Peabody reported preliminary unaudited financial results for Q1 2024. The company expects to report Q1 2024 revenue of $980 million. The company said it will release actual Q1 2024 financial results on May 2, 2024.
The company said sales volumes for Q1 2024 were largely in line with expectations for its seaborne segments while the U.S. thermal segments reported lower-than-expected shipments. The seaborne thermal segment shipped 4 million tons (including 2.5 million export tons), the seaborne met segment shipped 1.4 million tons, the PRB segment shipped 18.7 million tons and the other U.S. thermal segment shipped 3.2 million tons.
Peadody said its results were impacted by demand, coal quality and prices for both met and thermal coal, as well as extended production outages in Australia. Production at the Wambo mine suffered due to an extended longwall ramp-up. It was offset by additional production of lower-quality coal at Wilpinjong. Coal quality was also a problem for the Coppabella Moorvale Joint Venture (CMJV). Costs at the CMJV increased as a result of an unplanned dragline outage and the acceleration of planned prep plant repairs.
“Our first quarter included some unforeseen production challenges that are now behind us,” said Peabody President and CEO Jim Grech. “The CMJV dragline and Wambo longwall are again operating on plan and Shoal Creek continues to exceed production expectations as we begin the second quarter.”
In related news, the company completed the previously announced Wards Well acquisition. In October, the company reached an agreement to acquire a large portion of the Wards Well coal deposit immediately adjacent to the Centurion Complex, for cash consideration of $136 million and a contingent royalty of up to $200 million payable after recovery of the related project investment when coal prices exceed certain targets.
The acquisition willow Peabody to extend the mine life of Centurion complex (formerly known as North Goonyella), which will be the company’s tier-one premium hard coking coal mine. The company is currently developing an integrated 130 million ton, 25+ year mine plan which incorporates the Wards Well coal deposit.
