Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure boss steps down as profit jumps

afr.com:

Queensland coal export terminal Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure says chief executive Anthony Timbrell will step down as higher fees from handling coal exports helped lift interim net profit five-fold to $34 million.

Mr Timbrell has been running DBI since 2010, and steered the company through its initial public offering in 2020 which was priced at $2.57 per share.

DBI boss Anthony Timbrell steered the company through an IPO in 2020. Attila Csaszar

DBI’s stock closed on Friday at $2.71, per cent above its listing price. Mr Timbrell will remain at the company until a new CEO is found. The board has started an external search.

An increase in handling fees as well as coal exports boosted interim profit.

The company shipped 29.8 million tonnes of coal in the first half from its port south of Mackay, up from 24.9 million tonnes a year earlier, mostly to Japan, South Korea, India and Europe. Exports to India jumped 53 per cent compared with a year earlier, while exports to China.

DBI shipped some 2 million tonnes of coal to China between February and June. Chinese-bound ships had been absent from Australian shores since November 2020 due to China’s trade war with Australia.

DBI, which has take-or-pay contracts with coal mining customers, will charge users fees of $3.44 a tonne in fiscal 2024, up 8.4 per cent on the previous year after receiving approval from Queensland regulators.

The company continues to examine building a hydrogen production, storage and export hub and said it remains focused on the potential for liquid ammonia exports.

Liquid ammonia production requires temperatures of around minus 30 degrees, which is easier to achieve in tropical north Queensland than the temperatures of around minus 253 degrees needed to make