Welcome to the 2023 Annual General Meeting of Yancoal Australia. My name is Greg Fletcher. I'm the Co-Vice Chairman and Independent Non-Executive Director of Yancoal Australia and Chair of the Audit and Risk Management Committee. I'm pleased to chair today's meeting and welcome those shareholders, interested parties and staff in attendance. I'd like to acknowledge the traditional owners, the people on whose land we are today, and pay my respects to elders past, present, and future, and welcome any indigenous person that may be on at today's AGM. I've been informed by the shared registry that a quorum is present, and I declare the Annual General Meeting open. I'd firstly like to introduce some of my directors. Firstly, Helen Gillies, to my left. Helen's an Independent Director and Chair of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee. I'd also like to welcome David Moult to my left.
David's the Yancoal CEO. Online, I have my Co-Vice Chair and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Ning Zhang; Dr. Geoff Raby, Independent Director, and also Chair of the Health, Safety, and Environment Committee. Of course, we have our Chairman, Zhang, from China. So welcome to those directors. Unfortunately, a number of directors couldn't attend today. They being Mr. Wu, Mr. Xiao, Mr. Zhao, Mr. Changyi Zhang. I'd just like to confirm that we have a number of Zhangs on the board, and we have a number of Zhangs, as executives. I can confirm that none of those are related. I'd also like to introduce some of the executives here with us today. We have Kevin Su, our CFO, we've got Mark Salem, Head of Marketing, and we've got Laura Zhang, our Company Secretary and Chief Legal Officer.
Mr. Wu and Mr. Zhao are stepping down as directors of Yancoal Australia at the end of this meeting. Mr. Wu and Mr. Zhao have served as board members for the past six years. During their tenure as directors, Yancoal integrated with Mount Thorley Warkworth, the Hunter Valley Operations, and incorporated it into our assets. We were also listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong during this period. Their involvement has contributed to the success of Yancoal, and we warmly thank Mr. Wu and Mr. Zhao for their dedication to the company. I'd also like to acknowledge Mr. Feng, from Cinda, who recently resigned as a director of Yancoal after six years, and again, he's a fine contributor at the board meetings. Mr. Ru is nominated as a replacement on the Yancoal board.
Ru has extensive leadership experience, having previously served as Chief Financial Officer and External Director of Zibo Mining Group and Shandong Energy. Mr. Ru was appointed as the Deputy General Manager of Shandong Energy in March 2022. Mr. Huang is also nominated as a replacement on the Yancoal Australia board and has extensive leadership experience. Mr. Huang joined Yankuang Energy in 1999 and has held several senior leader roles. In 2021, he became Secretary of the Yankuang Energy Board and subsequently a Director of Yankuang Energy. I will now commence today's proceedings. Commentary provided today includes forward-looking statements. The notices and disclaimers on slides three and four pertain to these topics. This year, we have again encouraged shareholders to participate in the AGM via webcast.
In addition, we have done our best to ensure that all shareholders and proxy holders will have the opportunity to participate in the meeting, including, for those entitled, the ability to ask questions at the end of the formal proceedings. Every effort was made to ensure that proceedings proceed smoothly. The relevant documents have been disseminated on both the Australian Securities Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Today's meeting can be observed online by the Computershare Virtual Meeting Services platform. This allows shareholders, proxy holders, and guests to observe the meeting virtually. In addition, shareholders and proxy holders can submit questions in real time. If you have joined us through the Computershare Virtual Meeting Services platform, you can start submitting your questions now, and we will address them later in the meeting.
Please also note that your questions may be moderated or amalgamated if we receive multiple questions which deal with the same topic. I would now like to invite David Moult, our Chief Executive Officer, to provide the 2022 review.
Thank you, Greg. Shareholders, members of the board, ladies and gentlemen, good morning, and thank you for attending today's annual general meeting. While we're pleased that Yancoal achieved the record results in 2022, keeping our workforce safe is always our primary objective. The ongoing and gradual improvement in our key safety metrics, despite challenging operating circumstances, is a credit to all our people on the Yancoal sites, across our company. Positive trending year-on-year safety stats was a favorable outcome, the mid-year uptick in the Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate was a reminder that continual focus is required. New initiatives trialed in 2022 included a vehicle collision awareness system at one of our operations. The trial commenced with light vehicles, we are now extending that to our haul trucks in 2023.
