Monday, 05 Mar 2012
Indonesia energy and mineral resources deputy minister Widjajono Partowidagdo has criticized coal mining companies for taking too much profit. He said that the profits of these companies reached 66% of total production, while the state only receives 34% of the profit.
He said that “That’s too much. It’s different with the oil and gas industries that provide benefits for the state and the public.”
He added that This condition has led to rapid growth in the mining industry and the high production profit has also seen many Indonesian grow rich, he said. “Look at the list of the richest people in Indonesia according to Forbes magazine. Almost all of them are in the coal mining sector.”
As such, Mr Widjajono said the regulation on profit sharing in the coal mining sector between the government and contractor companies must be revised. He said the Energy Ministry was now drafting a formula for coal mine profit sharing between coal companies and the state.
source:Tempointeractive.co
Showing posts with label profit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label profit. Show all posts
Monday, March 5, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
China's Baosteel FY11 net profit slumps 43.4 pct
Sat Jan 14, 2012
SHANGHAI Jan 14 (Reuters) - Baoshan Iron & Steel Co Ltd, China's biggest listed steelmaker, said on Saturday its 2011 net profit fell 43.4 percent to 7.3 billion yuan ($1.2 billion).
The firm said in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange it achieved total revenue of 223.1 billion yuan, up 10.2 percent from the previous year. Its basic earnings per share for the year was 0.42 yuan.
Baoshan Iron & Steel said earlier in the month it will keep its main steel product prices steady in February from January but was guarded about the market's outlook.
With no signs that steel demand in the world's top steel producer will improve in the near term, the Shanghai-based steel company remained cautious over the market's prospects in early 2012 after raising prices slightly for January. ($1 = 6.3066 Chinese yuan)
(sourced Reuters)
SHANGHAI Jan 14 (Reuters) - Baoshan Iron & Steel Co Ltd, China's biggest listed steelmaker, said on Saturday its 2011 net profit fell 43.4 percent to 7.3 billion yuan ($1.2 billion).
The firm said in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange it achieved total revenue of 223.1 billion yuan, up 10.2 percent from the previous year. Its basic earnings per share for the year was 0.42 yuan.
Baoshan Iron & Steel said earlier in the month it will keep its main steel product prices steady in February from January but was guarded about the market's outlook.
With no signs that steel demand in the world's top steel producer will improve in the near term, the Shanghai-based steel company remained cautious over the market's prospects in early 2012 after raising prices slightly for January. ($1 = 6.3066 Chinese yuan)
(sourced Reuters)
Friday, November 11, 2011
Resource super profit tax - Iron ore to bear bulk of tax
Friday, 11 Nov 2011
The vast bulk of the revenue raised by the mining tax will come from iron ore miners, as the row between Canberra and Fortescue Metals intensified.
Treasury officials said the iron ore industry dominated by BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue would pay about 75% of the AUD 11.1 billion that the tax is set to raise in its first three years, while coal miners would pay the remaining 25%
The projections came as the row between the government and smaller miners intensified, with juniors saying the tax would unfairly favour the big players.
A Fortescue executive, Mr Julian Tapp said the government had been ''sold a pup' and generous concessions to the big miners meant the tax would only raise a fraction of its intended revenue.
Although Treasury has slammed the modelling supporting Fortescue's claim, Mr Tapp tried to deflect this criticism by calling on the government to reveal the assumptions it used to design the tax.
He told government MPs in Canberra that ''If you have a problem with our credibility then why don't you refute it by getting Treasury to show us their model?.”
The government is refusing to release these assumptions, saying they were provided by BHP, Rio and Xstrata in confidence.
The opposition, which has vowed to repeal the tax if it wins government, said that the revenue projections for the mining tax do not stand up to public scrutiny.
Fortescue has not yet paid corporate tax and the company does not expect to pay significant amounts of mining tax in the early years of the levy.
However, Mr Tapp said the company was motivated by the damage the tax would do to smaller miners, which it expects to be major users of its infrastructure.
(Sourced from www.theage.com.au)
The vast bulk of the revenue raised by the mining tax will come from iron ore miners, as the row between Canberra and Fortescue Metals intensified.
Treasury officials said the iron ore industry dominated by BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue would pay about 75% of the AUD 11.1 billion that the tax is set to raise in its first three years, while coal miners would pay the remaining 25%
The projections came as the row between the government and smaller miners intensified, with juniors saying the tax would unfairly favour the big players.
A Fortescue executive, Mr Julian Tapp said the government had been ''sold a pup' and generous concessions to the big miners meant the tax would only raise a fraction of its intended revenue.
Although Treasury has slammed the modelling supporting Fortescue's claim, Mr Tapp tried to deflect this criticism by calling on the government to reveal the assumptions it used to design the tax.
He told government MPs in Canberra that ''If you have a problem with our credibility then why don't you refute it by getting Treasury to show us their model?.”
The government is refusing to release these assumptions, saying they were provided by BHP, Rio and Xstrata in confidence.
The opposition, which has vowed to repeal the tax if it wins government, said that the revenue projections for the mining tax do not stand up to public scrutiny.
Fortescue has not yet paid corporate tax and the company does not expect to pay significant amounts of mining tax in the early years of the levy.
