Suncoke Energy (NYSE: SXC) reported Q3 EPS of $0.13, $0.06 better than the analyst estimate of $0.07. Revenue for the quarter came in at $404.3 million versus the consensus estimate of $359.05 million.

"In the third quarter, cokemaking operations performed at a high level and delivered excellent results, partially driven by the success of our oven rebuild program at Indiana Harbor," said Mike Rippey, President and Chief Executive Officer of SunCoke Energy, Inc. "In our Coal Logistics segment, we experienced a meaningful shift in the operating environment as one of the two coal export customer filed for bankruptcy and the other continues to explore potential restructuring alternatives. This development led us to lower our guidance for the full year and record a non-cash impairment charge in the current quarter."

Rippey continued, "Going forward, while we navigate through these difficult market conditions, we remain committed to our logistics business and are continuing to optimize asset performance across our businesses to generate significant value for SunCoke stakeholders in the long term. Despite the challenges in our logistics business, we continue to deliver strong cash flows and are committed to prioritizing capital allocation, as demonstrated by the 2.1 million shares repurchased during the quarter and the new $100 million share repurchase authorization approved by our Board."

SHARE BUYBACK

Board of Directors has authorized a new $100 million share repurchase program for SunCoke's common stock. Repurchases under the new program may commence following completion of SunCoke's existing stock repurchase program, previously approved on July 23, 2014 and amended on January 26, 2015.

Under this program, shares may be repurchased from time to time in open market transactions at prevailing market prices, in privately negotiated transactions, or by other means in accordance with federal securities laws. Repurchases may be made at management's discretion and will depend upon a number of factors including, among other things, the market price of SunCoke common stock, general market and economic conditions, applicable legal requirements, and compliance with the terms of SunCoke's outstanding indebtedness.

Since early August, SunCoke has repurchased approximately 3.8 million shares through November 1 under the existing share repurchase program, including approximately 2.1 million shares repurchased during the third quarter.

As of November 1, 2019, SunCoke had approximately $16.5 million remaining in its existing stock repurchase program.

2019 OUTLOOK

We are updating our 2019 guidance to reflect financial impact at logistics:

• Domestic coke production is expected to be approximately 4.1 million tons
• Domestic coke Adjusted EBITDA/ton is expected to be at the higher end of $53 to $55/ton
• Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $240 to $250 million
• Adjusted EBITDA attributable to SXC is expected to be between $200 to $206 million
• Capital expenditures are projected to be between $110 to $120 million, including $40 million to $48 million related to our Indiana Harbor oven rebuild project and approximately $6 million related to completing our Granite City gas sharing project
• Cash generated by operations is estimated to be between $150 million and $160 million
• Cash taxes are projected to be between $4 to $8 million

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Suncoke Energy (SXC) click here.