Environment and Energy

SunCoke earnings recover in Q4, posts full-year gains

February 1, 2024

SunCoke Energy Inc.

Fourth quarter ended Dec.31	2023	2022	% Change
Net sales	$520.6	$514.0	1.3%
Net income (loss)	$13.8	$11.8	17%
Per diluted share	$0.16	$0.14	14.3%
Full year ended Dec.31
Net sales	$2,063.2	$1,972.5	4.6%
Net income (loss)	$57.5	$100.7	-43%
Per diluted share	$0.68	$1.19	-43%

(in millions of dollars except per share)

SunCoke Energy Inc.’s earnings improved in the fourth quarter, driven by higher coal-to-coke yields, the company said in its Q4, and full-year results on Feb. 1.

“In 2023, the SunCoke team successfully navigated through challenging market conditions and proved our operational capability, with strong domestic coke performance driving solid results,” SunCoke Energy president Katherine Gates said in a statement.

Gates noted that the coke plants were running at full capacity, and added that its foundry expansion project and extension of its Indiana Harbor coke contract with Cleveland-Cliffs positions its “largest coke plant favorably for the future.”

The metallurgical coke producer’s Q4 net income of $13.8 million rose 17% from the $11.8 million it posted in Q4 2022. Third-quarter sales were up 1.3% year over year (y/y) to $520.6 million.

Full-year earnings in 2023 totaled $57.5 million, a 43% decline from the total net earnings of $100.7 million posted the year prior.

The Lisle, Ill.-based company’s domestic coke segment shipped 1.037 million tons in Q4, a 0.3% decrease from 1.040 million tons shipped in the same period one year prior. Full-year shipments reached 4.046 million tons, a gain of 0.4% from 2022’s total.

The facilities include coke-making plants and heat-recovery operations in Jewell, Va.; East Chicago, Ind.; Franklin Furnace, Ohio; Middletown, Ohio; and Granite City, Ill.

For full-year 2023, SunCoke said it expects to produce a total of 4.0 million tons of domestic coke. This is roughly in line with 2022 production.

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. Based in CRU’s Pittsburgh office, David can be reached at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.