Like all our efforts with safety, our focus on sustainability is continual and ongoing. Yancoal is actively exploring opportunities in the renewable energy sector. The company has also commenced development of an enterprise sustainability strategy. This will allow us to better understand the risks and opportunities as we transition to a low carbon economy, increase operational efficiencies, and minimize environmental impacts, and diversify the business. Yancoal achieved a record revenue and record EBITDA in 2022. Constrained production was common across the sector, contributing to tight market conditions and remarkably realized coal prices. Yancoal's overall realized coal price more than doubled to AUD 378 per ton in 2022, driving the revenue up 95% to AUD 10.5 billion, and lifting the EBITDA to AUD 7 billion.
After repaying the majority of debt and returning almost AUD 0.53 per share as the interim dividend, Yancoal still finished the year with AUD 2.7 billion of cash. This enabled the board to return AUD 924 million to shareholders as a fully franked final dividend of AUD 0.70 per share. The total dividend for 2022 represented a 20% yield based on the year-end share price of just over AUD 6 per share. Looking at the coal markets, the heavy rainfall and pandemic disruptions were obvious factors contributing to supply shortfalls and tight market conditions. In 2022, our average realized thermal coal price was AUD 372 per ton, compared to AUD 134 per ton in 2021.
Similarly, our average realized metallurgical coal price was AUD 405 per ton, compared to AUD 180 per ton in 2021. Thermal coal indices may have fallen from the record levels seen in 2022, but the structural issues influencing the price remain. It's worth observing the coal indices referred to in this slide are still trading at twice the levels that they were just two years ago, and Yancoal's contract structures deliver a lagged price realization relative to these indices. Global energy markets seem far from settled, and the seasonal cycles have the potential to lift prices during 2023. Yancoal delivered 29.4 million tons of attributable coal production at cash operating costs of AUD 94 per ton in 2022.
Over the past two years, and particularly in 2022, mining inventory depleted and sellable coal production was prioritized to maximize the benefit from the elevated coal prices. This proved to be an effective strategy, but mining inventory now needs to be replenished so that optimal productivity and efficiency rates can return. The lower production volume was one key driver of the increased cash operating costs. The cost increase also included additional equipment and contractors brought on to aid the production recovery program. These costs will carry through into 2023, and potentially into 2024. Although the operating costs increased, and so did the state royalties for that matter, the fourfold surge in operating margin was unprecedented.
It would have been easy to lose track of cost discipline under such operating conditions, but cost control has always been a focus for Yancoal, and keeping the operating cash cost under AUD 94.4 per ton was a good outcome, given the challenges that were faced over the last year. Heading into 2023, the open cut mines in New South Wales still have excess water on site, the result of three years of exceptionally high rainfall. When the La Niña weather cycle began in 2020, the production impact was relatively modest because, as mentioned, we had the ability to deplete our mining inventory. Unlike past La Niña weather cycles that typically last for one year, there was limited respite from the rain over the past three years. The cumulative impact on production became more pronounced each year.
Our people at all the mines did an exceptional job to meet the operational challenges of the past three years. I have confidence in the recovery plans and the ability of our teams to deliver the plans. Our aim is to return coal production and coal sales to the levels achieved in prior years. As mentioned earlier, both revenue and EBITDA reached record levels last year, exceeding the previous high of 2021. There is a direct relationship between realized price, revenue, EBITDA and the EBITDA margin. This relationship results from the relatively stable production and operating cost profile Yancoal maintains, with the obvious exception being the reduced output and higher costs in 2022 that I've already identified. The profit after tax and operating cash flow tend to replicate the revenue and EBITDA profiles.
The jump in operating cash flow to AUD 6.5 billion provided the company with an opportunity to rapidly change its financial position during the past 15 months. The board has effectively cleared its external interest-bearing loans by repaying $2.26 billion of debt ahead of schedule in 2022, and a further $333 million in March this year. The combined early debt repayments made since October 2021 will save the company over AUD 3 million in finance costs in 2023, cash that can be applied to alternative uses.
As mentioned earlier, AUD 924 million were allocated to the 2022 final dividend, combining AUD 0.70 per share with the interim dividend of AUD 0.53 per share, which resulted in a 20% dividend yield when calculated year-on-year, year, sorry, year-end share price. The other important thing to note is that the final dividend is fully franked. This is the first dividend from Yancoal that provides shareholders with the benefits of franking credits. Yancoal has said in the past, it aims to balance sustaining capital expenditure, debt reduction, distributions to shareholders, and growth initiatives. Over the past 18 months, Yancoal is an extremely robust financial position and has clear plans in place to lift its production rate and lower its cost, its per ton cash cost, over the coming quarters.
