Hallador Posts $4.497 Million Third-Quarter Loss as Revenue Falls 11%
Key Facts
Hallador Energy said on November 9 that it recorded a net loss of $4.497 million in the third quarter of 2026, compared with net income of $23.884 million in the same period last year, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Sales and operating revenues fell to $130.250 million from $146.557 million a year earlier. The company said revenue declined 11% year over year, mainly because of lower third-party coal sales. Quarter over quarter, revenue rose 28% as delivered power sales increased.
Electricity sales totaled $92.846 million in the third quarter, compared with $36.128 million in coal sales. The company attributed the revenue growth from the second quarter to higher delivered power sales, while saying lower third-party coal sales weighed on the year-over-year comparison. Generation at the Merom plant rose 77% to about 1.4 million megawatt-hours from the previous quarter. Hallador said the increase followed the completion of major planned maintenance in July. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were $17.3 million, following an adjusted loss of $2.9 million in the second quarter, but below the $24.9 million recorded a year earlier.
On contracts, the company said its forward sales book stood at about $3.0 billion, up 26% from the second quarter, including coal sales between its units. It added that the October power and capacity agreement was priced at more than $80 per megawatt-hour. Capital expenditures, meanwhile, rose to $57.1 million in the third quarter of 2026 from $19.5 million a year earlier. Hallador attributed the increase mainly to spending on the Turtle Creek project and reliability upgrades at the Merom plant. Chief Executive Brent Bilsland said the company’s goal for Turtle Creek is to seek to turn an $800 million investment into about $1.6 billion in value over 24 months.
Project spending coincided with a major change in the financing structure. Total debt was $551.9 million on September 30, 2026, compared with $45.0 million on June 30, after the closing of a new $600 million secured construction financing facility and the refinancing of existing debt. Of the proceeds, $329.8 million remained as restricted cash at quarter-end, earmarked mainly for turbine purchases and related costs. Liquidity was $103.2 million on September 30, up from $84.2 million on June 30 and $46.4 million on September 30, 2025. The company says a large portion of the restricted funds is tied to project needs, alongside capital spending that increased during the quarter.
On Turtle Creek’s execution, Hallador said grid operator MISO had completed its interconnection study, but the final interconnection agreement had not yet been signed. The company is completing the engineering and construction agreement and remaining equipment purchase orders, according to its statement. It is targeting a final investment decision before the end of 2026, while its target for commercial operations remains the second half of 2028. It is also focused on securing long-term offtake agreements with creditworthy counterparties in early 2027. The company said those contracts could improve the terms for raising additional capital, while stressing that its financing plan does not require them to be signed in advance.
Management described the project’s goal as seeking to roughly double the investment’s value over 24 months, while the next steps depend on progress in interconnection, contracting and financing. The company’s stated milestones include a final investment decision before the end of 2026, targeting long-term offtake agreements in early 2027, and commercial operations in the second half of 2028. The third-quarter earnings call was scheduled for November 9, 2026, at 5 p.m. Eastern time. HNRG shares closed at $10.1 on November 6, 2026, the latest closing price included in the available data. The available data do not include a share price for the session on which results were announced.