However, Mr Tapp said the company was motivated by the damage the tax would do to smaller miners, which it expects to be major users of its infrastructure.
(Sourced from www.theage.com.au)
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Australian iron ore mine magnate leads fight against tax
Thu Nov 3, 2011
* Small Australian miners plea for mine tax changes
* Small miners say global miners will pay nothing
* Treasurer says big miners pay the most
CANBERRA, Nov 3 (Reuters) - A delegation of small- and mid-sized Australian mining company executives on Thursday called on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to abandon a proposed mining profits tax, saying the biggest firms would pay nothing and leave smaller ones to shoulder the burden.
The claim was immediately rejected by Treasurer Wayne Swan before the Australian Parliament.
Gillard earlier this year vowed to introduce a 30 percent tax on profits from iron ore and coal mining after holding closed-door negotiations with the nation's three biggest mining houses, BHP Billiton , Rio Tinto and Xstrata .
At the time, Gillard estimated the three companies would account for upwards of 90 percent of the estimated A$11 billion in revenue in the first three years.
Fortescue Metals Group founder Andrew Forrest, one of Australia's richest individuals, who made his fortune in iron ore mining, led the delegation, which also warned the tax threatened Australia's economic competitiveness and would stifle exploration.
"The government hasn't thought this through," Forrest told reporters.
Swan rejected the delegation's claim that big mining companies would not pay the new tax, and said companies reaping big profits from the mining boom would be legally required to pay their fair share.
"This tax does not discriminate against small miners. It will be paid predominantly by large miners," Swan told parliament, adding the comments by Forrest were "complete rubbish."
The government on Wednesday introduced legislation for the tax to apply to iron ore and coal miners making A$50 million or more in annual profits. It is scheduled to start July 1, 2012, though it is still uncertain if the government has the support it needs from three independent lawmakers to pass the bills.
Forrest, BC Iron managing director Mike Young, and Atlas Iron chief Dave Flanagan lobbied independent parliament members on Thursday to push their case for the government to rethink supporting the tax.
The executives released projections from accounting firm DBO claiming the tax would see small- and mid-tier miners pay an effective rate of 46 percent, while BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto would pay no tax due to the large deductions they would be afforded.
Forrest said the bigger mining houses would pay no tax under the plans for up to 25 years.
Young also criticised the A$50 million profit threshold for the tax as too low because it would apply to miners after they produce only about 800,000 tonnes of iron ore, a relatively small tonnage.
"We are going to be well above this threshold," Young told reporters.
BC Iron mined about 600,000 tonnes of iron ore last year, and is aiming for around 3 million tonnes this year.
By comparison, Rio Tinto mined more than 200 million tonnes of ore, BHP Billiton 15 million tonnes and Fortescue around 40 million tonnes.
(sourced Reuters)
* Small Australian miners plea for mine tax changes
* Small miners say global miners will pay nothing
* Treasurer says big miners pay the most
CANBERRA, Nov 3 (Reuters) - A delegation of small- and mid-sized Australian mining company executives on Thursday called on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to abandon a proposed mining profits tax, saying the biggest firms would pay nothing and leave smaller ones to shoulder the burden.
The claim was immediately rejected by Treasurer Wayne Swan before the Australian Parliament.
Gillard earlier this year vowed to introduce a 30 percent tax on profits from iron ore and coal mining after holding closed-door negotiations with the nation's three biggest mining houses, BHP Billiton , Rio Tinto and Xstrata .
At the time, Gillard estimated the three companies would account for upwards of 90 percent of the estimated A$11 billion in revenue in the first three years.
Fortescue Metals Group founder Andrew Forrest, one of Australia's richest individuals, who made his fortune in iron ore mining, led the delegation, which also warned the tax threatened Australia's economic competitiveness and would stifle exploration.
"The government hasn't thought this through," Forrest told reporters.
Swan rejected the delegation's claim that big mining companies would not pay the new tax, and said companies reaping big profits from the mining boom would be legally required to pay their fair share.
"This tax does not discriminate against small miners. It will be paid predominantly by large miners," Swan told parliament, adding the comments by Forrest were "complete rubbish."
The government on Wednesday introduced legislation for the tax to apply to iron ore and coal miners making A$50 million or more in annual profits. It is scheduled to start July 1, 2012, though it is still uncertain if the government has the support it needs from three independent lawmakers to pass the bills.
Forrest, BC Iron managing director Mike Young, and Atlas Iron chief Dave Flanagan lobbied independent parliament members on Thursday to push their case for the government to rethink supporting the tax.
The executives released projections from accounting firm DBO claiming the tax would see small- and mid-tier miners pay an effective rate of 46 percent, while BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto would pay no tax due to the large deductions they would be afforded.
Forrest said the bigger mining houses would pay no tax under the plans for up to 25 years.
Young also criticised the A$50 million profit threshold for the tax as too low because it would apply to miners after they produce only about 800,000 tonnes of iron ore, a relatively small tonnage.
"We are going to be well above this threshold," Young told reporters.
BC Iron mined about 600,000 tonnes of iron ore last year, and is aiming for around 3 million tonnes this year.
By comparison, Rio Tinto mined more than 200 million tonnes of ore, BHP Billiton 15 million tonnes and Fortescue around 40 million tonnes.
