Whitehaven sets modest 2024-25 Australian coal target

Australian producer Whitehaven Coal has set a modest target of 28mn-31.5mn t of managed sales in the 2024-25 fiscal year to 30 June, as it settles in its coal mine acquisitions and deals with rail congestion.

The firm said that this target is very achievable. It managed sales of 19.5mn t in 2023-24, with under three months of attributable production from the 12mn t/yr Blackwater and 4mn t/yr Daunia that it bought from BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) in April. It managed sales of 16.63mn t in 2022-23.

Whitehaven struggled with sales from Daunia during April-June as it was unable to secure enough pathways on the Goonyella rail line to BMA's Hay Point port and the multi-user port of Dalrymple Bay Coal terminal. The firm has since resolved this issue, which was related to unbundling Daunia's rail needs from the wider BMA contract, and has caught up on shipments during July-August. But it is still having issues with the Goonyella network.

"Most users agree that that network in particular is constrained in volumes due to both maintenance and weather," Whitehaven chief executive Paul Flynn said. The Blackwater network, which connects into the port of Gladstone is unaffected, he added.

Daunia sits in the middle of the Goonyella network, which contributed to network operator and rail haulage firm Aurizon missing its 2023-24 coal haulage target.

The firm agreed to sell 30pc of Blackwater to Japanese steel producers JFE Steel and Nippon Steel for $1.078bn, allowing it to reduce its debt following the BMA acquisition. Flynn has no intention of using the cash to join in the bidding for UK-South African coal mining firm Anglo American's Australian assets but will stay focused on Australian rather than US metallurgical coal growth options. It has two internal development coking coal growth options in Winchester South in Queensland and Vickery in New South Wales.

Whitehaven rival Yancoal decided not to pay a dividend on 20 August so that it would have a strong enough balance sheet for acquisitions, including the Anglo American options.

By Jo Clarke