New Hope (NHC) H1 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Saleable coal production was maintained at a consolidated level, with New Acland Mine ramping up and offsetting lower volumes at Bengalla Mine; overall production was 5.5Mt, up slightly year-over-year.

• Underlying EBITDA for the half year ended 31 January 2026 was $214.8M, a 58.5% decrease year-over-year, and NPAT was $54.3M, down 84.0% compared to the same period last year.

• Cash flow from operations totaled $185.0M, a 41.6% decrease year-over-year, enabling reinvestment and shareholder returns, including a fully franked interim dividend of 10.0 cents per share.

• The group navigated a challenging thermal coal market with lower prices and demand, but low-cost assets supported solid margins and cash generation.

Financial highlights

• Average sale price, including hedging, was $139.4/t, down 22.7% year-over-year; average realised sales price (ex-hedging) was $137.8/t, a 20.4% decrease.

• Underlying margin per tonne (including hedging) was $40.9, down 51.1% year-over-year; group margin per sale tonne was $39.3.

• Operating cash flow reached $185 million; $124 million was returned to shareholders via dividends.

• Basic earnings per share dropped to 6.4 cents from 40.3 cents in the prior period.

• Group Free on Rail (FOR) cash costs increased to $60.6/t, and Free-on-Board (FOB) cash costs rose to $87.6/t.

Outlook and guidance

• FY26 guidance for saleable coal production is 10.2–11.5Mt, unchanged from previous guidance.

• Bengalla Mine is expected to return to a 13.4Mtpa ROM coal target in 2HFY26.

• New Acland Mine will continue ramping up, with mining at Manning Vale West pit starting in late 2026 and targeting ~5Mtpa.

• Maxwell Mine is ramping up to ~6Mtpa, with increased equity holding to 25.97%.

• Medium to long-term focus remains on resilience, low-cost production, and organic growth.