Whitehaven (ASX:WHC) share price touches record high on Friday

Highlights: 

• Whitehaven Coal gained almost 3% on Friday (23 September 2022) to touch a fresh record high of AU$9.21 per share.
• The company has reported a significant rise in coal prices this year.
• Whitehaven, as part of its share buyback program, has bought a total of 93,450,510 shares of its own. 

Shares of the significant Australian coal miner and explorer Whitehaven Coal Limited (ASX:WHC) were spotted trading 3.180% stronger at AU$9.245 per share on ASX as of 1:03 PM AEST on Friday (23 September 2022). 

Within a year’s time, Whitehaven’s share price has gained significantly, almost by 197% on ASX. Furthermore, on a YTD basis, the coal miner’s share price appreciated over 234% on ASX (as of 1:05 PM AEST today).  

Why are Whitehaven shares posting gains on ASX? 

As per a recent update by Whitehaven, the company is currently focused on executing its share buyback plan. On Thursday, Whitehaven has bought a total of 93,450,510 shares of its own and 904,308 shares alone in a single day. 

A quick summary of the sectoral performance: 

At 3:12 PM AEST today, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was sharply lower dropping 2.1%. Also, all the major sectors under the benchmark index were spotted in the red zone at the same time. ASX 200 Consumer discretionary sector was leading the losses on ASX, down 4.67%. 

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Energy sector (INDEXASX:XEJ) was spotted 2.98% lower.

Key highlights of Whitehaven’s FY22 performance: 

• Whitehaven has reported AU$2 billion in net profit after tax (NPAT) in FY22, which ended on 30 June 2022. 
• The company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at AU$3.1 billion by the end of FY22. In the previous corresponding period, Whitehaven generated an EBITDA of only AU$204.5 million. 
• Whitehaven has reported a revenue of AU$4.9 billion in FY22, driven by an achieved average coal price of AU$325 per tonne, compared to revenue of AU$1.56 billion in the previous corresponding period.   
• The company also generated AU$2.6 billion of cash from its core operations compared to AU$169.5 million in FY21.