Polish coal firm JSW reports heavy 2025 losses as government approves rescue plan

Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa (JSW), the European Union’s largest producer of high-quality hard coking coal, reported on April 28 multi-billion-zloty losses for 2025, as the Polish government approved a rescue scheme to stabilise the company.

The state-controlled miner posted an estimated EBITDA loss of PLN4.989bn (€1.174bn) for 2025, a sharp reversal from the PLN396mn profit recorded in 2024. The net loss for the year stood at PLN6.255bn, compared to a loss of PLN7.242bn in the previous year. Sales revenues fell to PLN9.408bn from PLN11.326bn in 2024.

The company also updated its output figures for the year. Total coal production reached 13.0mn tonnes, up from 12.25mn tonnes in 2024. Within this, coking coal production rose to 11.0mn tonnes from 9.92mn tonnes, while steam coal production fell to 2.0mn tonnes from 2.33mn tonnes. Total coke production was 3.15mn tonnes, compared to 3.06mn tonnes in 2024.

Looking ahead, JSW had already lowered its 2026 production outlook on April 1. The company now expects total annual coal production of approximately 13.3mn tonnes, down from the 13.5mn tonnes projected in November, 2025. This revision follows a reduced forecast at the Pniówek Coal Mine due to delays in commissioning the N-9 longwall.

To address the company's financial strain, the Polish Cabinet passed a resolution on April 28 to adopt a new programme entitled "Support programme for the hard coal coking sector in Poland – protective benefits."

The State Assets Ministry said on the portal X that the initiative "will enable: the provision of protective measures to JSW employees as provided for in the Act on the Functioning of Hard Coal Mining, the so-called Mining Act, including miners’ leave and one-off severance payments."

The programme, scheduled to run from 2026 to 2031, is designed to facilitate workforce restructuring.

"The adoption of the resolution is necessary for the company to be able to benefit from the support scheme, i.e. protective measures such as: mining leave, leave for employees of coal processing plants, and one-off severance payments. The resolution adopting the Programme will enable the application of the support mechanism to finance the costs of workforce reduction," the ministry concluded.