(sourced Reuters)
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Vale Profit Misses Analysts’ Estimates As Currency Fall Boosts Dollar Debt
Thu, Oct27, 2011
Vale SA (VALE5), the world’s largest iron- ore producer, posted its first decline in quarterly profit in two years and missed analysts’ estimates after a weaker Brazilian real boosted dollar-denominated debt.
Third-quarter net income fell to $4.94 billion, or 94 cents a share, from $6.04 billion, or $1.13 a share, a year earlier, Rio de Janeiro-based Vale said late yesterday. The company was expected to post per-share profit of $1.17 excluding some items, the average of 12 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Vale had a financial loss of $2.19 billion related to the real’s drop, while sales rose 16 percent to $16.4 billion.
Vale dropped to its lowest in more than two months on Oct. 20 after iron-ore prices slumped on concern about slowing demand in China and fear the European debt crisis will spread. ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, is idling some plants in Europe and South Korea’s Posco will cut spending and reduce costs on weaker demand for the alloy used in cars.
The foreign exchange loss “was a bit higher than originally estimated,” Rafael Weber, an equity analyst at Geracao Futuro Corretora, said in a telephone interview from Porto Alegre, Brazil. “With the appreciation of the real, it will be recovered in the following quarter.”
The real slumped 17 percent in the third quarter, the second-worst emerging market performer after Poland, increasing the value of Vale’s dollar-denominated debt in local currency.
Rising Revenue
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, climbed 9.2 percent to a record $9.63 billion in the quarter, driven by higher iron-ore, nickel and copper revenue, the company said. Vale said it sold iron ore during the period at an average of $151.30 per metric ton, 18 percent more than the year-earlier period.
The company said it’s confident in the long-term outlook for mineral and metals markets amid global financial turmoil. The recent fall in iron-ore prices is related to higher seasonal supply from Brazil and Australia and China’s credit policy, which affects iron-ore traders by not giving them the option of using their stocks as credit guarantee, it said.
“We foresee prices to remain high for a long period ahead as the global iron-ore market is very likely to continue to show strong fundamentals,” Vale said in the statement. “The main reason for the decline in the net income was the depreciation of the real against the dollar.”
“It’s not that you are taking on more debt, it’s that your liability is going up because of the exchange rate,” Rene Kleyweg, an equity analyst at UBS AG, said in a telephone interview from London Oct. 25. “From a reporting numbers standpoint it means your net income gets dragged back.” He rates the stock a “buy.”
Record at Carajas
This is the first time since the third quarter of 2009 that Vale’s quarterly net income fell from a year earlier.
Third-quarter iron-ore output rose 6.4 percent to a record 87.9 million metric tons, after Carajas, the world’s biggest iron-ore mine, recorded record production of 30.9 million metric tons. Nickel output rose 30 percent to 58,000 metric tons, while copper production climbed 46 percent to a record 84,000 metric tons, the company said. Potash production rose about 7.3 percent to 166,000 tons.
Iron-ore and pellet volumes sold during the quarter fell 1.4 percent to 77.5 million metric tons, the company said, adding that the gap between production and sales was explained by lower iron-ore demand in Brazil, the need to rebuild stocks and the start of a distribution center in Oman.
“Vale needs to continue with its sales at a normal level because accumulating inventories to a high level is bad,” Geracao Futuro’s Weber said.
The company’s net debt as of Sept. 30 rose to $15.4 billion, from $11.2 billion at the end of the previous quarter.
Vale invested $4.53 billion, excluding acquisitions, during the quarter, about 19 percent of its $24 billion spending plan until the first quarter of 2012.
Vale, the world’s second-largest mining company by market value, plans to pay a record $12 billion in dividends and share buybacks this year, boosting capital returns to investors as it faces project delays and cost increases.
Sliding Prices
The company is forecast to post a record $26.5 billion in net income excluding some items during 2011, up from $17.3 billion last year, according to 16 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Iron-ore prices for immediate delivery extended their slump this week and fell below $130 for the first time since July 2010 yesterday. The price of ore with 62 percent iron content delivered to the Chinese port of Tianjin declined 3.3 percent to $127.40 a metric ton, its 13th-consecutive drop, according to The Steel Index Ltd.
The cash price fell $10.20 yesterday, or 7.2 percent, its biggest slump since Aug. 20, 2009.
The Chinese economy grew 9.1 percent during the third quarter from a year earlier, the slowest pace since 2009. Vale sold about 45 percent of its iron-ore and pellets to Chinese customers during the third quarter, or about 35 million metric tons, it said yesterday. Europe represented 20 percent of the company’s shipments.
Vale gained 99 centavos, or 2.5 percent, to 40.73 reais in Sao Paulo yesterday. The stock has declined about 16 percent this year, compared with an 18 percent for Brazil’s benchmark Bovespa Index.
(sourced Bloomberg)
Vale SA (VALE5), the world’s largest iron- ore producer, posted its first decline in quarterly profit in two years and missed analysts’ estimates after a weaker Brazilian real boosted dollar-denominated debt.
