A bumper year from Fortescue Metals Group has provided a payday of more than a billion dollars for the company's founder Andrew Forrest.

Fortescue (FMG) has reported an after-tax profit of $US4.7 billion ($6.6 billion) and boasted record shipments, earnings, revenue and cashflow.

The final dividend of $1.00 means Andrew Forrest, who bought more shares earlier this year, will reap nearly $1.2 billion.

FMG's chief executive, Elizabeth Gaines, paid tribute to the entire workforce.

"Today's results are a testament of the hard work and dedication of the entire Fortescue team guided by our unique culture and values," she said.

"The FY20 financial year was a year of record achievements with the Fortescue team delivering excellent results across all of our key operating and financial measures."

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Ms Gaines said FMG was "privileged" to continue operating during the pandemic.

"We did take this responsibility seriously and through a range of COVID-19 measures and the commitment of the entire Fortescue team, there was no impact on our shipping schedule," she said.

Shipments up 6pc on last year

Full-year shipments, at more than 178 million tonnes, were 6 per cent higher than what was achieved in the last financial year.

Ms Gaines said it showed FMG was a reliable supplier of iron ore to customers, particularly China.

"Now more than ever, we cannot lose sight of the fact that we are a trading nation as we continue to benefit from our valuable trading relationship with China," she said.

She said the mining industry helped fund Australia's health, education and public infrastructure.

"Just to give that some additional context, our state royalties of $1.25 billion were enough to fund the opening of almost 20 new secondary schools in Western Australia," she said.

Fortescue touts more good results

Ms Gaines said the good times were likely to continue.

"Notably, the iron ore price has held up strongly through this period, due to that remarkable recovery we've seen in China's economy as well as some ongoing supply constraints, particularly in South America," she said.

"We've seen strong ongoing demand for all of our products.

"We've seen this continue through July and now into August which is underpinning a strong start to FY21.

"China's crude steel production continues to grow, reaching 593 million tonnes in the first seven months of this calendar year, and that's an increase year-on-year of 2.8 per cent."

FMG said as of June 30, Aboriginal people represented 10 per cent of the firm's Australian workforce, and 14 per cent of its employees in the Pilbara region.

The female employment rate was 19 per cent, with more than a quarter of senior leadership roles held by women.

The company also said it had recorded an improvement in safety performance.