Warrior Met Coal reports Q3 EPS $1.85, consensus $1.40

Reports Q3 revenue $423.5M, consensus $366.9M. “As evidenced by our sales volumes, demand for shipments from our global contracted steelmaking customers as well as for spot cargoes from Asia was strong,” commented Walt Scheller, CEO of Warrior. “We continued to see improved performance from our transportation partners and at the McDuffie Terminal, which allowed us to ship more volume and reduce our excess inventory. Warrior has had a larger ratio of spot volume this quarter, mainly due to the end of the strike and the quality change at Mine 4. Normally, we sell most of our spot volumes into our natural markets of Europe and South America, but both regions have offered a limited number of spot transactions this year. As such, Warrior has directed the majority of its spot business to China, India and other South Asian countries. However, our average net selling price was impacted by the freight differentials associated with the Pacific Basin, and in particular China, additionally impacted by the negative arb in relation to the PLB FOB Australia. We believe the rapid and steep rise in the PLV Index price is based upon strong demand from China and India, supply disruptions out of Australia, specifically for premium hard coking coals, and a severe lack of liquidity supporting the inadequate index system.”