Investors in South Africa’s largest exporter of thermal coal are set to enjoy a bumper payday amid an extraordinary boom in prices for the highly polluting fossil fuel.
Thungela Resources, a spin-off from Anglo American, declared a dividend of R60 a share ($3.68) as profits for the six months to June surged more than 4,000 per cent on the back of record coal prices and premiums.
The payout is nearly three times higher than Thungela’s share price on its first day of trading 14 months ago and underscores the huge profits being generated from coal.
Glencore, the world’s biggest exporter of thermal coal, this month revealed earnings from its coal business had surged almost 900 per cent to $8.9bn in the first six months of the year. Chinese and Indian producers have also reported soaring profits.