Thungela Resources on Monday said it delivered an ‘exceptional’ financial performance in 2022, declaring a fat dividend and nearly doubling revenue due to a record coal price.

For the 2022 financial year, the Rosebank-based coal miner said pretax profit multiplied to R 24.14 billion from R 7.51 billion in 2021.

Revenue nearly doubled to R 50.75 billion from R 26.28 billion. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation multiplied to R 29.5 billion from R 10.0 billion.

But export saleable production fell by 9.6% to 13.1 million tonnes in 2022 from 14.5 million tonnes in 2021.

Thungela declared a final dividend of R 40.00 in 2022, more that doubled from R 18.00 in 2021. This brought the total payout for the year to R 100.00 from R 18.00.

Earnings per share soared to R 127.08 from R 61.08, while headline EPS surged to R 130.82 from R 66.57.

Looking ahead, the coal producer said the fundamentals supporting thermal coal remained firmly in place, although prices have softened in early 2023.

‘While we are unlikely to see the historic price levels observed in 2022, we expect prices to remain robust. In the longer term, we anticipate continued strong coal demand from emerging markets, especially those in Asia, where coal is likely to remain part of the energy mix for at least the next two decades,’ said Thungela Chief Executive July Ndlovu.

Ndlovu expects volatility in coal prices to continue over the short to medium term.

Thungela said fixing the rail network is a matter of critical importance to South Africa as the mining industry sustains jobs and contributes significantly to the economy.

Thungela shares were up 1.4% to 892.60 pence early Monday in London. They were flat at R 196.38 in Johannesburg.

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