SUEK produced 53.6 million t of coal in 1H17, which represented a 1% increase over 1H16.
Taking into account stable demand for higher-calorific coal, the company continued to focus on hard coal extraction and washing. Hard coal production grew by 4%, supported by the recent introduction of new high-performance equipment at the company’s mines, while washed hard coal volumes increased by 11% due to high performance of new and upgraded washing facilities.
SUEK sold 52.6 million t of coal in 1H17, which was 1% higher than during 1H16. International sales increased by 9% and amounted to 26.0 million t, primarily because of higher shipments to the Atlantic market.
In currently high volatile global coal market, we continued to focus on cost control, driving productivity improvements and developing our logistics by enhancing our rail fleet and increasing shipment capacity at our own ports. Capital expenditure in 1H17 doubled to US$313 million, as the company ramped up our investments into high-tech equipment at the Kemerovo underground mines and continued to acquire new higher-capacity rail cars. In 1H17 SUEK also acquired a further 9.38% stake of Murmansk Commercial Seaport, increasing its share to 84.85%.
All these factors contributed to higher EBITDA and net profit. EBITDA for 1H17 amounted to US$716 million, which represented a 73% increase over 1H16. SUEK’s Net debt to EBITDA ratio decreased from 2.9x as at 31 December 2016 to 2.4x as at 30 June 2017.
In May 2017 SUEK signed a US$1.0 billion pre-export finance facility with a syndicate of international and Russian banks.