Thungela profit surges on coal price recovery and rail turnaround

Thungela Resources reported first-half profit of R1.4bn for the six months to 30 June 2026, a steep rise on the prior year, as recovering thermal coal prices and a much-improved Transnet rail service lifted the South African miner's results. The Johannesburg- and London-listed company declared an interim dividend of R5.50 a share, worth about R773m in total, alongside net cash of R6.1bn at the half-year mark.

Rail recovery drives volumes

Group export saleable production rose 6% to 8.5 million tonnes, while export sales climbed 12% to 9.5 million tonnes. Thungela's South African operations produced 6.3 million tonnes for export and sold 7.4 million tonnes, benefiting from Transnet Freight Rail lifting its annualised coal-line performance to 59.9 million tonnes, up from 56.8 million tonnes logged in 2025. Free-on-board costs of R1,466 a tonne came in below the company's own guidance, adding to the improved margins.

Thungela's Australian mine, Ensham, added to the turnaround, with production rising to 2.2 million tonnes from 1.6 million tonnes a year earlier. Revenue for the half reached R15.2bn and adjusted EBITDA came in at R1.3bn, with operating cash flow of R2.6bn underpinning the dividend decision.

Rail capacity and third-party coal

Chief executive Moses Madondo said the company would continue to prioritise moving its own coal through the rail network as Transnet's performance strengthens, while remaining open to hauling third-party tonnes if spare capacity allows. That stance reflects a broader shift in Mpumalanga's coal sector, where years of rail under-performance forced producers onto costly road haulage to ports; a sustained recovery at Transnet would let Thungela and its peers plan output around rail rather than trucks.

What it means

The results mark one of the clearest signs yet that South Africa's coal exporters are benefiting from Transnet's slow rehabilitation, after a period in which logistics constraints, not geology or demand, capped earnings across the industry. Thungela kept its full-year guidance of 13 million to 13.6 million tonnes of South African export production and 3.9 million to 4.2 million tonnes from Ensham, suggesting management expects the improved rail flows to hold through the second half.

Sources

• Miningmx: Thungela declares R5.50 interim dividend after stronger first half, 17 Aug 2026

Photo: Coal wagons near Piet Retief in South Africa's Mpumalanga coal-mining province. JMK, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.