Kailuan Energy Chemical Co., Ltd. swung to a net loss in the first half of the year, as weaker coal prices and thinner margins weighed on earnings.

The company posted a net loss attributable to shareholders of 138 million yuan ($20.35 million)  in January-June, compared with a profit of 361 million yuan a year earlier, according to a filing. Revenue rose 7.25% year on year to 9.46 billion yuan.

Kailuan attributed the loss to lower coal output and sales volumes, as some mines faced changing coal seam conditions and complex geological structures that reduced output of high-yield coal seams. Its coking business also suffered as coke price gains lagged raw coal cost increases amid volatile upstream supply and downstream steel demand.

Raw coal output fell 3.41% year on year to 4.44 million tonnes in the first half, while commercial coal production dropped 30.32% to 2.09 million tonnes and sales declined 28.01% to 1.51 million tonnes.

In the coal chemical segment, coke output rose 4.36% year on year to 3.11 million tonnes, with sales up 4.72% at 3.10 million tonnes. Methanol production increased 18.60% to 107,100 tonnes, while sales grew 10.21% to 68,000 tonnes. Pure benzene output climbed 20.20% to 97,000 tonnes, with sales up 35.97% at 41,200 tonnes.

Kailuan has an annual raw coal production capacity of 9 million tonnes, along with capacities of 6.6 million tonnes for coke, 200,000 tonnes for methanol, 150,000 tonnes for adipic acid and 40,000 tonnes for polyoxymethylene, plus processing capacity for 300,000 tonnes of coal tar and 200,000 tonnes of crude benzene hydrogenation. As of end-June 2026, the company's coal resources in the Tangshan area totaled 753.32 million tonnes.