Looking at our expectations for 2023, we have a production recovery program underway that aims to return coal sales to levels experienced in prior years. To deliver this outcome, we must first rebuild the mining inventory and restore productivity loads. This will take several quarters to achieve, but, ideally, there will be a positive trend profile through that recovery. We also aim to bring the per ton cash costs, operating costs down over time. That said, we must carry forward the additional costs associated with the recovery plan, as well as recent cost inflation rates. That is why unit cost reduction is likely to take longer than the production uplift.
The capital expenditure figure this year is expected to be between AUD 750 million and AUD 900 million for the year, due to the additional expenditure on fleet and equipment to accelerate the mine recovery program. International coal markets have potential to rally on seasonal drivers and supply disruptions. Having eliminated its interest-bearing loans, Yancoal is well positioned to capitalize on opportunities which may arise. In 2023 and beyond, to deliver optimal performance for our shareholders, we'll need to continually balance Yancoal's output volumes, product quality, operating costs, and capital expenditure, while pursuing operational improvements. That completes my review of the operations for 2022. I'd like to hand back to Greg Fletcher. Thank you.
We will now move to the formal consideration of the business before the annual general meeting. Anyone attending in person today will have been issued an attendance card. Yellow indicates a non-voting shareholder, blue indicates a voting shareholder or proxyholder for the Yancoal Australia annual general meeting, and white indicates a non-voting visitor. Persons holding either a blue or yellow card are entitled to speak at this meeting. Only those persons holding a blue card are entitled to vote at this meeting. If any shareholder here is eligible to vote and does not have a blue-colored card, would you please raise your hand now? Resolutions will be decided by poll, conducted at the end of the meeting. Poll results will be available on the ASX and Hong Kong Stock Exchange websites later today. The following summary outlines the items of business for today's meeting.
In accordance with the notice of annual general meeting for Yancoal Australia, which was published on our website and dispatched to shareholders. The notice of meeting contains the text of each resolution to be put to this meeting. With your approval, I now move that the notice of annual general meeting be taken as read, and that the text of each resolution be taken as read. All those in favor, please raise your blue attendance card. All those against, please raise your blue attendance card. The proposal is passed, and the notice is taken as read. Thank you. Item one is the receipt and consideration of the company's financial report for the year ended 31st of December, 2022. I will take those reports as read. A representative of ShineWing Australia, Yancoal's auditor, is present and available to answer any specific questions about the preparation and content of the auditor's report.
Item two is the election of and re-election of directors. There are two individuals nominated to be re-elected. One is as an executive director and one is as a non-executive director, and three individuals nominated to be elected as non-executive directors. The biographical details are contained in the explanatory notes to the notice of meeting. Item three is the adoption of the remuneration report. The remuneration report is contained within the 2022 annual report. I will take the report as read. This vote is advisory only and not binding on the company or its directors. Voting exclusions apply to this resolution as outlined in the notice of annual general meeting. Item four is the issue of STIP rights for the Co-Vice Chair under the Equity Incentive Plan.
Approval is being sought for the issue of up to 65,833 STIP rights, as defined in the explanatory notes to the notice of meeting, Mr. Ning Zhang, the Co-Vice Chairman of the company under the company's Equity Incentive Plan, on the terms set out in the explanatory notes to the notice of meeting. Voting exclusions apply to this resolution, as outlined in the notice of Annual General Meeting. Item five is the reappointment of the auditor and authorization to fix auditor's remuneration. At each annual general meeting, the company must appoint an auditor to hold office from the conclusion of that meeting until the next annual general meeting, and provides the board the authorization to fix the auditor's remuneration for the year ending 31st of December, 2023. Item six to eight are general mandates relating to issuing and repurchasing shares.
Unless the company obtains these general mandates, its ability to exercise its right to issue shares without obtaining shareholder approval is limited, and the proposed repurchase mandates gives the company flexibility to repurchase the shares if and when appropriate. The passing of resolution eight is subject to the passing of resolution six and seven. The reason for this resolution is to ensure flexibility to allot and issue more shares if the proposed repurchase mandate is exercised. Recommendations for all items are set out in the explanatory notes to the notice of meeting. I'm now going to cast the votes for the proxies I hold on all resolutions in accordance with the directions provided by shareholders, or otherwise as set out in the notice of meeting. As mentioned earlier, a poll will be conducted for these resolutions at the end of the meeting.
We will now take questions from shareholders on any matters relevant to the business of the meeting. Both the questions and the responses will be repeated in Mandarin for the benefit of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange shareholders. We will begin with questions submitted in writing before this meeting. First of all, we'll go through those questions, after that, we'll go through questions from those here today. After that, we'll go through questions from shareholders online. Brendan, would you like to open?
