New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC) shares are on the move on Tuesday morning.
At the time of writing, the coal miner's shares are up 8% to $3.99.
This follows the release of its half year results before the market open.
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New Hope shares jump on results day
Investors have been buying the coal miner's shares today after it delivered a strong half-year result.
According to the release, New Hope reported a 32.9% increase in coal production to 5.4Mt, which reflects the ongoing execution of its organic growth strategy.
This strong production helped lift the ASX 200 mining stock's underlying EBITDA to $517.3 million, up almost 22% from $424.8 million a year ago.
And on the bottom line, thanks to its higher production and lower costs, New Hope's net profit after tax jumped 35% to $340.3 million.
Net cash flow from operations more than doubled over the prior corresponding period to $316.9 million, boosting the company's strong financial position with $805 million in available cash.
Dividend boost and share buyback
In light of its strong half and healthy balance sheet, New Hope has rewarded its shareholders with a fully franked interim dividend of 19 cents per share. This is up 11.8% from 17 cents per share a year ago.
But it doesn't stop there. New Hope has announced an on-market share buyback of up to $100 million as part of its capital management program.
Management commentary
New Hope's CEO, Rob Bishop, was pleased with the half. He said:
We have had a strong first half, with our Bengalla Mine now operating at 13.4Mtpa capacity and New Acland Mine now having a clear runway to achieving ~5Mtpa run rate by 2027. Earnings are up compared to the first half of 2024, even as the coal price has declined, thanks to our continued focus on cost control and execution of our organic growth plans. This outcome demonstrates our low-cost operations' greater resilience to coal price fluctuations.
Commenting on the company's capital returns, Bishop adds:
As a result of this performance, we are able to return value to shareholders by way of a fully franked interim dividend of 19.0 cents per ordinary share. In addition, we are pleased to announce the start of an on-market share buy-back of up to $100 million.
Outlook
New Hope's CEO believes the company is well-positioned to deliver on its full year guidance following its strong first half performance. He said:
We remain focused on ramping up production at New Acland Mine and sustaining increased production at Bengalla Mine, while continuing our disciplined approach to cost control. Our performance in the first half of the year has us tracking very well in terms of our guidance ranges.
Its guidance remains unchanged at ROM coal production of 15,480,000 to 17,000,000 tonnes and coal sales of 10,660,000 to 11,750,000 tonnes.
