Key Highlights

  • Attributable saleable coal production reached a record 19.8mn tonnes.
  • First-half Revenue increased 13% to AUD 3.02bn.
  • Operating EBITDA rose 29% to AUD 767mn.
  • Yancoal ended June with approximately AUD 2.1bn in cash and no interest-bearing debt.

Yancoal’s first-half accounts presented two sharply different measures of performance. Yancoal Australia (ASX:YAL) delivered record attributable saleable production and higher operating EBITDA, yet statutory net profit fell to AUD 17mn after non-operating items. The distinction places production, unit costs and the composition of reported Earnings at the centre of the full-year assessment.

Company Business

Yancoal produces thermal and metallurgical coal from operations across New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Its portfolio includes Moolarben, Mount Thorley Warkworth, Hunter Valley Operations, Ashton, Yarrabee, Cameby Downs, an interest in Middlemount and Premier Coal, supported by access to rail and port infrastructure.

Sector Context

On 19 August 2026 Yancoal reported results for the six months to 30 June 2026. Revenue rose 13% to AUD 3,024mn and operating EBITDA increased 29% to AUD 767mn. Net profit after tax was AUD 17mn, struck after AUD 272mn of non-operating items that included a AUD 49mn Impairment at the Zhongshan operation.

Directors declared a fully franked Interim Dividend of AUD 0.07 per share, which traded ex-dividend on 2 September 2026. That follows a fully franked final dividend of AUD 0.122 per share for the 2025 year, which went ex-dividend on 19 March 2026. Operationally the first half was the highest on record for the group.

Management attributed the record Equity saleable production to improved performance across the New South Wales open cut operations, and said it remained confident of holding full-year unit cost guidance despite an increase in diesel costs during the period. The July 2026 quarterly update, which showed record second-quarter output and firmer realised prices, had already pointed in that direction. Attributable saleable coal production reached 19.8mn tonnes in the half, up 5% and a record for a six-month period.

The average realised price was AUD 154 per tonne, comprising AUD 143 per tonne for thermal coal and AUD 216 per tonne for metallurgical coal, while cash operating costs were AUD 96 per tonne. Capital Expenditure of AUD 306mn was invested during the period. The company finished June 2026 with a cash balance of about AUD 2.1bn and no interest-bearing debt, leaving it among the more conservatively funded producers in the sector.

Risks to Consider

Coal prices are volatile and directly determine realised revenue. Further impairments cannot be ruled out, as the half-year result showed. Yancoal also faces regulatory, approvals and climate policy exposure in Australia, and its Majority Shareholder structure means minority investors have limited influence over capital allocation.

What to Watch Next

Full-year 2026 guidance is for attributable saleable production of 36.5 to 40.5mn tonnes, cash operating costs of AUD 90 to AUD 98 per tonne and capital expenditure of AUD 600 to AUD 750mn. Management has said it expects to hold cost guidance despite higher diesel prices. Quarterly production reports, thermal coal price movements and the size of the 2026 final dividend are the near-term items to follow.

Record half-year volumes, a 29% lift in operating EBITDA and a debt-free Balance Sheet with AUD 2.1bn of cash describe a Business generating cash. The AUD 17mn statutory profit tells a different story, driven by one-off charges. For ASX investors watching Yancoal in September 2026, reconciling those two figures — and tracking whether cost guidance holds — is the central task.