an improvement in our product mix. Those disciplined cost controls and cost management are reflected in our AUD 8.4 billion of EBITDA at a margin of 65% and a full-year net profit after tax of AUD 4.7 billion. In August, we announced a final dividend of AUD 1 per share, and this, along with our interim dividend of AUD 0.76, represents a payout ratio of 77% of full-year net profit after tax. That is consistent with our policy to pay out a range of 50%-80% of net profit after tax. I think that clearly demonstrates our commitment to enhancing returns to our shareholders. I guess maybe to provide some further perspective, since the company's inception, Fortescue has now generated AUD 19.4 billion in net profit after tax.
We've made AUD 9 billion in voluntary debt repayments, and we've paid total dividends worth AUD 9.5 billion or AUD 4.23 per share. It is from this position of operational excellence and financial strength that we can positively contribute to thriving communities. I am very pleased today to spend some time talking about our approach to sustainability. Fundamentally, sustainability is about our people and our values, which set the ethical and moral compass by which we operate. When it comes to sustainability, integrity and empowerment are at the heart of our approach. Integrity guides our people to do what we say we're going to do and to be accountable for the impact of our activities on the community and the environment. The value of empowerment inspires our employees to do their best and to find innovative solutions to business and societal challenges.
By empowering our communities through training, development, employment, and business opportunities, we can assist them to thrive and prosper. Driven by our values, we are committed to setting high standards and safeguarding the environment and creating positive social change, which together form our three pillars of sustainability. We have aligned Fortescue's approach to sustainability with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and we are focused on working with host governments as they strive to deliver this important global agenda. We participate in benchmarking assessments, including the SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment, which was formerly the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Last year, Fortescue was rated as a world leader in corporate sustainability in their 2019 annual assessment. Just this year, the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, or ACSI, again recognized Fortescue as achieving a leading level of ESG reporting.
We are also recognized for the second year in a row as a leader in the quality of our sustainability reporting and our commitment to the Sustainability Development Goals in a recent report by the United Nations Association of Australia and RMIT University. Fortescue is proud to be a leader in our community, and we take our responsibility to set high standards very seriously. It is no coincidence that this is the first pillar of our sustainability framework. The health, safety, and well-being of the entire Fortescue family is our number one priority, and we are committed to continuously improving as we strive to become global leaders in safety. This year, 96% of our employees and our contractors participated in our annual Safety Excellence and Culture Survey. I think it is fair to say that that participation rate would be the envy of many.
This survey provides valuable feedback on how we can continue to build on the culture that makes Fortescue a great and safe place to work. Our strong and inclusive culture also underpins our approach to diversity. Proudly, we are one of Australia's largest employers of Aboriginal people, representing 14% of our Pilbara workforce and 10% of our total Australian workforce. Our female employment rate reached 19%, with 26% of senior leadership roles held by women. We firmly believe that our diverse workforce is integral to our success. Recent research revealed that Australian ASX-listed companies with a female CEO led to a 5% increase in company market value, and an increase in the share of female key management personnel resulted in an increased likelihood of better company performance.
From Fortescue's point of view, in the three years to 30 June 2020, we're proud to be the number one ranking stock in the S&P ASX 100 index, with total shareholder returns of 266%. While I've long believed our diverse culture is key to our industry-leading performance, the research now confirms it. Unfortunately, though, this is not driving the step change in diversity that Australia needs. The recent Chief Executive Women Census revealed disappointing results, with the number of women reaching senior leadership positions in ASX 200 companies flatlining in the past year. As we continue to see examples in large Australian companies of behavioral and cultural standards that are simply unacceptable, stakeholders are now demonstrating a demand for change that has never been stronger. In our view, that change must be led by a renewed focus on diversity.
During this year, the mining sector's work with Aboriginal communities, particularly the industry's approach to protecting Aboriginal heritage, came into sharp focus. Can I say from the outset that the destruction of Juukan Gorge should never have happened? This tragic event has refocused our industry, the government, and our communities on ensuring an appropriate balance between protecting significant Aboriginal heritage and facilitating local jobs and economic growth. From Fortescue's point of view, our primary objective is cultural heritage avoidance. We have seven Native Title land access agreements and many dozens of Aboriginal Heritage Agreements that establish detailed processes for engagement and heritage management. Like everything we do, our heritage management is guided by our values.