Third-quarter net income fell to $4.94 billion, or 94 cents a share, from $6.04 billion, or $1.13 a share, a year earlier, Rio de Janeiro-based Vale said late yesterday. The company was expected to post per-share profit of $1.17 excluding some items, the average of 12 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Vale had a financial loss of $2.19 billion related to the real’s drop, while sales rose 16 percent to $16.4 billion.
Vale dropped to its lowest in more than two months on Oct. 20 after iron-ore prices slumped on concern about slowing demand in China and fear the European debt crisis will spread. ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, is idling some plants in Europe and South Korea’s Posco will cut spending and reduce costs on weaker demand for the alloy used in cars.
The foreign exchange loss “was a bit higher than originally estimated,” Rafael Weber, an equity analyst at Geracao Futuro Corretora, said in a telephone interview from Porto Alegre, Brazil. “With the appreciation of the real, it will be recovered in the following quarter.”
The real slumped 17 percent in the third quarter, the second-worst emerging market performer after Poland, increasing the value of Vale’s dollar-denominated debt in local currency.
Rising Revenue
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, climbed 9.2 percent to a record $9.63 billion in the quarter, driven by higher iron-ore, nickel and copper revenue, the company said. Vale said it sold iron ore during the period at an average of $151.30 per metric ton, 18 percent more than the year-earlier period.
The company said it’s confident in the long-term outlook for mineral and metals markets amid global financial turmoil. The recent fall in iron-ore prices is related to higher seasonal supply from Brazil and Australia and China’s credit policy, which affects iron-ore traders by not giving them the option of using their stocks as credit guarantee, it said.
“We foresee prices to remain high for a long period ahead as the global iron-ore market is very likely to continue to show strong fundamentals,” Vale said in the statement. “The main reason for the decline in the net income was the depreciation of the real against the dollar.”
“It’s not that you are taking on more debt, it’s that your liability is going up because of the exchange rate,” Rene Kleyweg, an equity analyst at UBS AG, said in a telephone interview from London Oct. 25. “From a reporting numbers standpoint it means your net income gets dragged back.” He rates the stock a “buy.”
Record at Carajas
This is the first time since the third quarter of 2009 that Vale’s quarterly net income fell from a year earlier.
Third-quarter iron-ore output rose 6.4 percent to a record 87.9 million metric tons, after Carajas, the world’s biggest iron-ore mine, recorded record production of 30.9 million metric tons. Nickel output rose 30 percent to 58,000 metric tons, while copper production climbed 46 percent to a record 84,000 metric tons, the company said. Potash production rose about 7.3 percent to 166,000 tons.
Iron-ore and pellet volumes sold during the quarter fell 1.4 percent to 77.5 million metric tons, the company said, adding that the gap between production and sales was explained by lower iron-ore demand in Brazil, the need to rebuild stocks and the start of a distribution center in Oman.
“Vale needs to continue with its sales at a normal level because accumulating inventories to a high level is bad,” Geracao Futuro’s Weber said.
The company’s net debt as of Sept. 30 rose to $15.4 billion, from $11.2 billion at the end of the previous quarter.
Vale invested $4.53 billion, excluding acquisitions, during the quarter, about 19 percent of its $24 billion spending plan until the first quarter of 2012.
Vale, the world’s second-largest mining company by market value, plans to pay a record $12 billion in dividends and share buybacks this year, boosting capital returns to investors as it faces project delays and cost increases.
Sliding Prices
The company is forecast to post a record $26.5 billion in net income excluding some items during 2011, up from $17.3 billion last year, according to 16 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Iron-ore prices for immediate delivery extended their slump this week and fell below $130 for the first time since July 2010 yesterday. The price of ore with 62 percent iron content delivered to the Chinese port of Tianjin declined 3.3 percent to $127.40 a metric ton, its 13th-consecutive drop, according to The Steel Index Ltd.
The cash price fell $10.20 yesterday, or 7.2 percent, its biggest slump since Aug. 20, 2009.
The Chinese economy grew 9.1 percent during the third quarter from a year earlier, the slowest pace since 2009. Vale sold about 45 percent of its iron-ore and pellets to Chinese customers during the third quarter, or about 35 million metric tons, it said yesterday. Europe represented 20 percent of the company’s shipments.
Vale gained 99 centavos, or 2.5 percent, to 40.73 reais in Sao Paulo yesterday. The stock has declined about 16 percent this year, compared with an 18 percent for Brazil’s benchmark Bovespa Index.
(sourced Bloomberg)
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
CIL profit to be hit by about INR 2000 crore post new mines law
Tuesday, 04 Oct 2011
Maharatna Coal India today Profitability would be eroded by about INR 2,000 crore per annum post enactment of new mines legislation which mandates coal miners to share 26% of their profits with project affected people.
Mr NC Jha Coal India Chairman said "It would hit the profitability of the company by about INR 2,000 crore.”
He added that added that if the government wanted to maintain the profit of the state run PSU, it would have to resort to hike in coal prices. Mr Jha said "If the profit of the company has to be maintained it has to be done by increasing the prices of coal. Therefore, it is for the government which is the major shareholder of the company to decide whether to go for price hike or not."
Mr Jha earlier this month had said that the additional cost impact, due to the new act will eventually be passed on to the consumers. The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries too had said recently that prices of all minerals will go up due to the new Mines Bill.
