Exxaro Resources FY earnings jump on higher coal prices

14th March 2019 By: Reuters

Exxaro Resources FY earnings jump on higher coal prices

Exxaro CEO Mxolisi Mgojo
Photo by: Creamer Media's Dylan Slater

JOHANNESBURG – South African coal mining company Exxaro Resources, which is led by CEO Mxolisi Mgojo, said on Thursday its full-year earnings climbed 7%, boosted by higher coal prices and the absence of one-off transactions seen a year earlier.

Core headline earnings per share (HEPS) rose to 2 159c or R7.17-billion for the year ended Dec. 31, 2018, from 2 011c per share or R6.30-billion in the same period last year.

HEPS is the main profit gauge in South Africa and strips out certain one-off items.

Exxaro, which supplies coal to state-owned power utility Eskom, said its production volumes rose due to higher output at its Grootegeluk operations following the ramp-up of Medupi power station.

"Our supply to Eskom increased in line with contractual commitments, while all other markets remained stable," the miner said.

Exxaro's coal export volumes surged to a record eight-million tonnes.

Revenue jumped 12% to R25.491-billion compared with R22.81-billion the previous year on the back of higher coal selling prices and upbeat Eskom commercial volumes at its Grootegeluk operations, the firm said.

Exxaro declared a final cash dividend of R5.55 a share, bringing the total dividend up 55% to R10.85 a share compared with the year-ago period.