Highlights
- The world’s largest coal port, Port of Newcastle, has announced plans to decarbonise its operations, and it would now be powered entirely by renewable energy.
- The demand for coal in the international market remained firm and grew steadily after the Covid-19 pandemic amid global economic recovery.
The world’s largest coal port, Port of Newcastle, has announced plans to decarbonise its operations, and it would now be powered entirely by renewable energy. As part of its transition, the port has signed a retail power purchase agreement with Iberdrola, which operates a large-scale wind farm in New South Wales. The company will receive a windfarm-linked power generation certificate from Iberdrola as per the agreement.
Port of Newcastle which exports 165 Mt of coal and handles over 4,400 ships and cargos each year, is planning to decarbonise its business operations by 2040. Also, the world’s busiest port is focusing on increasing its non-coal revenue to reduce its dependency on revenue from coal export to 50% by 2030. As part of its plan, the port has already converted 97% of its vehicles to electric vehicles and has also undertaken other infrastructure developments to reduce its carbon emissions.
However, the demand for coal in the international market remained firm and grew steadily after the Covid-19 pandemic amid global economic recovery. As a result, companies operating in the coal business witnessed a revival in growth and revenue during the year.
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Let us take a deep dive into the investment prospect of some coal businesses listed on the FTSE:
Oracle Power Plc (LON: ORCP)
FTSE AIM-listed company is engaged in the exploration of natural resources like gold and coal and the development of power projects in Australia and Pakistan.
The company operates the Thar coal project in Pakistan and has two gold tenements in Western Australia. The company looks to diversify its coal operations.
Though, in Pakistan, Oracle has begun to adopt renewable power projects and future energy fuels like hydrogen to align with the government objective to increase the share of renewable power usage to 30% in the energy mix by 2030.
Oracle Power Plc currently trades at GBX 0.49, on 05 January 2022 at 10:10 am GMT+1, with a market cap of £12.31 million.
Bisichi Plc (LON:BISI)
The company is engaged in coal mining activities in the UK and South Africa. It also has an interest in residential and retail property investment and development.
The improved demand scenario of coal in the international market benefitted the company’s business operations. As a result, its total production was at 553,000 tonnes in the first six months of 2021. The adjusted EBITDA for the company stood at £0.74 million. The company’s management is focusing on increasing the life of mining work in South Africa and establishing new possibilities within its coal processing plant.
Bisichi Plc currently trades at GBX 90.05, on 05 January 2022 at 10:10 am GMT+1, with a market cap of £9.61 million.
Kibo Energy Plc (LON:KIBO)
The company is focused on developing thermal coal power projects in different African countries and the United Kingdom.
Kibo also has operations in the development of energy storage solutions. The company is currently in the initial stage of business operation, where it is building a portfolio of coal projects for future growth. Also, it is actively looking to invest in renewable energy opportunities to capitalise on the global clean energy transition.
Kibo Energy Plc currently trades at GBX 0.18, on 05 January 2022 at 10:10 am GMT+1, with a market cap of £5.28 million.