He confidence that despite a dip in company profit post enactment of the new law, the state own firm would stand benefited in the long term by getting land without hindrances and would improve its bottomline.
Mr Jha said "In the short term Coal India would of course witness a dip in its profit but in the long term it would be beneficial as with more land with the public sector firm the business volume would increase and the profit would automatically increase."
The state owned miner which accounts for about 80% of the country total production of coal had reported a consolidated net profit of INR 10,867 crore in 2010-11.
(Sourced from Economic Times)
Maharatna Coal India today Profitability would be eroded by about INR 2,000 crore per annum post enactment of new mines legislation which mandates coal miners to share 26% of their profits with project affected people.
Mr NC Jha Coal India Chairman said "It would hit the profitability of the company by about INR 2,000 crore.”
He added that added that if the government wanted to maintain the profit of the state run PSU, it would have to resort to hike in coal prices. Mr Jha said "If the profit of the company has to be maintained it has to be done by increasing the prices of coal. Therefore, it is for the government which is the major shareholder of the company to decide whether to go for price hike or not."
Mr Jha earlier this month had said that the additional cost impact, due to the new act will eventually be passed on to the consumers. The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries too had said recently that prices of all minerals will go up due to the new Mines Bill.
He confidence that despite a dip in company profit post enactment of the new law, the state own firm would stand benefited in the long term by getting land without hindrances and would improve its bottomline.
Mr Jha said "In the short term Coal India would of course witness a dip in its profit but in the long term it would be beneficial as with more land with the public sector firm the business volume would increase and the profit would automatically increase."
The state owned miner which accounts for about 80% of the country total production of coal had reported a consolidated net profit of INR 10,867 crore in 2010-11.
(Sourced from Economic Times)
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Assore full year profit doubles on higher iron ore prices
Sunday, 28 Aug 2011
Assore Ltd, a South African owner of mines, said that its full year profit more than doubled on increasing demand and higher prices for iron ore.
The company, based in Johannesburg, reported net income of ZAR 3.2 billion (USD 440 million) in the year ended June 30, compared with ZAR 1.5 billion a year earlier. Sales gained 47.8% to ZAR 11.2 billion.
Assore, joint owner of manganese producer Assmang Ltd with African Rainbow Minerals Ltd spent ZAR 2.8 billion to develop infrastructure at the Khumani Iron Ore Mine and raise output to 16 million tonnes a year by mid-2012, from 10 million tonnes. While demand in the iron ore market is tight, a recovery in manganese and chrome ore and alloy prices is unlikely.
Power and other costs in South Africa are hurting smelters. Mr Desmond Sacco chairman of Assore said that “We expect challenging economic and trading conditions for the year ahead.”
(sourced from Bloomberg)
Assore Ltd, a South African owner of mines, said that its full year profit more than doubled on increasing demand and higher prices for iron ore.
The company, based in Johannesburg, reported net income of ZAR 3.2 billion (USD 440 million) in the year ended June 30, compared with ZAR 1.5 billion a year earlier. Sales gained 47.8% to ZAR 11.2 billion.
Assore, joint owner of manganese producer Assmang Ltd with African Rainbow Minerals Ltd spent ZAR 2.8 billion to develop infrastructure at the Khumani Iron Ore Mine and raise output to 16 million tonnes a year by mid-2012, from 10 million tonnes. While demand in the iron ore market is tight, a recovery in manganese and chrome ore and alloy prices is unlikely.
Power and other costs in South Africa are hurting smelters. Mr Desmond Sacco chairman of Assore said that “We expect challenging economic and trading conditions for the year ahead.”
(sourced from Bloomberg)
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Macarthur Coal stays in the black and then some
By Rachel Hewitt, From Herald Sun
Feb24, 2011 12:00AM
QUEENSLAND's flood disaster hasn't dampened Macarthur Coal's bottom line, with the miner more than tripling its half-year profit thanks to surging commodity prices.
The Bowen Basin producer, which exports coal for steelmaking, yesterday unveiled a $141.3 million profit and three-fold increase in its dividend. Soaring prices drove sales revenue more than $100 million higher.
The release of Macarthur's results came amid reports that mining giant BHP Billiton is pushing for a shift to monthly coking coal pricing in contract talks with Japanese steelmakers, a move that would give miners greater access to surging spot market prices. Macarthur chief Nicole Hollows yesterday declined to comment on how high prices might go, but she added: "I think it's fair to say that the price is definitely going up.
"The quantum of that increase will ultimately depend on supply constraints but also I think a determining factor will be what price China and India are prepared to pay," she said.
Macarthur's profit was also bolstered by a $40 million one-off gain because Gloucester Coal exercised an option to increase its interest in the venture.
Queensland's big wet forced Macarthur in December to enact a "force majeure" contract clause allowing it to miss deliveries due to unforeseen events.
Macarthur declared a 24c interim dividend to be paid on April 11 to shareholders registered by March 18.
Tags:Gloucester coal, force majeure, interim dividend, shareholders,(sourced:Herald Sun)
Sunday, February 20, 2011
BHP CEO sees high iron ore price for up to 2 years
Sat Feb 19, 2011 11:30pm GMT
MELBOURNE Feb 20 (Reuters) - Top global miner BHP Billiton's (BHP.AX: Quote)(BLT.L: Quote) chief executive sees iron ore prices staying strong for as long as two years, and is confident the company's profit margins will remain robust, even as costs escalate.
