The Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price is on watch today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) coal stock closed down 0.7% yesterday trading for $7.29 apiece.
We'll be keeping an eye on how ASX 200 investors react today to Whitehaven's full-year results for the financial year ending 30 June (FY23).
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Whitehaven share price on watch amid soaring profits
- Record revenue of $6.06 billion, up 23.3% from FY22
- Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 30% year on year to $4.0 billion
- Record net profit of $2.67 billion, up 36.7% year on year
- Final fully franked dividend of 42 cents per share, up from 40 cents per share in FY22
What else happened during the year?
Other metrics that could impact the Whitehaven share price today include the 156% year on year leap in the ASX 200 coal stock's net cash position. Whitehaven held $2.65 billion in net cash as at 30 June.
Production edged lower in FY23, with run-of-mine managed production volumes of 18.2 million tonnes. That's down from 20 million tonnes in FY22.
Still, Whitehaven managed to deliver record revenue, driven by an achieved average coal price of $445 per tonne. That compared to an average price of $325 per tonne last year.
And cash generated from the company's operations increased from $2.6 billion in FY22 to $4.2 billion this year.
During the year the miner also returned a whopping $1.6 billion to shareholders. This came with the finalisation of the initial 10% share buyback and commencement of the next stage of the share buyback ($948.9 million), and the two fully franked dividends, totalling $638.8 million.
That share buyback has been temporarily suspended as management considers how to allocate capital "in light of growth opportunities".
What did management say?
Commenting on the results that could see a significant move in the Whitehaven share price today, CEO Paul Flynn said:
Record coal prices and our portfolio of high quality thermal and metallurgical products allowed Whitehaven to optimise the sales mix for FY23 and maximise our exposure to the strong gC NEWC thermal index. With 94% of our sales going into the higher priced thermal market, we delivered an average realised price ofA$445 per tonne
Production was impacted in the first half of the year as a result of localised flooding cutting off access to a number of our operations for several weeks. Labour shortages also contributed to the 9% year on year reduction in ROM production of 18.2 million tonnes.
What's next?
Looking at what could impact the Whitehaven share price in the year ahead, the company noted that coal prices had retreated from record highs.
However, management said, "As restocking requirements increase in the months leading up to the Northern Hemisphere winter, upward pricing pressure for thermal coal is expected."
FY24 guidance is for managed ROM coal production in the range of 18.7 million tonnes to 20.7 million tonnes. That compares to 18.2 million tonnes this year.
Whitehaven forecasts managed coal sales of 16 Mt to 17.5 Mt, compared to 16 Mt this year.
The FY24 unit cost of coal is expected to be in the range of $103 to $113 per tonne, compared to $103 per tonne in FY23.
And there's a big expected boost in capital expenditure, in the $460 million to $570 million range, up from $241 million in FY23.
Whitehaven share price snapshot
The Whitehaven share price is down 7% over the past 12 months.
