New Hope delivers ahead of schedule

New Hope’s Bengalla mine achieved its targeted run-of-mine rate of 13.4 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) ahead of schedule, while the 2023–24 financial year (FY24) also saw first coal sales from the New Acland restart.

The company produced of 9.1Mt of saleable coal in FY24, a 26.4 per cent increase from the previous year’s 7.2Mt.

“This year, we’ve delivered on our organic growth pipeline, with the realisation of productivity benefits from the Bengalla mine growth project and the restart of operations at New Acland mine resulting in a significant increase in coal production,” New Hope chief executive officer Rob Bishop said.

“The combination of a robust thermal coal price environment, disciplined cost control and strong operational performance contributed to the third highest earnings result in the history of our company.”

Financially, New Hope reported an underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $859.9 million, the third largest result in the company’s history, and a net profit after tax of $475.9 million.

To reward shareholders, New Hope has declared a fully franked final dividend of $0.22 per share, bringing total dividends for the year to $0.39 per share.

The future will see New Hope continually focused on organic growth.

“We remain focused on the organic growth of our business via the ramp-up of New Acland mine, sustained increased production at Bengalla, and the development of Malabar’s Maxwell underground mine, all of which are low-unit cost assets,” Bishop said.

“This growth pipeline offers significant targeted production increases, which will ultimately create additional value to return to our shareholders.”

New Hope also strengthened its financial position by raising $300 million through senior unsecured convertible notes, while the company also increased its stake in Malabar Resources from 15 per cent to 19.97 per cent.