Whitehaven Coal has had a 95 per cent fall in full-year profit due to lower coal prices but management is adamant there is strong demand for its supplies in Asia.
Whitehaven's net profit after tax dipped to $30.0 million after coal prices slipped due to ongoing US-China trade disputes and declined further as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Fewer sales and higher costs exacerbated the results.
Coal production slipped by four per cent. This was due to worker shortages, and drought and bushfires disrupting efforts at Whitehaven's biggest mine, Maules Creek, in NSW.
A scheduled longwall move of its mine at Narrabri, in the state's north, reduced production there for eight weeks.
Shareholders will not receive a final dividend. The 2019 final dividend was 30 cents per share (including special dividend).
A worker at a coal-fired electricity generation plant in Japan. - AAP
Read the full article published in the Deniliquin Times, 26th August 2020