Ann: Appendix 4D and Half Year Financial Report, page-86

Headline of story should be 'High Coal Prices Overcome Poor Performance at WHC'

The only thing that is surprising about today's market reaction and the fall in SP is that anyone is surprised by it.

The buyback announcement won't help the price in the next few weeks before it actually begins. As the buyback price isn't known and is likely to be a strategy rather than one fixed buyback price it's in a traders interest to drive down the price now in the expectation that the buyback next month will then allow them to sell at a decent profit over the coming months. Long term it's going to be up to $400Mil gone and then they may need to borrow more to start a new mines and the debt cycle continues and when it begins the cozl price may not be as high.

The dividend is not above expectations and at a cost of 80 Mil when they had a NPAT of 340.5 Mil it's nothing special and actually a crystal ball concern for when a higher dividend could ever be paid again by WHC.

Worrying is the FOB increase to $83/T which is $13 per/T higher than the corresponding period last year. It's OK at the moment but if coal prices fall WHC will be in serious trouble if the upward trend in costs continues.

Sales of produced coal down 19% compared to HY21.

Lower yield of 81% compared to 85% of prior corresponding year.

I thought for a while that WHC might improve if they got a 3rd party to operate their mines for them instead of their own staff but they might be better off outsourcing the strategic management of the company as well if they could.

They got lucky with the coal price increase and at the moment high prices are covering up their other production and cost issues.