Thungela holds steady in tough coal market, keeps cash flowing and shareholders paid

Stephen Grootes about Moses Madondo, CEO, Thungela Resources about their strong operational performance in 2025, including safety achievements, production outperformance, and the Group’s resilient financial position despite a challenging coal market.

Listen to the interview in the audio player below.

Thungela Resources Limited has delivered a mixed but resilient set of results for 2025, showing that strong operations and disciplined cost control can still generate cash, even as global coal prices weaken and profits take a hit.

The coal producer reported a net loss of R7.1 billion for the year ended December, largely driven by a non-cash impairment of R8.8 billion. In simple terms, the company adjusted down the value of some of its assets to reflect lower expected coal prices, a stronger rand and a softer US dollar. While this hits the bottom line, it doesn’t directly affect day-to-day cash flow.

And that’s where the underlying story becomes clearer.

Despite the headline loss, Thungela still generated R2.4 billion in cash from operations and remained free cash flow positive, ending the year with R5.1 billion in net cash.

Speaking to Stephen Grootes on The Money Show, Moses Madondo, CEO of Thungela Resources says operationally, Thungela had a solid year, producing 17.8 million tonnes of export coal.

"Looking ahead, the expectation is that we'll see continued improvement. Already we've seen so in the first three months of this year, an upward trajectory. And the expectation from Richard's Bay, they're planning for 60 million tonnes."

- Moses Madondo, CEO - Thungela Resources

"The call for the decline in coal has been a long time coming. What we see looking ahead is a plateauing environment which would suggest that there is a pragmatic recognition that there's a need for coal because it's affordable and it's available and reliable."

- Moses Madondo, CEO - Thungela Resources

Scroll to the top of the article to listen to the full interview.