Yancoal Australia has delivered its best half-year operational performance in five years, positioning the company to achieve the upper end of its full-year guidance.
Yancoal produced 17 million tonnes (Mt) of run-of-mine coal during the June 2025 quarter, a 12 per cent uptake from the previous quarter, and 12.3Mt of saleable coal.
A total of 9.4Mt of saleable coal was also produced despite adverse weather events taking place late in the quarter. Yancoal credited its investment in pumping and water storage systems to being able to resume mining at full production rates after rainfall.
“We have delivered the best first half operational performance of the past five years,” Yancoal acting chief executive officer Ning Yue said.
“We successfully built on our first quarter operational performance and are now well placed to deliver a better production outcome than last year. The production figures are 15–16 per cent ahead of the first six months last year.
“If we sustain the first-half attributable saleable coal production rate, we will be in the upper half of the guidance range this year, and a modest uplift can take us toward the upper end of the range.”
Yancoal sold 8.1Mt during the June quarter, a slight decrease from the previous quarter. The company is expected to fully recover its sales position by September, following the temporary port closures at the Port of Newcastle caused by weather events.
Yue shed light on the current coal market.
“International coal indices faced a soft pricing environment due to strong supply and subdued demand in both the thermal and metallurgical coal markets during (the second quarter of) 2025,” Yue said.
“Volatility and economic uncertainty stemming from geopolitical events in the Middle East and implementation of global trade tariffs bolstered speculative trading activity but have not impacted underlying demand factors at this time.
“During such conditions, we focus on maximising our operational efficiency and minimising costs to navigate the current cyclical low in coal prices.”
As of June 30, Yancoal has a cash balance of $1.8 billion after paying a fully franked final dividend of $687 million.
“Our strong financial position enables us to evaluate and consider opportunities that may present during this cyclical downturn,” Yue said.
Yancoal’s 2025 operational guidance remains unchanged, including 35–39Mt of attributable saleable production, $89–97 per tonne cash operating costs, and $750–900 million attributable capital expenditure.
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