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Australian coal miner New Hope H1 earnings drops, payment beats expectations

Australian thermal coal miner New Hope Corp on Tuesday reported a 62.4% drop in its firsthalf earnings in line with a fall in international coal costs, and paid a dividend that beat analyst expectations as its New Acland mine growth increases.

New Hope saw initially export shipments from its New Acland stage 3 growth and stronger sales volumes from its Bengalla mine that underpinned greater sales volumes for the half.

That helped the company post a net revenue of A$ 251.7 million ($ 165.01 million) for the six months ended Jan. 31, less than half of its record revenue of A$ 668.6 million a year earlier as coal prices normalised following a jump at the beginning of the Ukraine war.

We see a brilliant future for coal need, New Hope CEO Rob Bishop said in an interview.

The way to net zero is going to take probably a lot longer than very first thought and coal need will remain strong throughout that transition, well past our current approvals, he included.

New Hope published a boost in its saleable coal production throughout the half-year as its average understood costs dropped 57% to A$ 197.03 per tonne. Shares traded up as much as 4.1% before alleviating to A$ 4.57, up 3.2%.

The miner stated an interim dividend of 17 Australian cents per share, listed below the 30 cents it paid in 2015 however greater than brokerage Morgans' estimate of 12 cents.

The dividend was decently much better than our expectations. Bengalla (mine) searches track. It's low maintenance and no surprises, that's what investors enjoy, said Morgans analyst Tom Sartor.

New Hope increased to 19.9% its stake in independently held Malabar which produces semi-soft coking coal, as it diversifies its growth alternatives.

It is likewise taking a look at chances with the Queensland government to construct a pumped hydro job with wind and solar that might provide approximately 5% of the state's electrical energy, Bishop stated.

In January, New Hope purchased mining rights to West Muswellbrook from Japan's Idemitsu near the western side of its Bengalla mine, for future optionality for its mining and agricultural businesses.

It has actually been approached by possible purchasers for its Bridgeport Energy oil system and its West Moreton coal possession, it included.

(source: Reuters)