Coronado Global Resources Q4 Earnings Call Highlights

Coronado Global Resources (ASX:CRN) executives used the company’s December-quarter and full-year 2025 update to highlight what Managing Director and CEO Douglas Thompson described as a “structural change” in operating performance following a multi-year improvement program, while also addressing two recent fatalities and outlining how liquidity support arrangements are expected to underpin cash flow in 2026.

Vice President of Investor Relations Chantelle Esser opened the call by noting the company released its quarterly report to the ASX and filed with the SEC, and that Coronado reports in U.S. dollars and metric tons.

Safety incidents and operational directives

Thompson began by acknowledging “two tragic incidents” since mid-December, offering condolences and stating that the events were “unacceptable.” He said Coronado is working with authorities and contracting partners to investigate, and reiterated that safety and health are the company’s highest priority.

In response to analyst questions, Thompson said the Logan incident investigation is ongoing but that operations there have returned to normal with “no constraints” on operations. At the Mammoth Mine in Australia, he said works are ongoing in the mine “except coal winning works” under a public directive, with investigations continuing and a Section 201 report due to the regulator within 20 days of the incident. Thompson said he saw “no reason why once directives have lifted, that operations will return to our planned production rates,” but emphasized that the timing of lifting the directive is between the regulator and the mine operator/contractor.

Full-year 2025 operating performance and cost reductions

Thompson said Coronado delivered saleable production of 16 million tons in 2025, up 4% year over year, ending at the lower end of guidance. He said group average mining cost per ton sold averaged $97 per ton, a 10% reduction year over year, and capital spend was $245 million for the year at the bottom end of guidance, marking the completion of the company’s “major investment phase.”

He also pointed to “exit run rates that outperformed guidance,” the “highest quarterly sales since 2021 quarter three,” and sales volumes that increased 11% quarter over quarter. Coronado reduced operating costs by about $300 million during the year, according to Thompson and CFO Barry van der Meer.

Van der Meer said the $300 million operating cost reduction versus the prior year reflected multi-year efforts. He said group mining cost averaged $97.60 per ton in 2025, improving from $107 in FY 2024 and $108 in FY 2023, and noted the average exchange rate of 64.5 cents during the year. He added that over the last three quarters, both Curragh and Buchanan averaged around $86 per ton, which he characterized as a “structural shift” placing both assets “firmly within the midpoint of the industry cost curve.”

Thompson said unit costs continued to trend down, with ROM production cost per ton averaging $56 per ton, the lowest since 2021 and a 15% improvement over two years, which he attributed to higher dragline utilization and tighter cost control.

• Saleable production: 16 million tons in 2025, up 4% year over year
• Average mining cost per ton sold: about $97/ton (van der Meer: $97.60/ton)
• Capital expenditure: $245 million for the year; $38 million in the December quarter
• Operating cost reduction: approximately $300 million year over year

Asset-by-asset commentary: Curragh, Mammoth, Buchanan, and Logan

In Australia, Thompson said the Curragh Complex posted a strong December quarter, with record ROM production and sales volumes surpassing levels last achieved in 2020. He highlighted dragline performance at the highest levels since Coronado acquired the mine in 2018, with draglines consistently accounting for about 50% of total waste movement versus historic levels of around 30%. He attributed gains to the “One Curragh plan,” including changes to pit configuration, decongestion, enhanced strike length, and fleet rationalization and procurement initiatives.

At Mammoth, Thompson said the mine ran three production panels and achieved run rates equivalent to 2 million tons per year during the fourth quarter, with Q4 mining cost per ton sold remaining below the low end of guidance. He said Coronado will pursue targeted CHPP upgrades early in 2026 to lift processing capacity and product yield, though the work may moderate March-quarter production.

In the U.S., Thompson said Buchanan recorded its strongest month since August 2022 in December, including record daily ROM production and record skip counts. He said Buchanan produced about 400,000 tons of saleable production in December, generated about $20 million of earnings, and achieved a $67 per ton unit rate for the month. Van der Meer said Buchanan generated $20 million of EBITDA in December, noting the mine had faced geological constraints in October and November that eased in December. He also said Buchanan was cash break-even for the full year after funding its own expansion capital expenditures at a PLV index of $188 per ton.

For Logan, Thompson said the company’s four underground mines performed to plan and met forecast production for the quarter. He said a minor vessel delay into January increased site and port inventories but did not impact mines or plant performance, and that inventories would support sales during two longwall moves scheduled for the March quarter.

Liquidity, Stanwell support, and balance sheet positioning

Management repeatedly emphasized liquidity measures and a reset of Stanwell arrangements. Thompson said Stanwell provided $150 million in mid-2025 and that a subsequent transaction brought forward a reset originally anticipated in 2027. He said 2026 mechanisms are expected to provide between $200 million and $250 million of cash flow uplift depending on prices and nominated tonnages.

Van der Meer said Coronado ended December with $173 million of cash and that approximately $150 million of short-term liquidity management and working capital initiatives highlighted at the end of the third quarter were fully settled by year-end, leaving the cash balance “fully available.” He also detailed a new five-year, $265 million covenant-light asset-based lending facility priced at 9% that was fully drawn in December and used to repay the Oaktree credit facility in full. He said the ABL includes no earnings governance for the first two years and no “hair triggers,” describing it as committed five-year debt at “competitive rates,” provided by Stanwell.

On the Stanwell reset, van der Meer said it waives remaining tax rebates for FY 2026 and early FY 2027 and establishes a prepayment mechanism when liquidity falls below $250 million. In response to a question, he described the expected 2026 benefit as roughly split between about $100 million of rebate forgiveness (dependent on price-linked revenue factors) and the remainder from coal prepayments, which activate automatically based on cash balance thresholds. He said at a cash balance below $200 million, Coronado would be entitled to the full benefit of coal prepayments for tonnage to Stanwell.

Management also said it will continue exploring minority asset disposals. Thompson said the board has mandated the team to pursue minority sales to accelerate deleveraging, though he emphasized the company will seek “maximum value” for shareholders given improved pricing, the completion of major capital projects, and demonstrated run rates. Van der Meer said deleveraging would initially focus on building cash against debt and managing liquidity, with broader refinancing considerations dependent on sustained coal pricing over longer periods.

Coronado said it expects to release its 2025 financial results and 2026 guidance on Feb. 24, 2026.

About Coronado Global Resources (ASX:CRN)

Coronado Global Resources Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces, markets, and exports metallurgical coal in Asia, North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and internationally. The company owns 100% interests in the Curragh mining property located in the Bowen Basin of Australia; and the Buchanan and the Logan property, and the Greenbrier property, as well as development mining properties comprising the Mon Valley and the Russell County properties primarily located in the Central Appalachian region of the United States.