Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) shares are having a strong finish to the week.
In morning trade, the coal miner's shares are up 7% to $8.35.
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Why are Whitehaven Coal shares charging higher?
The catalyst for this strong gain has been the release of the company's quarterly update this morning.
According to the release, managed run-of-mine (ROM) production came in at 5.0Mt for the quarter, which was down 6% on the previous quarter.
However, this couldn't stop the company from posting a 21% quarter on quarter increase in total equity sales of produced coal to 3.7Mt for the three months.
These sales were made with an average coal price of A$216 per tonne, which was down 3.5% on the previous quarter. Though, the company's thermal coal sales realised a premium of 5% to the gC NEWC index. This compares to a 1% discount in the previous quarter.
This ultimately led to Whitehaven Coal ending the period with a net cash position of $1.5 billion.
Management commentary and guidance
The coal miner's CEO, Paul Flynn, was pleased with the quarter. He said:
In the December quarter, managed ROM production of 5.0Mt was down 6% on the September quarter. Maules Creek and the Gunnedah Open Cut mines delivered solid operational performances while ROM production at Narrabri was impacted by geological challenges in the current longwall and equipment reliability.
Flynn also reiterated the company's guidance for FY 2024, adding:
Overall ROM production and sales guidance for FY24 remains unchanged. However, production and sales mix is expected to reflect the stronger performance at the open cut mines and lower volumes from Narrabri.
Whitehaven Coal shares remain down 7% over the last 12 months despite today's gain.