Thank you, Mr. Fletcher. The first question received from a shareholder ahead of the meeting, shareholder's name, Peng Yan. The question: Yancoal's share price and Hong Kong Stock Exchange share price appeared to underperform compared with its 2022 financial performance. The loans were paid off, the share price response was moderate. The share price performance also lagged some other ASX and Hong Kong Stock Exchange coal stocks. Is there a view on the Yancoal share price performance? David?
Thanks, Greg. First I'd just like to thank, if we're acknowledging the strong financial performance Yancoal delivered in 2022, and its capacity to effectively eliminate its external loans. The prepayment of over $3 billion of debt between October 2021 and March 2023, has transformed the company's financial position and leaves it extremely well placed to navigate whatever coal market conditions might occur in the coming months and years. Regarding the perception of relative performance, there are several factors that influence share price activity. Comparing between coal companies, for example, the product mix, sales volume, cash operating costs, mine life, capital expenditure plans, debt profile, growth prospects, can all influence equity market expectations.
It's worth noting that since the start of 2023, Yancoal's share price has held up better than its coal sector peers on the ASX. The company has informed the market it has recovery plans in place to address the impacts of three consecutive years of wet weather and COVID-19 disruption. Yancoal's focus this year has been as it has been for several years, is on maximizing production, minimizing the controllable costs, and optimizing the product profile to meet the market conditions. By pursuing the operational targets, the company can best deliver on the potential of its portfolio of large sale, high quality.
It is just to maximize the output and minimize the costs as much as possible, and optimize the product configuration to meet the market demand. By committing to these business goals, we can maximize the potential of our large-scale, high-quality coal combination.
Thank you. Moving on to the second question, coming from shareholder Melody Carew. Can you please expand further on achieved or possible sales into areas such as Europe and possibly the U.K., that traditionally have not been major markets for Yancoal? David?
Yancoal's marketing team continually seeks to optimize the company's diversification of its mix and sales profile. During 2022, the proportion of coal sales managed by Yancoal that went to Europe was 9%, up 2% from 2021. The sales to Europe include a small component going into the U.K. Geographically, Europe and the U.K. are not Australia's natural market. The 2022 sales profile was the result of dislocation of the global energy markets created by the invasion of Ukraine. Should customers in Europe or the U.K. require further supply, Yancoal will evaluate the opportunity while maximizing the diversification and sales strategy. We remain focused on optimizing the value of our coal.
The second question is from shareholder Melody Carew. Can the company further expand its achieved or possible sales in areas such as Europe or potentially the U.K., which are traditionally not Yancoal's main markets? Our Chief Executive Officer, David Moult, responded that Yancoal's marketing team has been consistently committed to seeking opportunities to optimize the company's diversified product mix and sales structure. In the 2022 year, the proportion of coal sales managed by Yancoal that went to Europe was 9%, up from 2% in 2021, including a small portion going to the U.K. Although geographically, Europe and the U.K. are not Australia's natural markets, the 2022 sales allocation was driven by the global energy market restructuring caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
if European and U.K. customers have more supply needs, Yancoal will evaluate the opportunities while maximizing its diversified and sales strategy. We will continue to focus on optimizing the value of our coal.
Thank you. The third question from the Onzen Family Super Fund. The share price has not increased in line with profit since the termination of the potential takeover by Yankuang Energy. Is the Yancoal share price being held back? Is the company preparing itself for another takeover in the next one to three years?
Thank you. Well, firstly, I can tell you that there is no indication of any takeover. That's probably the first point. The second point is, you know, our share price is very much tied into coal price indices, and that's probably the biggest contributor. Our management team is very much out there promoting Yancoal. I can tell you, most of our senior management are shareholders, so it's in their best interest to promote Yancoal and the share price. I hope that answers the Onzen Family Super Fund.
The third question is from Onzen Family Super Fund, a family retirement fund. Since the Yankuang Energy terminated the potential acquisition, Yancoal's share price has not kept pace with its profits. Has Yancoal's share price been suppressed? In the next one to three years, is the company preparing itself for another acquisition offer? Our Greg Fletcher answered that, to his knowledge, we are not aware of any ongoing acquisition offers and have not received relevant information. The company's shares on the ASX and the LSE are fully tradable. The company's management team, especially the senior management team, has been consistently committed to optimizing the company's share structure. In the past 12 months, the company's trading volume on both exchanges has been at a healthy level. This is the relevant response.
