Australia's Whitehaven Coal delivers Q2 beat as output climbs over 13% (updated)

Whitehaven Coal

28/01/2026 22:18

Q2 managed run-of-mine production of 11 MMT, up 13.5% y/y

Shares hit highest level since late January 2023

Co keeps FY26 forecasts for coal production and sales

Updates with share move in paragraph 2

Jan 29 (Reuters) - Whitehaven Coal WHC.AX logged a bigger-than-expected 13.5% rise in second-quarter output on Thursday, helped by improved mining conditions and higher output from its Queensland and New South Wales operations, sending its shares to a three-year high.

Shares of Australia's largest independent coal miner rose as much as 4.4% to A$9.59, their highest level since late January 2023, while the benchmark stock index .AXJO was down 0.4%, as of 2329 GMT.

Production recovered after dragline-sequencing issues were resolved at the company's Queensland mines, which lifted output in the region by 20% from a quarter earlier.

Earnings were supported by metallurgical coal, Whitehaven's largest revenue earner, with prices hitting a one‑year high during the December quarter due to supply disruptions in Australia and Canada, as well as robust demand from India.

The company earned A$190 per metric ton of coal sold, compared with an average A$188 per ton in the previous quarter.

The Sydney-headquartered firm reported managed run-of-mine (ROM) coal production of 11 million tons for the three-month period ended December 31, compared with 9.7 million tons a year earlier. This beat the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 9.8 million tons.

Whitehaven maintained its full-year forecasts for coal production and sales, saying both were on track to be firmly in the upper half of its projected range.

 (Reporting by Jasmeen Ara Shaikh and Kumar Tanishk in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo, Alan Barona and Subhranshu Sahu)

 ((jasmeenaraislam.shaikh@thomsonreuters.com; Tanishk.Kumar@thomsonreuters.com; X: @thatstanishk))