Target $4.61, page-4166

The market for coal equities has already adjusted to the pressures faced by the industry and has baked in a more muted valuation but I dont believe its the upcoming election that is driving this at all. Its been muted for some time now but even if you look at the stance from Labor, their resources spokesperson Madeleine King supports thermal coal exports for many years to come so Im not sure what your concern is.

I agree that 3-5 years ago, WHC would easily be around $5 right now with a projected target of $9-10. But now in this current global environment its at about $2.50 with a target of $4.5-$5.00 (but that discount is hardly driven by a prospective change of government). And any notion that a Labor win next year is the reason for the share price being where it is currently overlooks Chinas recent intervention (or else we'd still be closer to $3.50).

So, unless you have specific concerns about what Labor might do that is so threatening, I think this fear is unwarranted as they seem to support our coal industry even if they are more robust towards achieving emissions targets. The greater threat to the financial health of WHC is from commodity demand and whether or not customers attempt to transition towards energy sources such as nuclear (as Japan and China are already researching this).