Thank you. The last question received ahead of the meeting from Lyle Cooper. Dutch scientists have developed a process to extract carbon dioxide from the power station emissions and produce additional electricity. I would like to see coal miners lobby the government to have the CSIRO develop a similar process and establish facilities with the technology next to coal-fired power stations.
Yancoal's been a member of LETA, which is Low Emission Technology Australia, which is a company that was set up many years ago. It was originally called COAL21. And has contributed that since 2006, into that 2006, as does the whole of the Australian coal sector. This industry association has undertaken some significant research work, and most of which has been co-funded by the federal government.
some of it's state government as well, into low emissions technologies, into carbon capture and storage. Indeed, you know, the Australian government could always do much more for us. We do lobby the government. We do lobby them through our associations, and we do lobby them through this separate company, which we are part of and a member of the board of, which is actively involved in low emissions technology. Thank you. We'll now take questions from the floor. I'd request any speakers from the floor, please raise their hand. Someone will bring you a microphone. If you could please state your name before speaking.
If you're a proxy holder or a representative of a corporate proxy, please also state the name of the shareholder you are representing.
Yes. My name is Peter Zee, a private investor. My question is in relation to, there's a media report about BHP gonna de-invest in some of the coal mines. I understand, you know, you cannot disclose the private negotiation, but there were report Yancoal, the leader did it. My question is about, if that happens, how are you gonna fund that acquisition? Are you going to borrow money again, or are you gonna issue new shares? Thank you very much.
Great. Thanks very much for the question. You're right. We don't speculate on acquisitions or transactions. What I can say is that if we were to do a transaction, you know, we've got a very strong balance sheet. As well, I think we've got a history of through the Coal & Allied transaction, to be able to do those transactions. We have very supportive major shareholders, and we've got supportive financial institutions as well. If there was a transaction to take place, I think we'd be in a good position.
Gentleman in the front.
Hi, shareholder, next. Just a follow-up question to that first question. On these evaluations that have been mentioned in the media, minus Blackwater and Daunia, AUD 9 billion. I said that not going to speculate on any commercial potential here. This seems to be a large step up in the prices paid for whether that value is-... I believe you'll believe us, don't you?
We won't be commenting on the value. I'm sorry.
在 场 的 一 位 股 东 ， 呃 ， 的 提 问 ， 呃 ， 关 也 是 关 于 必 和 必 拓 资 产 的 相 应 的 问 题 ， 是 关 于 该 资 产 的 估 值 。 呃 ， 根 据 媒 体 相 应 的 报 道 ， 尤 其 是 Blackwater 黑 水 资 产 ， 还 有 另 外 一 个 资 产 ， 它 们 相 应 的 ， 呃 ， 估 值 是 ， 呃 ， 九 十 亿 澳 元 。 呃 ， 虽 然 说 您 提 到 ， 呃 ， 公 司 不 能 在 商 业 上 对 此 进 行 任 何 的 告 知 ， 呃 ， 但 是 呢 ， 想 问 一 下 ， 此 ， 呃 ， 高 价 值 是 应 该 是 高 于 以 前 相 应 收 购 煤 炭 资 产 的 价 值 了 。 呃 ， 想 问 一 下 公 司 对 此 有 何 评 价 ？
Matthew, thanks for the question, but, we don't provide opinions on the value of other company assets.
Do we believe maybe taking on more debt to buy those coal mines, if you were to pay the price that we speculate in the media, taking on a lot of debt to buy those mines? What impact on share conference would that have if you were to buy the mines at that price?
As I said, sorry.
我 们 的 ， 呃 ， 格 雷 戈 先 生 的 回 复 是 ： 对 ， 您 说 得 没 错 ， 我 们 不 能 就 其 他 公 司 的 资 产 的 估 值 进 行 评 论 。 呃 ， 接 下 来 股 东 马 修 又 后 续 问 了 一 个 问 题 ， 呃 ， 就 是 说 如 果 公 司 要 推 进 ， 假 设 要 推 进 相 应 的 交 易 的 话 ， 是 要 通 过 ， 呃 ， 借 ， 借 贷 吗 ？ 呃 ， 是 打 算 以 什 么 方 式 进 行 ， 呃 ， 借 贷 ？ 就 会 对 股 东 产 生 什 么 样 的 影 响 ？
As a board, we're regularly reviewing opportunities, reviewing our capital management plans as well. The only reason why we do a transaction is if there's value for shareholders, which is what we did with the Coal & Allied transaction back in 2017. We won't be doing a transaction if it's not valuable or add value to the shareholders.
Great. Thanks so much.
Thank you.
