In his chairman’s address on Friday, Renwick said while negotiations for semi-soft contracts were ongoing, he expected a reduction in sales.
“The forecast demand for semi-soft coal in 2009, however, will be greater than the proportional cut in steel production, as steel mills move to a higher proportion of semi soft in the coke blend throughout the rest of 2009,” he said.
He said overall demand for thermal coal would be softer in the immediate term, but he expected it to pick up in the second half of the year.
Last month price negotiations for thermal coal contracts with Japanese buyers were sealed by Coal & Allied at $US70-72 per tonne.
The company said price negotiations with other countries were ongoing.
The Hunter Valley producer reported a record profit yesterday at $A804 million for 2008 – greater than the company’s past five years of profits combined.
The company expects its sales in 2009 to be similar to last year.
