Highlights

  • Managed ROM production of 11.0Mt, up 3% on the June quarter.
  • Average achieved price of A$226/t, up 2% on the June quarter.
  • Unit costs at the low end of the FY27 guidance range of $132-147/t.
  • Equity sales down 5% to 6.0Mt due to export terminal disruptions.

Coal producer Whitehaven Coal Limited (ASX:WHC) reported stronger mine output and realised pricing for the September 2026 quarter, but transport bottlenecks kept sales from matching production. The divergence left more coal in inventory even as the company maintained its full-year production guidance.

Mine-by-Mine Production

Queensland managed ROM production was 5.5Mt, down 4% on the June quarter. Blackwater produced 4.1Mt, in line with the prior quarter, while Daunia produced 1.4Mt as a new box-cut began. Queensland equity sales fell 12% to 2.8Mt due to 12 days of planned and unplanned loading outages at the RG Tanna terminal, which lifted closing stocks to 3.1Mt.

New South Wales managed ROM production rose 10% to 5.5Mt, driven by a notable uplift at Narrabri, which produced 1.9Mt during an uninterrupted period of longwall production. Maules Creek produced 2.7Mt in line with its planned sequence. NSW equity sales rose 2% to 3.2Mt despite terminal disruptions at PWCS, and the Gunnedah Open Cuts received approval to haul as much as 4.1Mt per year, up from 3.5Mt.

Prices and Sales Mix

Whitehaven’s average achieved price was A$226/t, up 2% on the June quarter and 20% on the prior corresponding period. Queensland operations achieved A$257/t, with metallurgical coal realising 74% of the PLV HCC index, while NSW operations achieved A$198/t, with thermal coal realising 103% of the gC NEWC index. Metallurgical coal made up 57% of sales revenue.

The business indicated metallurgical coal prices were supported by buying from Chinese steel mills and demand from Japan, Europe and Korea, along with supply constraints. Thermal coal prices strengthened toward the end of the quarter amid energy security concerns linked to Middle East conflict and uncertainty over Indonesian exports.

Cost Control and Balance Sheet

Unit costs were at the low end of FY27 guidance of $132-147/t, despite diesel averaging approximately $1.38 per litre compared with approximately $1.16 assumed in guidance. Net debt rose by approximately $0.1 billion to approximately $1.4 billion, reflecting $61 million in shareholder distributions, an $84 million contingent payment to BMA and higher inventories and receivables, which are expected to unwind in the December quarter.

Whitehaven bought back 1.8 million shares for $14 million over the three-month period. The final US$100 million deferred payment to BMA is due in April 2027 and the final contingent payment in July 2027, which will complete payments for the Queensland acquisition. FY27 guidance was unchanged, such as managed ROM production of 38.0-41.0Mt.

Guidance and Outstanding Deliveries