EU's largest coking coal producer, blue chip JSW generated a net profit of PLN 27.5mn in Q2 of 2013 (vs. market consensus of PLN 44mn) on sales of PLN 1,932.9mn. EBITDA was PLN 351.1mn. The firm said that its results were affected by lower coal and coke sales volumes.

The company also stressed it achieved this financial result despite unfavourable economic circumstances and the low level of coal and coke prices. In addition, an agreement was signed with the trade unions to pay a PLN 90.5mn cash bonus to JSW's employees from 2012 earnings. This contributed to deteriorating the result.

The Group's coal output was 3,317.4 thousand tonnes in Q2 of 2013, down by 5.9% q/q. In H1 of 2013, coal output was 0.7% lower on the year. In Q2 of 2013, coal inventories fell by more than 280 thousand tonnes compared to Q1 of 2013.

Coal sales to external customers were down by 8.8% q/q to 2,260.4 thousand tonnes in Q2 alone and up by 18.1% y/y in H1 of 2013. Coal sales revenues to external customers were PLN 921.9mn in Q2 of 2013, down by 8.5% q/q.

In the coke segment, Q2 of 2013 output was 1,043.2 thousand tonnes of coke, up by 1.7% q/q. In H1 of 2013, coke output was 2,069.1 thousand tonnes, up by 6.4% y/y. In Q2 of 2013, sales were 941.8 thousand tonnes, down 15.6% q/q. In the entire H1 of 2013, coke sales were 2,057.1 thousand tonnes, up by 10.6% on the year.

JSW's president Jaroslaw Zagorowski said that the firm is working on enhancing its productivity. He reiterated that JSW's "ambitious objective" it to not generate a loss in the full year of 2013 by cutting the operating expenses in the face of probable low coal and coke prices in H2 of 2013. Earlier this month, Zagorowski declared that JS will do all it can to defend a positive financial result in 2013.

In the entire H1 of 2013, JSW posted consolidated net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent entity of PLN 166.88mn (EUR 39.60mn) vs. profit of PLN 778.11mn (EUR 184.20mn) a year earlier, on sales of PLN 4,112.02mn (EUR 975.80mn) vs. PLN 4,635.03mn (EUR 1,097.15mn).