Coal mines post bumper profit, but sector still burdened by debts and costs

Such a positive result is mainly due to rising coal prices, which grew on average by 45% as compared to August last year. Kompania Węglowa, which groups 20 mines, posted a net profit of zł.181.6 million, while Katowicka Grupa Kapitałowa, which groups 8 coal mines, generated a profit of zł.54.1 million. The net profit of Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa, a producer of coke coal which is in high demand, totalled zł.1.083 billion. Nevertheless, the mining sector is still burdened with debts totalling zł.7.2 billion. Moreover, the sector still did not manage to lower the costs of coal exploration. During the first eight months of this year, the costs were 4.1% higher as compared to the same period last year. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B4) E.B.