Bulletin: Lower Coal Volumes Won't Derail Aurizon

MELBOURNE (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 15, 2021--Australia-based freight railway operator Aurizon Holdings Ltd. and its two rated subsidiaries--Aurizon Operations Ltd. (AUO, BBB+/Stable/--) and Aurizon Network Pty Ltd. (AUN, BBB+/Stable/--)--are well positioned to manage lower coal volumes, S&P Global Ratings said today. Subdued economic conditions, combined with restrictions on Australian coal imports by China, continue to weigh on export volumes. Although some thermal coal will likely find its way into other Asian markets, metallurgical coal is more affected given a lack of alternative markets and slow ramp-up of demand from steel and other industries to pre-COVID levels. These factors are likely to weigh on Aurizon's coal haulage. The company now expects volume of 200 million to 210 million metric tons per

...February 14, 2021 MELBOURNE (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 15, 2021--Australia-based freight railway operator Aurizon Holdings Ltd. and its two rated subsidiaries--Aurizon Operations Ltd. (AUO, ###+/Stable/--) and Aurizon Network Pty Ltd. (AUN, ###+/Stable/--)--are well positioned to manage lower coal volumes, S&P Global Ratings said today. Subdued economic conditions, combined with restrictions on Australian coal imports by China, continue to weigh on export volumes. Although some thermal coal will likely find its way into other Asian markets, metallurgical coal is more affected given a lack of alternative markets and slow ramp-up of demand from steel and other industries to pre-COVID levels. These factors are likely to weigh on Aurizon's coal haulage. The company now expects volume of 200 million to 210 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) in fiscal 2021 (ending June 30, 2021) compared with 210 million to 220 mtpa previously. However, uncertainty remains over the extent of economic and restriction-linked...

Bulletin