“As expected, we had a weaker performance quarter over quarter because of the China lockdowns but compared to last year, we did very well,” SMPC President and Chief Operating Officer Maria Cristina C. Gotianun said in a disclosure on Wednesday.
In the second quarter, total shipments from coal operations dropped by 24% to 3.7 million metric tons to 4.9 MMT as China imposed coronavirus disease 2019 lockdowns and shifted to Russian coal. “Heavy rainfall and higher stripping activities curbed coal production, dropping 21% to 3.4 MMT from 4.3 MMT. This, together with lower sales volume, raised high-grade coal inventory by 50% to 1.5 MMT from 1.0 MMT,” it added.