Marius Kloppers was bullish on the near-term outlook for iron ore prices due to supply constraints, with India not exporting and rivals having held back investment in new capacity during the global financial crisis.
"But what I can say is there are certain products in our portfolio, particularly in iron ore...which looks very, very good over the next three, six and nine months," Kloppers said on Australian television in an interview recorded after the company reported a record first-half profit of $10.7 billion.
"Simply put, over the next 12, 18 months, perhaps two years, there's not a substantial amount of new capacity coming on, and it's more an issue of the supply side rather than the demand side," he said.
His counterpart at rival Rio Tinto (RIO.AX: Quote)(RIO.L: Quote) was more specific a week ago, forecasting that tight supplies would keep iron ore prices high in the near term, but prices would fall below $100 a tonne from current record highs around $190 a tonne when mine expansions are completed in 2014 and 2015. [ID:nL3E7DA0K8]
BHP announced this week it would spend $80 billion on mine developments and expansions over the next five years, and Kloppers said based on expected returns on those projects, it should be able to post compound growth of 5-6 percent a year for "many many years".
"For us it's a question of where cost structures go, but I feel very comfortable that we're going to have healthy margins going forward," Kloppers said on Australian Broadcasting Corp's Inside Business show, aired on Sunday.
BHP had a 44 percent profit margin in the first half of this financial year.
Kloppers played down talk that the company had put acquisitions on the backburner in favour of investing in its own projects, saying while takeover targets were expensive now based on lofty commodity prices, that may not last long.
Asked if mergers and acquisitions were off the agenda, he said: "No. Cycles change."
"In six months' time or a year's time, something else may come up, the situation may change."
After being forced to kill three mega-deals since 2008 due mainly to regulatory and political obstacles, Kloppers said the company would clearly run into problems if it chased an iron ore acquisition, like its abandoned bid for no.2 iron ore miner Rio Tinto.
But he saw no such obstacles for deals in products where BHP was less dominant, including potash, copper, and oil and gas, as industry experts have speculated.
"And obviously, the oil and gas market is a very large one where there may be opportunities going forward," he said.
Speculation has focused on BHP chasing Anadarko Petroleum (APC.N: Quote) for its assets in the Gulf of Mexico.
Kloppers deflected questions about diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks, which showed he had offered to trade intelligence on China with Washington, as he was concerned about Chinese spying on BHP. [ID:nL3E7DE27I]
"I certainly don't remember offering anything," he said.
Did he have any secrets to offer? "Not that I know of," he said.
(Reporting by Sonali Paul, sourced:Thomson Reuters)
Monday, January 31, 2011
Bukit Asam Expects Coal Sales to Rise 30% This Year
By Bambang Djanuarto
Monday, Jan 31, 2011
PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam expects coal sales volume to gain about 30 percent this year as the Indonesian state-owned miner plans to produce more of the fuel to meet increasing demand, President Director Sukrisno said.
Sales may increase to 16.9 million metric tons this year from 12.95 million tons last year while output may rise to 17.6 million tons from 13.1 million tons, said Sukrisno.
“Demand of coal for domestic and global markets will continue to increase,” Sukrisno, who uses one name, told parliament members in Jakarta today. “Local consumption will rise significantly, especially for power projects.”
Indonesia, the world’s largest thermal coal exporter, is planning to burn more of the fuel to make up for falling crude oil production from aging fields, which led to the country withdrawing from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 2008. PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara, the country’s state utility, may more than double its annual coal demand to 95.3 million tons by 2015.
Tanjung Enim, South Sumatra-based Bukit Asam has allocated 1.8 trillion rupiah ($199 million) for capital spending this year to boost production, Sukrisno said. The company expects output to climb to 50 million tons in 2015 and 80 million tons in 2018, he added.
Profit Decline
Net income in 2010 may have been lower than the previous year when the company posted 2.73 trillion rupiah of profit because of lower average coal selling price, the president director said. Profit may have fallen 25 percent to 2.04 trillion rupiah last year, according to average estimate of 19 analysts in a Bloomberg survey.
Bukit Asam average selling price fell 19 percent last year to 608,000 rupiah a ton, Sukrisno said. “An increase in sales volume could not compensate for a decline in coal price,” he said, adding the company expects the selling price to rise to 800,000 rupiah a ton this year.
Bukit Asam and Mitsubishi Corp. will jointly develop a coal-to-gas plant in Riau with an annual capacity of 6.5 million tons, Sukrisno said. The Indonesian company will also team up with Lurgi AG in a separate project in South Sumatra, he added.
Bukit Asam shares fell 2 percent to 19,750 rupiah at the 4 p.m. Jakarta time close. The stock has risen 18 percent in the past six months, outpacing the 11.5 percent gain in the benchmark Jakarta Composite index. (sourced:bloomberg)
Monday, Jan 31, 2011
PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam expects coal sales volume to gain about 30 percent this year as the Indonesian state-owned miner plans to produce more of the fuel to meet increasing demand, President Director Sukrisno said.
