Diversified miner Glencore posted $9.8 billion in complete coal revenues in 2017, up 43% from the prior year, the business claimed Wednesday.
specialty chemicals -based company, which published $32/mt coal margins, connected the earnings rise to various aspects, consisting of Chinese supply-side reform, and also rising international coal rates.
Worldwide seaborne thermal coal need grew more than 30 million mt, or 3.7% in 2017, Glencore stated, driven greatly by demand from Asia Pacific markets, especially South Korea as well as China.
S&P Global Platts assessed CIF ARA 6,000 NAR thermal coal at an ordinary price of $84.78/ mt, up 41.4% in 2017, and also examined FOB Newcastle 5,500 NAR thermal coal at an ordinary cost of $71.84/ mt, up 31% from 2016.
Thermal coal sales volumes amounted to 106.3 million mt in 2017, up 1% from the previous year. Metallurgical coal sales quantities totaled 2.3 million mt, down 4% from the previous year.
Australian thermal coal profits totaled $5.56 billion, up 36% from 2016. South African thermal coal incomes amounted to $1.52 billion, up 12% from 2016.
Earnings at Glencore's Prodeco complex in Colombia totaled $1.21 billion, up 6% from 2016, as well as revenues at the Cerrejon mine in Colombia totaled $790 million, up 30% from the prior year.
The firm noted an income of $225 million in coal derivative positions cleared up in 2017.
" These placements related to profile risk management/hedging activities started in Q2 2016 to manage forward sales price exposure, associating with future coal manufacturing," the company said.
The business also recognized a risk management decision in Q2 2016 to lock in H1 2016 prices had actually led to an "chance price" of $380 million in 2017.
All of the affected lots had actually rolled off by the end of the year, Glencore said.
Earlier this month, Glencore introduced its production had totaled 120.6 million mt in 2017, down 3% on the year, as efficiency improvements and also the firm's higher equity share in specific mines offset reductions as a result of commercial action and negative weather condition.
Of the overall, 110.5 million mt was thermal coal, 6.1 million mt was coking coal and also 4 million mt was semi-soft product.