This is stopping the same question.
Yeah, I'll just let that be interpreted, and then
是， Yancoal Australia 的 董 事 会 会 持 续 评 估 合 适 的 资 产 、 收 购 机 会 ， 以 及 相 应 的 我 们 的 资 本 管 理 计 划 。 只 有 当 相 应 的 机 会 对 股 东 有 价 值 的 时 候 ， 我 们 才 会 推 进 。 就 像 以 前 我 们 做 Coal & Allied 的 资 产 收 购 项 目 的 时 候 是 一 样 的 。
Second question. You've got some proposals to expand the mine life. We've got the names of mines, one moving, one next to Ulan. They've got a mine right next to Ulan. Got the joint venture, one with Glencore in the Hunter Valley. Can you give an update? Approval process was changed? I want
Yeah. Yep.
是 同 一 位 股 东 的 问 题 ， 他 想 问 一 下 关 于 煤 炭 寿 命 的 扩 展 的 计 划 。 他 提 到 了 我 们 的 HVO 相 应 的 ， 还 有 另 一 个 煤 炭 资 产 。 想 问 一 下 ， 公 司 对 于 煤 炭 使 用 寿 命 的 拓 展 计 划 有 什 么 相 应 的 观 点 ？
At Moolarben, which is the Mudgee-based mine, we do have our approvals there to lift the tonnage of the open cut mine from 14 million tons-16 million tons. What we've been doing over the last year is to invest in upgrading our coal preparation facilities, and we've now completed that. There will be an uplift in production out of the open cut. Overall, for the complex, though, the complex won't change dramatically because the underground has moved area, so it will reduce a little bit. So what we do, we've really done is increase the open cut to maintain Moolarben around the 20 million tons, which is where it's been operating.
到 -
Do that, and then I'll comment on HVO one afterwards.
这 位 先 生 的 回 复 ， 呃 ， 关 于 莫 拉 本 煤 矿 ， 啊 ， 我 们 确 实 有 审 计 在 进 行 ， 将 莫 拉 本 相 应 的 ， 呃 ， 产 量 从 一 千 四 百 万 吨 提 升 至 ， 啊 ， 一 千 六 百 万 吨 。 呃 ， 整 体 的 计 划 呢 ， 就 是 尽 量 ， 尽 量 地 提 升 露 天 矿 的 ， 呃 ， 使 用 寿 命 。
Hunter Valley Operations, which is our joint venture with Glencore. We do have approval applications lodged, and we are going through the final stages of feasibility and looking at what should be the optimum size of Hunter Valley Operations in the future. That change in tonnage will be accommodated in the approval we're putting forward. At the moment, the two joint venture partners, us and Glencore, are still in the discussion stages as to where we're going to move as far as the ultimate size.
这 项 资 产, Hunter Valley Operations 是 和 Glencore, 合 资 的 一 项 企 业. 我 们 有 相 关 的 申 请 已 经 提 交 了, 之 后 呢, 也 会 持 续 与 Glencore 进 行 沟 通, 评 估 相 应 的 可 行 性.
Are there any further questions from the floor?
Hello, my name is Joe. I'm a personal investor. My question is about, coal demand and supply. I read the newsletter from others, for this month. They, as what they say, the coal shipment, from Newcastle Port is the lowest, for the last four years. It's only seven vessels, compared with 15-20, same time last year and 2021. Also, from January to April this year, the demand, from Japan and Korea, is 5 million tons less than the same time last year. It's quite weird. Why is the market or the demand is so weak? I want to hear more comment about, our comment.
The coal price fell, for example, for the gC NEWC fell from AUD 20 last month to AUD 140 per ton. Is this will last? What do you think of the coal price for this year and also about the demand and supply and, yeah, it's all about this. Thank you.
...
... Okay, the webcast. Working through questions coming through from the webcast. One question from Mr. John Anderson. A variation on one that came up earlier with regards to coal markets. Could you please provide an update on thermal and met coal markets over the past month? Asking as, being a retail investor, I don't have any day-to-day visibility on the markets.
I think the only thing I can add to what I've already said is that, you know, coal is a global commodity, and there is coal moving from other parts of the world into what we see as our own market area, which is the Asia-Pacific, which normally wouldn't be there. That's on the back of some of those issues I talked about earlier, where Europe, for instance, is overstocked. LNG prices are below coal prices, therefore, gas is being preferenced over coal. A couple of countries, like South Africa and Colombia, which would normally supply to that market, all of a sudden, they've looked for new markets, so they're supplying into our normal market, which is Asia-Pacific.
