Australia's Whitehaven Coal posts surprise first-half loss on weaker prices (updated)

Whitehaven Coal

18/02/2026 22:15

adds further details in para 2, 4 & 7, analyst comments in para 6

HY loss of A$19 million vs A$16 million profit consensus

Sees coal prices improving in near-term and long-term

Declares interim dividend of 4 Australian cents

Shares close nearly 5% lower

By Nichiket  Sunil and Shruti  Agarwal

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Australia’s Whitehaven Coal WHC.AX posted a surprise first-half loss on Thursday, as weak prices outweighed strong production, though the miner expects prices to firm over the longer term.

Thermal and metallurgical coal prices stayed under pressure in the first half of 2026 as ample Chinese steel curbed demand for steelmaking coal, with U.S. tariff uncertainty also weighing on prices, the company said.

Whitehaven, Australia’s largest independent coal miner, reported a 19% drop in average coal prices to A$189 ($133.11) a metric ton, which offset gains in output.

Run‑of‑mine managed production rose to 20 million tons from 19.4 million tons a year earlier, while managed sales inched up to 16.2 million tons in the reported period.

The company, however, said metallurgical coal prices should improve in the near term amid supply constraints following Cyclone Koji, with longer‑term support expected from rising Indian demand.

“This scenario is reasonable but will play out over a long time frame,” said Craig Sidney, a senior investment adviser at Shaw and Partners, noting the company expects India to account for 50% of met coal demand by 2050, nearly double current levels.

Whitehaven also said it expects thermal coal prices, used mainly for power generation, to improve, citing continued demand for affordable and reliable electricity.

The miner's Queensland assets, including the Blackwater and Daunia metallurgical coal mines, which it acquired from BHP BHP.AX, posted a 58% slump in first‑half underlying operating earnings, while its New South Wales operations booked a 46% decline.

Whitehaven reported an underlying net loss after tax of A$19 million, reversing an A$350 million profit a year earlier and missing Visible Alpha's profit estimates of $16 million.

Its shares closed 4.9% lower at a more than one-month low.

The miner declared an interim dividend of 4 Australian cents per share and plans to spend another A$32 million on share buybacks over the next six months.

($1 = 1.4205 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Nichiket Sunil and Shruti Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Rashmi Aich)

((Shruti.Agarwal@thomsonreuters.com;Nichiket.Sunil@thomsonreuters.com))