According to the results announced on Tuesday, the value of EBITDA (operating profit plus depreciation and write-offs for non-financial assets) for Q1 2024 amounted to PLN 532.1 million; a year earlier PLN 1.956 billion (a decrease of 23.9%). Sales revenues amounted to PLN 3.415 billion, compared to PLN 4.458 billion in the first quarter of 2023. Gross profit from sales reached PLN 298.1 million.
“We need to optimize costs and increase production efficiency”
As Ryszard Janta, president of the company, quoted in the announcement, said, the new management board of JSW, aware of the responsibility and challenges facing the group, is already planning actions aimed at improving profitability and stabilizing the financial situation.
“We need to optimize costs and increase production efficiency in all segments of our operations. In the mining area, our priority remains to restore the baseline level of production in our mines by reversing the effects of the events and disasters of 2022-23, which significantly impacted our production capacity in recent quarters.” – emphasized Janta.
In the first quarter of this year JSW mines produced approximately 3.1 million tons of coal, compared to 3.4 million tons a year earlier. Total sales amounted to 3.1 million tons, compared to 3.5 million tons in the first quarter of 2023. Revenues from the sale of coal to external customers reached in the first quarter of this year. PLN 1.768 billion (PLN 2.722 billion a year earlier). Investments in the coal segment amounted to PLN 861.3 million.
The reduction in coal production was the result of mining and geological difficulties
It was similar to the same period last year in the first quarter of this year. coke production at JSW, which amounted to 0.8 million tons; sales reached 1 million tons. Revenues from the sale of coke (including coke and carbon derivatives) to external customers reached PLN 1.475 billion (PLN 1.542 billion a year earlier). Investments in the coke segment amounted to PLN 188.4 million.
The decline in coal production was 7.5% and coke production by 5.1%, compared to the previous quarter. According to JSW, the reduction in coal production in the first quarter of 2024 was the result of unpredictable mining and geological difficulties related to the tectonics of the deposit in the Borynia-Zofiówka-Bzie Ruch Borynia mine and the methane threat in the Pniówek mine.
Total sales revenues were 2.3% higher in Q1 2024. compared to Q4 2023. Coke sales increased significantly, reaching a level close to 1 million tons, which, at an average price of PLN 1,370.87 per ton, resulted in an increase in revenues from the sale of coke and carbon derivatives by over 25%. and helped mitigate the effects of the deterioration in the thermal coal market.
In total, over PLN 1.3 billion was allocated for investments in the JSW group
In Q1 2024, JSW sold by over 34%. less coal for energy purposes compared to the previous quarter, and its price dropped by over 19%. up to PLN 482.17 per tonne. Revenues from the sale of coking coal did not change: the average price of coking coal was PLN 1,058.97 per tonne, and the sales volume was 1,451.9 million tonnes.
In total, over PLN 1.3 billion was allocated for investments in the JSW group, i.e. 12.3 percent. more compared to Q4 2023. These were primarily expenses related to the opening of new deposits and mining levels, modernization of processing plants, modernization of coke oven battery No. 4 in Koksownia Przyjaźń and construction of the Radlin Heat and Power Plant block at Koksownia Radlin.
JSW is the second largest domestic coal company in terms of employment and coal mining, after Polska Grupa Górnicza. It specializes in the production of coking coal, used in steel production. It employs 32.2 thousand. people, by 1.3 thousand more than a year earlier. The JSW capital group closed last year with a net profit of PLN 997.1 million.