Our dedicated Aboriginal heritage, Native Title, and Aboriginal development teams are empowered to work hand- in- hand with our operations teams and traditional custodians to manage Aboriginal heritage sustainably and responsibly. Our agreements with Native Title holders are based on integrity and create formal and informal opportunities for engagement on Aboriginal heritage processes and procedure. Fortescue's agreements do not include heritage GAD clauses, and our Native Title partners are free to publicly speak about heritage process and openly object to heritage approvals if they wish to. This approach has seen us work closely and transparently with Native Title partners and with traditional knowledge holders to protect and avoid almost 6,000 heritage places across our mining operations. We welcome the consultation processes around the modernisation of the Western Australian Aboriginal Heritage Act, noting that it does have far-reaching implications beyond mining, and that would include agriculture, tourism, and public infrastructure.
We have certainly called for an increased voice for Aboriginal people in the process and equitable right of appeal to all parties. We will continue to work collaboratively to ensure the act strikes the appropriate balance between protecting heritage and supporting jobs, growth, and investment. As for me, I was born in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, so the environment of North and Northwest Australia is a particularly special place for me, and I am certainly proud of the work Fortescue does to protect the environment for future generations. Of course, water is an important part of our environment, and this is particularly the case in the Pilbara. Many of you may not know of Fortescue's industry-leading water management, as we work hard to use water responsibly and efficiently.
As some of our ore bodies sit below the groundwater table, we abstract water to mine in a process known as mine dewatering. In true Fortescue style, we developed our own innovative approach to dewatering to minimize environmental impacts and maintain the water balance by ensuring as much water as possible is returned to the natural environment through re-injection to the local groundwater systems. Key to this is the Papua Rinka, which has been operating at our Cloudbreak and Christmas Creek mine site since 2009. It is named after the traditional Nea Bali word for water of the ground. This scheme has progressively expanded over the last decade and currently returns over 110 GL of abstracted groundwater per annum. That is the equivalent to 70 MCGs filled with water or 40,000 Olympic swimming pools.
Contrary to other operators who use evaporative dams, overall 98% of water at Fortescue is re-injected, or it's used for beneficial purposes such as ore processing, dust control, and the supply of drinking water. In Australia, water security and climate change go hand- in- hand, with climate change one of the three most important influences on our nation's water resources. The impacts of climate change are changing the way we live, our communities, and how we operate our business. We must work together to take action and play our part in ensuring this global issue does not create a burden for future generations. The business sector is in a privileged position to take the lead and tackle the challenges associated with climate change.
Mining is one of the most innovative industries in the world, and we're harnessing this advantage to work towards carbon neutrality with a sense of urgency. This year, we announced an industry-leading emissions reduction goal to achieve net zero operational emissions by 2040, which is some 10 years before our peers. This goal is supported by a pathway to decarbonisation, including the reduction of Scope 1 and 2 emissions from existing operations by 26% by 2030. This year, we also released our inaugural standalone climate change report, which is aligned with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure. The report captures activity within our operations, including exploration and development, and highlights our Scope 1 and 2 emissions profile, as well as estimates of Scope 3 emissions. Scope 3 emissions are those emissions that fall within a company's value chain but are outside its operational control.
We are actively engaging with our customers to pursue opportunities to reduce Scope 3 emissions while remaining very focused on our direct and indirect emissions covered by Scope 1 and 2. Our proud history of setting stretch targets is strengthened by the introduction of practical initiatives that will help us deliver on our goals in an economically sustainable manner. Fortescue and our partners are investing AUD 800 million in energy transmission infrastructure and solar gas hybrid generation. The Pilbara Energy Connect project includes transmission infrastructure as well as solar and gas generation and large battery storage. The project will significantly increase the integration of Fortescue's stationary energy requirements in the Pilbara into an efficient network, while lowering the overall cost of electricity to existing and our future sites.
