Universal Coal expects to exceed EBITDA guidance

On 17 January this year Universal provided forward-looking earnings guidance for FY2018 that updated the forecast EBITDA for FY2018 to AUS$55 million (Attributable: AUS$37.9) and projected steady state production of 4.6 million t (attributable of 2.8 million t).

The company has announced however that it is increasing the expected EBITDA for the group by 27% to AUS$70 million (Attributable: AUS$48.5 million) and saleable tonnes of 4.7 million  (Attributable: 2.9 million t).

Universal Coal has attributed the increase in EBITDA for FY2018 to:

• Strong production performance by the Kangala operation, which exceeded the projected sales tonnes by approximately 150 Kt for FY2018.
• The new Clydesdale Colliery (NCC) achieving 14% more than projected sales tonnes for FY2018. The NCC received approximately AUS$27 of revenue per export t more than in the projected forecast for the period January 2018 to June 2018. The increase in revenue contributed an additional AUS$12.2 million of revenue to the financial results for the last six months of the FY2018.
• The Company forecasts an overall total sales tonnage of 4.7 million (attributable 2.9 million t) of product sold to market for the FY2018.
• Operational costs remain in line with forecasts.
• The original EBITDA was enhanced by a AUS$2.6million FX gain for FY2018 due to the increase in ZAR:AUD exchange rate over the period January to June 2018.

The guidance provided for the financial year ending June 2018 is still subject to the finalisation of the statutory accounts and the audit by the external auditor of Universal Coal Plc. Final results will be released by mid-September 2018.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/mining/29062018/universal-coal-expects-to-exceed-ebitda-guidance/