New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC) is a diversified energy company, they are engaged in coal mining and exploration. Their two major assets include the Bengalla Mine in NSW, and the New Acland Mine in QLD.

The Bengalla mine is an open-cut coal mine, it has approval to extract 15 million tonnes (Mt) per annum until 2039. The mine has more than 600 permanent employees and about 90% are locally based in the Muswellbrook, Upper Hunter and Singleton Shires.

The Ackland mine is 100% owned by the New Hope Group, it is an open-cut thermal coal mine located 27km NW of Oakey in southeast QLD. The mine has an expected project life of around 12-15 years, with an estimated permanent workforce of 400 full-time employees to consist of Darling Downs locals. Stage 3 extracted first coal in September 2023.

Queensland Bulk Handling (QBH) is a coal export facility, exporting around 12Mt per annum. Coal exported from QBH is received by rail from mines in the Surat Basin coal fields.

Operational Performance

The company’s operational performance was reported as quite strong, with significant increases in prime waste movement and coal production. The group prime waste movement reached 16.3 million bank cubic meters (Mbcm), reflecting a 10.1% increase due to favourable mining conditions.

Saleable coal production remained stable at 2.8 Mt, while underlying EBITDA decreased by 27.0% to $155.2 million due to lower realised pricing. The average realised sales price for coal was $147.5 per tonne, down from $159.1 in the previous quarter.

New South Wales Operations

Bengalla Mine, an 80% joint venture interest, reported a prime waste movement of 11.9Mbcm, an 11.4% increase from the previous quarter. Run-of-mine (ROM) coal production was 2.2Mt, down 15.8% as the mine cycled into a higher strip ratio portion of the resource.

Saleable coal production increased by 2.9% to 2.1Mt, and coal sales rose by 4.0% to 2.0Mt. Bengalla Mine’s Free on Board (FOB) cash cost decreased by 1.7% to $75.3 per sales tonne.

Queensland Operations

New Acland Mine saw a 6.7% increase in prime waste movement to 4.4Mbcm, despite unfavourable weather conditions. ROM coal production increased by 12.9% to 1.8Mt, while saleable coal production decreased by 3.7% to 0.7Mt due to rail capacity constraints.

Coal sales totalled 0.7Mt, with stockpile constraints impacting production. The company has revised its FY25 guidance for New Acland Mine to reflect expected rail performance and availability.

Investments

Malabar Resources Limited, in which New Hope holds a 22.97% equity interest, continued to progress the Maxwell Underground Mine (MU Mine). The bord and pillar operation produced 0.13Mt of ROM coal, a 6.8% increase from the previous quarter.

Development of the longwall operation also advanced, with first coal from development activities being produced and sold during the quarter. Malabar’s high-quality product received a 12% premium price in the Japanese market at an average of US$166/t for the sale of 0.14Mt of coal.

Maxwell Underground Mine

The MU Mine is located in the Upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales, and was approved by the NSW Government in December 2020. The mine is anticipated to produce high-quality coals over 26 years. The main development activities for the mine include underground bord and pillar mining with partial pillar extraction in the Whynot Seam; and underground longwall extraction in the Woodlands Hill, Arrowfield and Bowfield Seams.

Construction commenced in May 2022 and is expected to generate 400 jobs and services of local businesses and suppliers. 430 full-time, long-term new jobs are expected to be created when construction finishes, delivering $86 million in wages to the local economy yearly. The mine is also expected to generate more than $1 billion to $1.2 billion in mining royalties for the people of NSW over the initial 26 years.

Marketing, Sales, and Logistics

The thermal coal market faced economic uncertainty, leading to a decrease in the gC NEWC 6000 index average price to US$97.5 per tonne, a 23.7% drop from the previous quarter. Despite this, New Hope’s forward sales book remains well supported, with the majority of production for the next six months sold.

Bengalla Mine’s supply chain performance improved, although heavy rainfall impacted rail and port operations. New Acland Mine faced significant rail capacity challenges, resulting in high inventory levels.

Exploration Activities

New Hope Corporation incurred $3.2 million in exploration expenditure during the quarter. The Bengalla Mine completed its exploration program over EL 9431, drilling 44 holes for coal quality, gas distribution, and structural definition.

The finalisation of this program will allow for concept level mine planning to define potential continuation opportunities. The company also completed a concept study for the West Muswellbrook tenement, which is under review to inform future work plans.

Capital Management

The company declared a fully franked interim dividend of 19.0 cents per share, totalling A$160.6 million, paid on 9 April 2025. The available cash balance as of 30 April 2025 was $659.3 million, consisting of $287.6 million in cash and cash equivalents and $371.7 million in fixed income investments. New Hope also announced an on-market share buy-back of up to $100 million, with 1.4 million shares bought back at an average price of $3.54 per share.

Safety and Wellbeing

New Hope has reported a notable improvement in its safety metrics for the quarter ending April 2025. The All-Injury Frequency Rate (AIFR) decreased to 22.62 from 34.16 in the previous quarter, while the twelve-month moving average AIFR fell to 30.41 from 32.98.

The Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (TRIFR) also showed a positive trend, dropping to 3.65 from 4.08. Despite these improvements, the company reported 14 notifiable incidents, up from 12 in the previous quarter.

FY25 Guidance

New Hope Corporation has issued revised FY25 guidance for New Acland Mine due to rail capacity challenges. The company is working to secure additional rail and haulage capacity to manage these issues. The revised guidance includes slight adjustments to ROM coal production, saleable coal production, and coal sales.

New Hope Corporation’s quarterly activities report highlights strong operational performance, significant investments, and proactive capital management. Despite challenges in the thermal coal market and rail capacity constraints, the company remains focused on achieving its FY25 guidance and continuing to deliver value to its shareholders.