Australian operations drive Coronado performance

Coronado’s production from the Curragh coal mine in Queensland jumped by 24 per cent to 3.7 million tonnes during the period.

This is still below Coronado’s expectation as mine output was impacted by COVID-19 safety practices.

The company, however, sold 17 per cent more coal from Curragh to a total three million tonnes during the quarter.

This comes in contrast to Coronado’s American operations, which declined in both production and sales volumes due to the idling of operations. It has brought Coronado’s group production down by 15 per cent to 3.8 million tonnes compared with the previous quarter.

Coronado chief executive Gerry Spindler said that the global economic slowdown had sharply reduced the demand for steel production in all markets with the exception of China.

“Over the course of the June 2020 quarter, steel mills have recommenced or increased steel production as economic conditions improved modestly, with positive signs from the automotive and construction sectors and China steel production operating at record levels as construction stimulus underpins demand,” he said.

“Curragh has benefited from being a strategic ‘base load’ producer in Asia Pacific during the June 2020 quarter with sales and demand relatively stable.

“The sales team were also able to identify additional customers during the period and have sold coal into an improving Chinese market.”

Spindler believes that sales from the Curragh mine will remain stable for the next quarter.

However, the company was still not immune from the sharp decline in prices, with the Platts prime low volume (LV) hard coking coal index reaching a low of $US106 ($152.6) per tonne.

This contributed to Coronado’s fall in revenue by 26 per cent to $304 million on the March period.

“Our expectation is that prices are likely to remain supported over the short term as demand from India resumes following the monsoon season,” Spindler said.

Coronado’s complex, located approximately 10 kilometre north of Blackwater in central Queensland has been operating since 1983, producing a a variety of high quality low-ash met coal products.

Coronado aims to produce between 16.5 and 17 million tonnes of coal for the full year.