EBITDA for the first six months of 2019 was PLN 1.3 billion (net of non-recurring events). Coal production in this period exceeded 7 million tons (down 11 percent from the H1 2018 level) and was in line with JSW’s production assumptions. It should be emphasized that in Q2 coal production was higher than in Q1 by 1.3 percent. In the same period coke production amounted to 1.7 million tons, compared to 1.85 million tons in the corresponding period of 2018, however the 2018 data included the production in the Dębieńsko Coking Plant, which is currently decommissioned. In Q2 coke production was 6 percent higher than JSW Koks’ production in the first three months of the year.

Prices of coking coal and coke in H1 2019 were favorable to JSW. They stood at PLN 701 per ton and PLN 1,149 per ton, respectively. In the case of coking coal, prices increased 4.2 percent compared to last year, and in the case of coke by 6.6 percent. In the period in question sales revenues from the coal produced in the JSW Group for external customers stood at nearly PLN 2.5 billion, compared to PLN 2.7 billion in H1 2018.  Revenues on sales of coke and hydrocarbons to external customers exceeded PLN 2 billion.

- Total sales revenues in the JSW group stood at PLN 4.7 billion. This is marginally less than in the same period of the previous year, which resulted from the lower sales volume of coking coal, steam coal and coke – explains Włodzimierz Hereźniak, President of the Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa Management Board, and adds: – There is a downward trend in Premium HCC coking coal prices. It is caused by lower margins in the steel industry observed since Q1 2019.

One should emphasize JSW Group’s significant capital expenditures, which exceeded PLN 1.2 billion. Comparing H1 of the previous year with H1 of this year, the expenditures in cash terms increased by 82 percent. These are investments associated with, among other things, expanding the resource base, securing production in the next years, and recreating the machinery used in the production process, modernizing the coal washing plants, and purchasing new machinery and equipment, such as the Bolter Miner. It should be noted that 87 percent of the capital expenditures went to investments in the coal segment.

– Work security is our priority, especially because the coal is mined from increasingly deep and difficult seams exposed to higher hazards. That’s why we will continue to introduce automation in these areas. Innovative solutions enable us to optimize coal production costs, contributing at the same time to improvement of work safety – concludes Włodzimierz Hereźniak, President of the Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa Management Board.

The JSW Group remains the largest employer in the region and one of the largest in Poland.
Presently, it has 29,881 employees.