Universal Coal Plc provided earnings and production guidance for the six months ending December 2017. On 26 September 2017, the company provided forward looking earnings guidance regarding fiscal year 2018 and indicated a projected EBITDA of AUD 45 million (attributable of AUD 28 million) and projected steady state production of 4.5Mt (attributable of 2.8Mt). The previous guidance assumed the consistent production and earnings over the 12 month period and therefore assumed EBITDA for half year 2017 of AUD 22.5 million and estimated sales tonnes for the half year of 2.25 Mt. The company anticipates the EBITDA to be approximately AUD 30 million (attributable of AUD 20.4 million) for the six month period ending December 2017. This is 33% higher than the projected figure of AUD 22.5 million on a Group basis and 45.7% higher on an attributable basis. The increase in EBITDA for the six months ending December 2017 is due to Strong production performance by the Kangala operation exceeding the projected sales tonnes by approximately 200Kt for the half year period. New Clydesdale Colliery (NCC) achieving 98% of the projected sales tonnes for the period ending 31 December 2017 but NCC has been able to benefit on the increase in API4 thermal coal prices over the period. The NCC received approximately AUD 12 of revenue per export tonne more than in the projected forecast. The Company achieved an overall total sales tonnage of 2.34Mt (attributable 1.45Mt) of product sold to market for the six months ending December 2017 (26 September 2017 guidance assumed 2.5Mtpa steady-state sales for the Kangala Mine). Operational costs for the period remain in line with the forecast figures. The company also anticipates that the original half year EBITDA estimate of AUD 22.5 million for the next six months (ending June 2018), to increase if current API4 prices for export product prevail. The company projects an EBITDA of AUD 25 million for the balance of the fiscal year 2018 period, which would result in a Group EBITDA guidance for the full fiscal year 2018 of AUD 55 million (attributable AUD 37.9 million) compared with the original forecast of AUD 45 million.