Australia's Whitehaven Coal on Thursday forecast a rebound in coal prices and sales volume in 2021, as the miner posted a 29% jump in quarterly output boosted by a recovery in key Asian economies.
The company said the improved pricing environment reflects increased demand for thermal coal as economies recover from the pandemic's hit and supply cuts.
"During the latter part of the December quarter there was a strong rebound in pricing and we are increasingly optimistic that underlying market dynamics are supportive of continued improvement in this area," said Paul Flynn, chief executive officer.
The company tightened its full-year managed coal sales forecast to a range of 19 mt to 20 mt from prior expectations of 18.5 mt to 20 mt and said it expects sales volumes in 2021 to return to pre-COVID-19 levels.
The country's biggest independent coal miner's managed saleable coal production for the December quarter was 3.9 million tonnes (mt), up from 3.1 mt a year ago.
(Reporting by Shruti Sonal and Arundhati Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)
