ASX-listed Universal Coal is on track to achieve forecast earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) guidance of A$93-million for the 2019 financial year.
The coal miner achieved Ebitda of A$30.5-million, of which A$17-million was attributable, for the quarter ended December 31, which is an increase of 53% on the previous quarter’s Ebitda of A$20-million, of which A$11-million was attributable.
The company on Tuesday said a significant portion of the increase in earnings was contributed by the North Block Complex (NBC), in South Africa, which is an acquisition that transferred to Universal on November 1.
Universal expects its normalised Ebitda for the first half of the financial year to reach A$51-million.
The NBC currently produces at an annualised rate of 2.4-million tonnes a year, with the transition to a multiproduct export/domestic operation now starting.
Universal has effective annualised 7.5-million tonnes sales production rate, which should increase to 8.5-million tonnes a year, once the company’s Ubuntu project, at the Brakfontein mine, comes on stream in the second half of the current financial year.
The company aims to sell six-million tonnes of coal in the current financial year.
“Universal will continue to concentrate its efforts on increasing shareholder value through production growth from the inclusion of the Eloff project to the Kangala life-of-mine, delivering the Brakfontein (Ubuntu) project, to achieve our ten-million-tonne-a-year targeted production, while continuing to distribute dividends,” CEO Tony Weber commented.