Pilbara Energy Connect will integrate with the Chichester Solar Gas Hybrid Project, which is a 60-megawatt solar generation facility at our Chichester Hub, and that includes a 60-kilometre transmission line and a 35 MW battery facility. Once these two projects are fully operational, it's estimated that 25%-30% of our stationary energy across our mining operations will be powered by solar. Further to our investment in energy infrastructure, we're progressing with plans to develop hydrogen technologies. We recently signed an MoU with Hyundai and the CSIRO to accelerate the development of renewable hydrogen technology for domestic transport. Significantly, we also announced an AUD 32 million investment in our renewable hydrogen mobility project. In a first for an Australian mining operation, we will deploy 10 full-size hydrogen-fueled passenger coaches to replace the existing fleet of diesel-fueled coaches at Christmas Creek in the middle of next year.
That will be supported by the installation of a refuelling station, which will harness renewable electricity to generate renewable hydrogen on site. Our third key pillar in our approach to sustainability is creating positive social change. We do believe that we are in a unique position to support remote Aboriginal communities and contribute to the vibrancy of regional centres by creating economic opportunity. Since Fortescue was founded by Andrew Forrest in 2003, we have consistently provided training, employment, and business development opportunities for Aboriginal people. Integral to this has been our Vocational Training and Employment Centre, or VTEC. VTEC was established at Fortescue in 2006, before the first ship of iron ore left our port. That is based on the simple but very compelling idea that after successfully completing training, you are guaranteed a job. Since 2006, over 900 VTEC graduates have begun full-time work at Fortescue.
Earlier this month, I was privileged to attend the graduation of our latest cohort. Danika, who's pictured here with her three-year-old son, Shai, and her six teammates will shortly begin work at Christmas Creek mine site if they haven't already. We are committed to upholding and respecting the human rights of all people at home and abroad. We oppose all forms of slavery in our operations and the operations of our suppliers. This year, we released our third annual Modern Slavery Statement. At a practical level, we are focused on training employees on how to identify and manage Modern Slavery risks, on risk analysis to identify those suppliers who are at a higher risk of contributing to or being directly linked to Modern Slavery, as well as completion of self-assessment questionnaires by higher-risk suppliers.
Our priority for FY 2021 is to review our human rights framework to ensure the processes and procedures that underpin it are adequate to identify and address all relevant risks, including those relating to Modern Slavery. In closing, I just wanted to touch on the broader issue of a company's role in and engagement with communities. Many commentators refer to this as a company's social licence to operate, but that's not really a term you hear very often at Fortescue. That's not because we think it's invalid or superfluous to our operations. On the contrary, Fortescue was founded with the belief that communities should benefit from our success, and empowering thriving communities is part of our DNA. As I've already mentioned, our approach to sustainability is guided by our values. We firmly believe our values are timeless and resonate across families, communities, and countries.
By keeping our values at the heart of our approach, we have developed constructive relationships with our communities, investors, shareholders, and other key stakeholders. We understand expectations change, but we do not believe that is anything to be afraid of, nor do we shy away from having economic and social policy debates, especially when they impact our business and the livelihood of our people. We believe that by working together, we can find even more ways of improving the sustainability of our company and our communities. The reality is that when business, government, and community collaborate, we can deliver positive policy and improve social outcomes. From Fortescue's point of view, there are a number of examples of our work laying the foundation for policy change.
In 2015, our Indigenous Procurement Initiative, Billion Opportunities, which has awarded AUD 2.7 billion in contracts to Aboriginal businesses and joint venture partners over the last nine years, became the blueprint for the Commonwealth Government's Indigenous Procurement Programme. Another really good example is modern slavery. This has been a key focus for Fortescue for a number of years prior to the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act in late 2018. Significantly, the Act came about thanks to the advocacy of business and notably of our Chairman, Andrew Forrest. Fortescue is a leader in its response to climate change, as we set ambitious targets and work across business and industry to deliver on our goals in an economically sustainable manner. I think what this shows is that business can and should have a strong voice to drive positive change.
Our ability to do so is underpinned by our success and our responsibility to our employees, shareholders, and communities. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I think we're going to go to Q&A now.