Again, there's a bit of an oversupply coming into the Asia-Pacific, and I think we've seen that over the last few months.
Thank you. The next question coming from Mr. Stephen Mayne. The Queensland government introduced increased coal royalties last year. How much has this cost us and the broader coal industry so far? Is there a risk that the new Labor government in New South Wales could match this tax grab? What are we doing to manage political relationships in New South Wales and Queensland to minimize the chances of further royalty increases?
Thank you. It's cost us a lot of money, I think is the, is the answer.
A lot of money.
Oh, sorry, Kelly. Sorry.
Uh,
I don't have the figures straight off the top of my head, but it's cost us in Queensland. Luckily, our big mines are all in New South Wales, so it's only impacting our Queensland operations. It's impacting us and all the operators in Queensland, and it has been a substantial increase. I mean, when you're talking about at the top end of, when the price is its highest, up to 40% of being paid in royalties, it's a big increase. What are we doing? Is New South Wales going to go for the same cash grab?
Well, we hope not, and we've been lobbying very hard with the New South Wales government to try to ensure that with the new government in place now, that they don't see it as an easy option to try to raise some money. They are assuring us that, at the moment, that they're not going to do. There's a lot of pressure, and there was an article this week actually about the Queensland royalty. You know, they won't back away from it. We've just got to hope that with our lobbying, we encourage the New South Wales government to stay where they are.
It's not fair to say that they've not had a windfall on the back of coal prices last year, because of course, it's linked to revenue. Therefore, the royalty figure over the last couple of years has gone up about four or five times in New South Wales. We have been a big contributor, even with the current royalty schemes. I'm hoping that is recognized by the state government.
Um,
... 授 取 权 赎 费 的 增 加 ， 确 实 对 温 州 ， 相 应 的 运 营 商 产 生 了 一 些 影 响 和 压 力 。 我 们 希 望 ， 在 新 州 ， 政 府 不 会 相 应 地 推 出 相 应 的 退 权 赎 费 增 加 的 决 策.
Thank you. Another question from Mr. Stephen Mayne. Best practice is now to have at least 40% female directors. Could the chairman comment on whether we are going to try and achieve this milestone?
提 问 是 说 ， 比 较 好 的 一 个 公 司 治 理 的 实 践 是 达 到 40% 的 女 性 ， 在 董 事 会 当 中 的 组 成 。 请 问 Yancoal Australia 有 没 有 相 应 的 计 划 ？
Stephen, thanks very much for your question. It is a topic that I know we've discussed. I'm looking at my Co-Vice Chairman and Chairman to increase the number of females on the board. You've noted that there are new directors, but they are all male Chinese directors. We are conscious of obtaining more female representation on the board. In terms of management and females in general, it has been a topic at the Rem and Nom meeting, and we've established targets that are increasing from where we're at. We're conscious of promoting females not only on the board, but in management and more generally in the workforce.
呃 ， 格 先 生 的 回 复 是 ： 啊 ， 感 谢 股 东 的 提 问 。 呃 ， 确 实 ， 呃 ， 公 司 也 希 望 提 升 女 性 在 雅 苗 州 董 事 会 当 中 的 占 比 。 同 时 呢 ， 在 管 理 层 当 中 ， 公 司 也 有 意 识 希 望 能 提 升 女 性 的 占 比 ， 这 也 是 我 们 提 名 薪 酬 委 员 会 常 议 的 一 项 主 题 。 呃 ， 总 体 来 说 呢 ， 公 司 不 只 希 望 提 升 女 性 在 董 事 会 成 员 当 中 占 比 ， 还 希 望 提 升 在 管 理 层 和 全 体 员 工 当 中 的 占 比 。
Thank you, Kelly. Next question, also from Mr. Stephen Mayne. In 2017, we paid Rio Tinto AUD 3 billion in cash for its Mount Thorley Warkworth and HVO mines. Over the six years that we've owned these assets, have they delivered operating profits that exceed AUD 3 billion? Which of those three operations has been the best buy?
接 下 来 一 位 股 东 的 提 问 是 ， 自 ， 呃 ， 呃 ， 呃 ， 在 二 零 一 七 年 ， 嗯 ， 雅 苗 州 呢 ， 向 力 拓 支 付 了 三 十 亿 澳 元 ， 用 于 ， 呃 ， 收 购 ， 呃 ， 沃 克 山 和 红 特 谷 运 营 。 呃 ， 现 在 已 经 过 去 六 年 的 时 间 了 ， 想 问 一 下 ， 从 这 几 个 矿 所 得 的 运 营 的 利 润 是 否 超 过 了 三 十 亿 ？ 呃 ， 这 几 个 矿 当 中 ， 哪 个 矿 的 表 现 是 最 优 秀 的 ？
I might just ask our CFO, Kevin Su, to comment on that.
