On the issue of listed coal companies i think they all have...

On the issue of listed coal companies i think they all have their own story which is being reflected in share price movements and underlying valuation (P/E) as well as their capital management policy. Starting with NHC is has a low production cost main asset and large shareholder who invests for the dividends. the place on the cost curve means it can consistently make a profit so bias has been on dividends rather than investment for growth in earnings as such its SP is less volatile. With YAL, WHC and CRN they have come off the back of large losses so no franking credits possible. Balance sheets also are much worse than NHC however, with the rapid turnaround in coal prices their outlook has been the most dramatic so anyone who took the risk to buy in at the low price of the cycle has done well. so where to from here? I personally like the fact that coal is on the nose with many people but they will need it for some time yet as energy transition will not happen overnight. The move to green power and bank/portfolio manager mandates to stay away from coal will also dissuade new coal mine investment in general. so profitable coal mines well manageed with large reserves should do well over the medium term. That why i like NHC as well as SMR who picked up some coking coal assets from BHP and should be able to rapidly pay down debt at current prices. the outlook however is not without risk - china announced big increase in coal production capacity and (non russia) eastern europe can ramp up coal production with reasonable market prices.