Whitehaven Coal’s first-quarter output rises nearly 22%

Oct 23 (Reuters) - Australia’s Whitehaven Coal reported about a 22% rise in first-quarter output on Friday, driven by resilient production in its Queensland operations and volume recovery at its New South Wales mines.

The country’s top independent coal miner reported managed run-of-mine coal production of 11 million metric tons for the three months ended September 30, up from 9 million tons a year ago.

That beat the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 9.5 million tons.

The company earned A$226 per metric ton of coal sold in the quarter, compared with an average of A$188 a ton last year.

The temporary impact of sales slippages and elevated inventories is expected to unwind in the second quarter, Whitehaven said.