The company’s underlying EBITDA was a more respectable $1.4 billion, up 3 per cent on last year.

Coal earnings were down 16 per cent to $455 million because wet weather led to lower volumes. There were also mine-specific production issues and a major third-party derailment.

Bulk EBITDA was up 59 per cent.

The company expects 2024 EBITDA to be between $1.59 billion and $1.68 billion.

A final dividend of 8 cents a share was declared, 60 per cent franked.

Managing director Andrew Harding said it had been a challenging operating environment in 2023, but the company had confidence 2024 would have an improved outlook.

“We see major growth opportunities in central Australia with 2500km of rail infrastructure and a line that runs directly into the Port of Darwin. We are investing in new cranes at the port to service customers through our portside terminal and the rail corridor has ample capacity to accommodate future growth,” Hardin said.

“There are more than 250 projects for new-economy commodities in South Australia and the Northern Territory, in various stages of exploration and pre-production, including copper, magnetite, phosphate and rare earths. Many of these projects sit adjacent to the rail corridor.”