Indonesian thermal coal miner Harum Energy said Tuesday it sales volume over January-September surged 44% year on year to 3.6 million mt, while its average sales price jumped 28% to $63.70/mt.
The company said it thermal coal output totaled 3.2 million mt in the nine-month period, up 57.5% year on year.
The rise in average sales price came despite FOB vessel cash costs jumping 23% year on year to $36.80/mt in the period, due partly to higher fuel costs, the company said.
Thermal coal prices have been on the rise this year due to strong demand from China at a time when unseasonal rain in Indonesia and mine strikes in Australia have curtailed supply.
"We have seen the past three quarters to be relatively good for most coal producers or suppliers due to the strong market, thanks to the seemingly all year long wet season in Indonesia and recent strikes in Australia and Colombia, which helped drive tighter supplies," Harum said in its report.
Coal production in the third quarter totaled 1 million mt, up from 800,000 mt in the same quarter a year earlier, the company said. It sells most of its output to South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan.
Over January-September, South Korea and Malaysia each accounted for 28% of its total sales, and Taiwan 16%.
Looking ahead, the company expects China's demand for seaborne cargoes to soften in Q4 as buyers turn cautious amid government directives aimed at cooling imports.
However, Harum said it has already sold and priced all of its Q4 production at similar terms to Q3.
As of September 30, the company's inventory level stood at 400,000 mt, flat year on year, at a cash equivalent of $241 million, the company noted.
Harum has mining operations in East Kalimantan and produces coal with heating values in the range of 5,800-6,400 kcal/kg air dried basis, according to its website.
The price of FOB Kalimantan 5,900 GAR has surged 15.5% since the start of 2017 to be assessed Monday at $82.90/mt, according to S&P Global Platts data.
