The Russian coal industry has entered a deep crisis: in the first quarter of 2025, total losses reached 79.9 billion rubles ($887 million). In the industry, more than half of the enterprises operate in the negative.
This is reported by The Moscow Times.
It is noted that companies lost approximately 26 billion rubles ($289 million) per month, which is equal to 900 million daily losses ($10 million).
The majority of enterprises — 62% — suffered net losses of 126.3 billion rubles ($1.4 billion). Those who remained profitable (less than 40%) tripled their income to 46.4 billion rubles ($516 million).
In terms of losses, the first quarter of 2025 has become a record since the availability of such statistics. The previous maximum was recorded in 2020 during the pandemic — 45 billion rubles ($500 million).
According to Vladimir Korotin, CEO of Russian Corner, the current situation has become the deepest crisis since the 1990s. After the EU embargo, Russian companies lost key Western markets, and coal prices fell to four—year lows - by 20% compared to 2024 and three times compared to 2022.
China— the largest buyer, reduced Russian coal imports by 13% in physical terms and by 27% in monetary terms last year. This resulted in the loss of three billion dollars in foreign exchange earnings.
According to the estimates of the analytical company"TeDo", even the supply of coal to China through the Far East — the most profitable direction — has become unprofitable: in April, they brought losses of 259 rubles (about $ 2.9) per ton.
According to the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, 30 companies are at risk of bankruptcy. At the same time, Rosstat recorded a record level of overdue debt in the industry — 25 billion rubles ($278 million). In March alone, it grew by 30%, or 5.8 billion (64 million dollars).
