South African coal producer Thungela Resources, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Thungela Resources Australia, has acquired the remaining 15% interest in the Ensham business from Bowen Investment (Australia) for a total purchase consideration of A48m ($30.1m).
The acquisition, which includes the Ensham Joint Venture and related entities, was first announced in December 2024.
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Thungela has obtained all necessary regulatory approvals for the transaction.
The company assumed operational control of the Ensham business in Australia, including Ensham coal mine in Emerald, Queensland, on 1 September 2023, after initially acquiring an 85% interest through Sungela Holdings.
The recent acquisition of the remaining stake is expected to streamline administrative processes and create synergies, particularly through shared services with South Africa.
Furthermore, this acquisition enables Thungela to diversify geographically and leverage its technical and marketing capabilities.
This strategic move is set to open up new markets in Japan and Malaysia, diversify the customer base and provide exposure to the Newcastle Benchmark coal price.
Thungela has clarified that the acquisition does not qualify as a categorisable transaction under Section 9 of the JSE Limited Listings Requirements, so the company is not legally required to announce the deal but has chosen to do so voluntarily for transparency.
Additionally, the transaction is now classified as inside information under the EU’s Market Abuse Regulation, as amended post-Brexit, meaning it could influence investor decisions.
The company has informed shareholders that its earnings per share (EPS) for the year ending 31 December 2024 are projected to be between R25.00 ($1.35) and R27.50.
This marks a decline of R10.16 to R12.66 per share compared with the previous year’s EPS of R37.66.
Total earnings attributable to shareholders are expected to range from R3.4bn to R3.7bn.
Headline earnings per share (HEPS) are projected to be between R24.00 and R26.50, reflecting a decrease of R8.47 to R10.97 from the prior year’s HEPS of R34.97.
Headline earnings for the period are estimated to be between R3.2bn and R3.5bn.