Sales may increase to 16.9 million metric tons this year from 12.95 million tons last year while output may rise to 17.6 million tons from 13.1 million tons, said Sukrisno.
“Demand of coal for domestic and global markets will continue to increase,” Sukrisno, who uses one name, told parliament members in Jakarta today. “Local consumption will rise significantly, especially for power projects.”
Indonesia, the world’s largest thermal coal exporter, is planning to burn more of the fuel to make up for falling crude oil production from aging fields, which led to the country withdrawing from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 2008. PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara, the country’s state utility, may more than double its annual coal demand to 95.3 million tons by 2015.
Tanjung Enim, South Sumatra-based Bukit Asam has allocated 1.8 trillion rupiah ($199 million) for capital spending this year to boost production, Sukrisno said. The company expects output to climb to 50 million tons in 2015 and 80 million tons in 2018, he added.
Profit Decline
Net income in 2010 may have been lower than the previous year when the company posted 2.73 trillion rupiah of profit because of lower average coal selling price, the president director said. Profit may have fallen 25 percent to 2.04 trillion rupiah last year, according to average estimate of 19 analysts in a Bloomberg survey.
Bukit Asam average selling price fell 19 percent last year to 608,000 rupiah a ton, Sukrisno said. “An increase in sales volume could not compensate for a decline in coal price,” he said, adding the company expects the selling price to rise to 800,000 rupiah a ton this year.
Bukit Asam and Mitsubishi Corp. will jointly develop a coal-to-gas plant in Riau with an annual capacity of 6.5 million tons, Sukrisno said. The Indonesian company will also team up with Lurgi AG in a separate project in South Sumatra, he added.
Bukit Asam shares fell 2 percent to 19,750 rupiah at the 4 p.m. Jakarta time close. The stock has risen 18 percent in the past six months, outpacing the 11.5 percent gain in the benchmark Jakarta Composite index. (sourced:bloomberg)
Friday, January 28, 2011
JSW Steel stock hits 52-week low
Friday, 28 Jan 2011
Shares of JSW Steel fell more than 5 percent to a 52-week low as institutions were unwinding positions after the company reported weak Q3 financial results for the December quarter.
JSW Steel stock slipped another 5 percent on Thursday soon after it announced a 32 percent drop in its net profit.
According to analysts, higher coking coal and iron ore costs continue to threaten profitability. At 10.41 a.m., shares of the company were down 4.48 percent at 922.30 rupees.
Shares of JSW Steel fell more than 5 percent to a 52-week low as institutions were unwinding positions after the company reported weak Q3 financial results for the December quarter.
JSW Steel stock slipped another 5 percent on Thursday soon after it announced a 32 percent drop in its net profit.
According to analysts, higher coking coal and iron ore costs continue to threaten profitability. At 10.41 a.m., shares of the company were down 4.48 percent at 922.30 rupees.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Coal miner Consol Energy's profit, stock drop
Thursday, Jan 27, 2011
* Q4 adj EPS 54 cents vs Street view 55 cents
* Q4 coal revenue up 10 pct
* Stock drops 3 pct before market (Updates with CEO comments, more data, stock drops)
NEW YORK, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Coal and natural gas producer Consol Energy Inc's fourth-quarter profit fell 27 percent, missing Wall Street estimates and sending its stock down 3 percent.
The company said its coal sales jumped 10 percent and for the first time its profit from selling steel-making metallurgical coal, especially to China, exceeded profit from thermal coal which is used in power generation.
It also said it was looking to expand export markets in Asia to sell more metallurgical coal.
"We believe India has great potential and is the next market we will target for high-vol (high volatility) met coal," Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer Brett Harvey said in a statement.
In modest electronic trading before the New York Stock Exchange opened, Consol stock dropped 3 percent to $50.00.
Earlier this month, Consol said it mined more coal in the fourth quarter than any other quarter in 2010 as flooding in Australia restricted supply and boosted prices.
"We will continue to seek international sales opportunities where our coal can command the highest prices," said Harvey. "Consol's marketing strategy for 2011 is to continue to develop new overseas markets into which we can sell our high-vol met coal." Volatility, or the burn temperature of coal, is crucial in steelmaking.
Fourth-quarter net income was $104 million, or 46 cents per share, down from $143 million, or 78 cents per share, the Pittsburgh-based company said.
Excluding items, the company earned 54 cents per share and on that basis, missed analyst expectations of 55 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Consol said total revenue was $1.34 billion, which included a 10 percent increase in coal revenue of $1.1 billion, driven by sales of 17.0 million tons.
"The combination of new sales of high-vol met coal into China and sales of our low-vol met coal enabled our annual met coal profits to exceed those from our thermal business for the first time in our history," said Harvey.
He said unit margins expanded considerably from the third quarter, as prices continued to strengthen while costs decreased by more than $5 per ton. (Reporting by Steve James and Vaishnavi Bala in Bangalore; sourced: reuters)
* Q4 adj EPS 54 cents vs Street view 55 cents
* Q4 coal revenue up 10 pct
* Stock drops 3 pct before market (Updates with CEO comments, more data, stock drops)
NEW YORK, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Coal and natural gas producer Consol Energy Inc's fourth-quarter profit fell 27 percent, missing Wall Street estimates and sending its stock down 3 percent.
