(Reuters) – South African thermal coal exporter Thungela Resources said on Thursday it expected to report a 100% increase in 2022 earnings, driven by record high coal prices.
In a trading update, Thungela said it expected headline earnings per share (HEPS) between 130 rand ($6.99) and 133 rand ($7.15) for the year ended Dec. 31, up from 61.08 rand in 2021. HEPS is the most common measure of profit in South Africa.
Coal prices surged last year as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 worsened an energy crisis that started late 2021. A European ban on Russian coal tightened supplies and sent prices soaring, boosting the earnings of coal miners from South Africa and elsewhere.
South Africa’s coal exports were, however, curtailed by state-owned logistics firm Transnet’s inability to operate at full capacity due to a shortage of locomotives and spares, as well as cable theft and vandalism of its infrastructure.
Thungela, which was spun off Anglo American Plc in 2021 as the global mining giant moves away from coal, will release its financial results on March 27.
($1 = 18.5926 rand)
(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Mark Potter)