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Today QRN said its initial prediction of $578 million of underlying earnings before interest and tax had been amended to a figure between $540 million and $580 million.
QRN said the industrial action at BMA had put a strain on the company, causing significant tonnage losses with the potential for further losses if the dispute continued.
BMA has been stuck in an enterprise agreement deadlock with unions including the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union for more than 15 months but negotiations have led to no resolution, with the unions staging rolling work stoppages across BMA’s coal mines in the Bowen Basin last month.
“QR National is continuing to work closely with BMA to support its transport requirements,” the company said.
Despite these measures, the company said further industrial strikes would require it to examine more effective options, including a need to consult with QR National’s employees and employee unions.
QRN released its half-year results last month and reported that coal volumes would be at the lower end of the previously advised range of 200-210 million tonnes but it expected its full-year financial guidance to remain unchanged.
QRN said it had also experienced lower customer demand for coal rail transport than it had originally anticipated.
It put into place wide-ranging measures to mitigate the impact of the stoppages, it said.
They included revised maintenance arrangements, utilising employee leave positions and temporarily standing down train sets.
Meanwhile, the rail operator said recent heavy rain experienced in central Queensland had forced the temporary closure of its Goonyella and Blackwater coal systems.
The Goonyella rail line is the world’s largest metallurgical coal rail system which provides a key transportation link for coal mines in the Bowen Basin.
The rail network was forced to close on Tuesday morning but reopened at 6pm on Wednesday night.
QRN also closed the Moura system for two weeks following an incident involving a road vehicle collision with a rail bridge.
The incident was declared as a “force majeure”