The company said its coal sales jumped 10 percent and for the first time its profit from selling steel-making metallurgical coal, especially to China, exceeded profit from thermal coal which is used in power generation.
It also said it was looking to expand export markets in Asia to sell more metallurgical coal.
"We believe India has great potential and is the next market we will target for high-vol (high volatility) met coal," Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer Brett Harvey said in a statement.
In modest electronic trading before the New York Stock Exchange opened, Consol stock dropped 3 percent to $50.00.
Earlier this month, Consol said it mined more coal in the fourth quarter than any other quarter in 2010 as flooding in Australia restricted supply and boosted prices.
"We will continue to seek international sales opportunities where our coal can command the highest prices," said Harvey. "Consol's marketing strategy for 2011 is to continue to develop new overseas markets into which we can sell our high-vol met coal." Volatility, or the burn temperature of coal, is crucial in steelmaking.
Fourth-quarter net income was $104 million, or 46 cents per share, down from $143 million, or 78 cents per share, the Pittsburgh-based company said.
Excluding items, the company earned 54 cents per share and on that basis, missed analyst expectations of 55 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Consol said total revenue was $1.34 billion, which included a 10 percent increase in coal revenue of $1.1 billion, driven by sales of 17.0 million tons.
"The combination of new sales of high-vol met coal into China and sales of our low-vol met coal enabled our annual met coal profits to exceed those from our thermal business for the first time in our history," said Harvey.
He said unit margins expanded considerably from the third quarter, as prices continued to strengthen while costs decreased by more than $5 per ton. (Reporting by Steve James and Vaishnavi Bala in Bangalore; sourced: reuters)
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Peabody Q4 profit more than doubles
Tuesday, January 25, 2011Peabody Energy said Tuesday its fourth-quarter profit more than doubled to $210 million, up from $92.2 million a year earlier, thanks to higher coal prices and volumes sold.The St. Louis coal mining company (NYSE: BTU) reported revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, up 17 percent from $1.55 billion in the prior-year period.For the full year of 2010, Peabody reported a profit of $774 million on revenue of $6.9 billion, up from a profit of $448.2 million on revenue of $6 billion in 2009.
Chairman and Chief Executive Gregory Boyce said Peabody delivered its second-best year in company history. While heavy flooding and rains disrupted operations in Australia, he said, they also result in "significant market upside for Peabody's unpriced metallurgical and thermal export coal beyond the first quarter."Peabody is in "expansion mode to serve the seaborne Pacific markets, which have the greatest sustainable growth opportunities and pricing leverage," Boyce said in the earnings release. He called the demand for coal for making steel and electricity in China, India and other Asian markets the start of a "long-term supercycle.""The long-term supercycle for coal is strengthening with each passing day," Boyce said. "Nations such as China and India are growing 8 to 10 percent per year off a much larger base.
Hundreds of millions of people each year are moving to the cities, switching on technologies and extending coal's role as the fastest-growing fuel."Peabody said it projects capital expenditures of $900 million to $950 million in 2011, including $500 million to $550 million earmarked for new mines, expansion and extension projects. Approximately 70 percent of the growth and expansion capital is targeted for Australia, which feeds coal to Asia, with the remainder in the United States, the company said.Last week, Peabody said it reached two deals with Chinese companies to develop coal mines and coal-powered electric plants there.
sourced:St. Louis Business Journal - by Kelsey Volkmann
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Sesa Goa Q3 profit up by 29pct
Tuesday, 25 Jan 2011
India’s biggest iron ore exporter Sesa Goa Ltd posted a 29% gain in third quarter profit aided by higher prices of the steelmaking raw material.
Sesa Goa group net income rose to INR 10.7 billion (USD 234 million) in the three months ended December 31 from INR 8.28 billion a year earlier. The average profit estimate of 12 analyst surveyed by Bloomberg was INR 10.4 billion. Sales climbed 22% to INR 25 billion.
Total income increased by 21.57% to stand at INR 23,768.20 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2010 where as the same was at INR 19,551.30 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2009. ( sourced:Bloomberg)
India’s biggest iron ore exporter Sesa Goa Ltd posted a 29% gain in third quarter profit aided by higher prices of the steelmaking raw material.
Sesa Goa group net income rose to INR 10.7 billion (USD 234 million) in the three months ended December 31 from INR 8.28 billion a year earlier. The average profit estimate of 12 analyst surveyed by Bloomberg was INR 10.4 billion. Sales climbed 22% to INR 25 billion.
Total income increased by 21.57% to stand at INR 23,768.20 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2010 where as the same was at INR 19,551.30 million for the quarter ended December 31st 2009. ( sourced:Bloomberg)
Monday, January 24, 2011
Baotou Steel expects to return to profit
Monday, 24 Jan 2011
It is reported that Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Union expects to return to profit in 2010 with net profit attributable to shareholders of CNY 150 million to CNY 250 million and earnings per share of CNY 0.02 to CNY 0.04.
The company recorded a loss of CNY 1.63 billion in 2009.
According to the company, demand for steel used in railway construction increased due to the construction of the national high-speed railway network.
(Sourced from 163.com)
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