Things are more uncertain than usual in the coal market. China is in all sorts of trouble economically, don't believe the growth statistics they put out, like so much in China, they are faked. India,a big steelmaker, is back in the market after a longer than usual monsoon. The strife in the Red Sea is negatively affecting transport from the North, and Ukraine coal production can be written off.
The March quarter is the Wet season in northern Australia, so rain events can be expected to impact production but much depends on cyclone activity. There have been cyclonic rain events in the Bowen Basin for each of the past two Januaries, so on average perhaps, this might not occur this time, but according to locals, the cyclones that come late, like April are commonly the most damaging. .
The US $4.5 million payment is due at the end of March to Taurus, can be covered by cash on hand, but whether BCB can achieve a $13m net cash result in the March quarter before this payment is doubtful to me as the December quarters result was booked by the sale of excess stocks on hand of about one months production. A larger contribution from Plumtree could be expected however which will be a positive for cash flow.
The positive results from the reject handling improvements at the CHPP are a real plus, cost wise. Somebody is doing a good job there.
Things are more uncertain than usual in the coal market. China...
Add to My Watchlist
What is My Watchlist?