Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Q3 2022 Earnings Conference Call November 3, 2022 11:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Alice Tharenos - Vice President of Investor Relations

Jim Grech - President & Chief Executive Officer

Mark Spurbeck - Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Nathan Martin - Benchmark

Lucas Pipes - B. Riley Securities

David Gagliano - BMO Capital Markets

Operator

Good day, and welcome to the Peabody Third Quarter Earnings Call. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. [Operator Instructions] After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. [Operator Instructions] Please note this event is being recorded.

And at this time, I would like to turn the call over to Ms. Alice Tharenos, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, ma'am.

Alice Tharenos

Good morning, and thanks for joining Peabody's earnings call for the third quarter of 2022. With me today are President and CEO, Jim Grech and CFO, Mark Spurbeck. Within the earnings release, you'll find our statement on forward-looking information as well as a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures. We encourage you to consider the risk factors referenced there, along with our public filings with the SEC.

I'll now turn the call over to Jim.

Jim Grech

Thanks, Alice, and good morning, everyone. In the third quarter, our diversified assets delivered strong performance results, generating free cash flow of over $460 million and adjusted EBITDA of $439 million, while recovering from significant weather events in Australia in the early part of the third quarter. We have set the stage to finish the year even stronger, with higher projected volume compared to prior quarters and markets supporting continued strong margins.

With the cash generated, we continue to strengthen our balance sheet by advancing our debt reduction strategy with voluntary repurchases, bringing us closer to eliminating all senior secured debt, which will allow us greater financial flexibility in the future. And I am pleased to share that we have commenced the redevelopment efforts at North Goonyella.

Before I expand on the quarter and the range of some of our Australian operations, I would like to sincerely thank our global employees for continuing to work safely and efficiently and keeping us focused in the face of adverse events and distractions. Dedication and commitment of our talented workforce allows us to deliver strong results. I would also like to congratulate the teams at both Twentymile and Shoal Creek for winning the 2021 Sentinels of Safety Award for their outstanding safety performance, United States most prestigious award recognizing mining safety. I'm extremely proud of this accomplishment and the commitment to safety that this exemplifies.