Thanks, Greg. Actually, in house and accounts, there's a [slate] of each joint venture. A very good calculation is a quick affirmation, yes. The cash flow generates able to cover previously. The each [microphone], as I mentioned, each [microphone] is there, so people have the mission. Thanks.
呃 ， 是 我 们 的 财 务 总 监 苏 宁 先 生 进 行 了 回 复 。 呃 ， 雅 苗 州 在 每 年 的 ， 呃 ， 报 表 中 都 有 对 各 ， 呃 ， 矿 ， 也 就 是 和 ， 呃 ， 合 资 相 应 的 矿 的 ， 呃 ， 表 现 进 行 单 独 的 拆 分 来 进 行 分 析 。 呃 ， 简 单 的 回 答 ， 是 的 ， 呃 ， 这 几 个 矿 的 现 金 流 的 收 益 已 经 超 过 了 过 去 我 们 所 支 付 的 ， 呃 ， 付 ， 付 出 的 ， 呃 ， 三 - 三 十 亿 元 。 呃 ， 如 果 想 具 体 知 道 每 - 每 一 个 矿 的 ， 呃 ， 运 营 表 现 ， 更 愿 意 可 以 去 查 看 交 易 目 录 ， 上 面 都 有 进 行 披 露 。
Thank you. There was a follow-up question from Mr. John Anderson, previously asked about thermal and met coal markets, and observed that the commentary covered the thermal coal markets. Was interested in a met coal market comment as well, if possible.
之 前 一 位 股 东 的 提 问 ， 还 是 关 于 动 力 煤 和 冶 金 煤 市 场 的 。 他 说 ， 请 问 雅 苗 澳 洲 能 不 能 对 现 在 的 冶 金 煤 市 场 进 行 评 论 ？
Yeah, sorry about that. Yeah, the met coal market, interesting last year. I think we start off with that the met coal was cheaper than thermal coal for quite a period, and was being impacted by several things. The manufacturer steel was down, China not being in the market last year. This year, the met coal has come off, but it's held up better than thermal coal. We are seeing demand across Asia at a reasonable level.
We would expect the relativity between met coal and thermal coal now to more than likely stay in the historic pattern, where met coal is always at a higher price than thermal coal. Yes, last year was a big year, we are seeing now, of course, China is back in the market therefore, that, you know, China is buying met coal. But that, but met coal comes under the same sort of pressure as well, when it comes to the supply side. But it is stronger at the moment than thermal coal.
Thank you, Kelly. Mr. Chairman, I've now addressed all the questions coming through on the webcast, either by raising them in the room or responding directly through the webcast platform. If there are any further questions, I'm available, Brendan Fitzpatrick, through the Yancoal website. We can follow up after the meeting. I'll hand back to you, Mr. Fletcher, for the remainder of the business.
Thank you very much for those questions. The proxy votes received before the meeting have been counted. The totals are shown on this slide. In accordance with Rule 7.7D1 of the company's constitution, as chairman of the meeting, I request that each of the resolutions is decided by poll, and declare voting on all resolutions is now open. The results of the polls will be calculated with the assistance of Computershare, acting as the scrutineer. If you are entitled to vote, the reverse of your blue admission card is your voting paper and instructions. Please record your vote for each poll by placing a mark in the appropriate for or against box on each card you are holding. Some of the votes cast for and against each resolution must not exceed your voting entitlement.
If you are a proxy holder, you should have a card and a summary of votes for each shareholder that you are representing as their proxy. If a proxy holder has been directed to vote in a particular manner, then the proxy holder will be deemed to have voted per those instructions by completing the voting card. With effect of any open votes a proxy holder may be entitled to cast, you need to mark a box beside the motion to indicate how you wish to cast your open votes. If you have a query concerning any of the polls, please raise your hand and a member from Computershare will assist you. All cards collected? I will now declare the poll closed. The results of the poll will not be known until the meeting has closed.
The results of the poll will be announced on the ASX and Hong Kong Stock Exchange later today. Having completed all items on the agenda, I now announce the formal proceedings of today's annual general meeting closed. I'd like to thank those in attendance today. Call an end to today's annual general meeting for Yancoal Australia. For those in attendance, there's a number of the management team here, and please feel free to circulate and introduce yourselves. Thank you very much, everybody, and have a good day.