Call highlights
ARLP reported Q2 2026 net income of $79.6 million (+33.9% YoY) and adjusted EBITDA of $185.7 million (+14.7% YoY) on record oil & gas royalty results, higher coal volumes, and improved coal costs, while closing a $206.2 million acquisition of additional oil & gas mineral interests and declaring a $0.60 per unit quarterly distribution.
“Looking forward, we expect to prioritize reducing leverage and maintaining financial flexibility while continuing to evaluate disciplined minerals acquisition opportunities.”
- Net income attributable to ARLP rose 33.9% YoY to $79.6 million ($0.61 per unit) and adjusted EBITDA grew 14.7% YoY to $185.7 million.
- Oil & gas royalty segment posted record quarterly revenue of $46.3–$46.5 million (+30.5–31.1% YoY) on a 22.7% YoY increase in average realized price per BOE.
- Coal sales volumes rose 2.1% YoY to 8.6 million tons and segment adjusted EBITDA expense per ton improved 6.3% YoY to $38.68.
- Distributable cash flow was $108.2 million with a distribution coverage ratio of 1.39x, both up 39.0% sequentially; declared $0.60 per unit quarterly cash distribution ($2.40 annualized).
- Closed $206.2 million acquisition of Aldale Minerals 3 & 4 interests on July 1, 2026, adding 48,500 net royalty acres and bringing ARLP's economic interest across the two funds to ~61%.
- Secured 21.2 million additional committed and priced coal sales tons over the 2026–2031 period.
- Average coal sales price per ton fell 5.3% YoY to $54.87 due to roll-off of higher-priced legacy contracts at Tunnel Ridge and a lower mix of Metiki sales in Appalachia.
- Illinois Basin coal sales volumes declined 4.5% YoY to 6.4 million tons, with lower Hamilton shipments tied to a planned extended longwall move.
- Bitcoin holdings of 646 coins saw a $6.3 million sequential decrease in fair value (Bitcoin price down 14.1% sequentially), a $0.05 per unit EPS impact.
- Total leverage and net leverage rose with a $56 million revolving credit draw to partially fund the Aldale acquisition (total debt $590.2 million; total leverage 0.82x, net leverage 0.67x).
- A $37.8 million non-cash asset impairment charge was recorded at the Mettiki mine in the Sequential Quarter (Q1 2026), highlighting coal-segment risk.
Greetings, and welcome to the Alliance Resource Partners' second quarter 2026 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Carrie Marshall, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Thank you, sir. You may begin.
Thank you, Operator. Good morning and welcome, everyone. Earlier today, Alliance Resource Partners released its second quarter 2026 financial and operating results. We will review the quarter, discuss our outlook for the remainder of 2026, and then open the call to answer your questions. Before beginning, a reminder that some of our remarks today may include forward-looking statements, which are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions contained in our filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are also reflected in this morning's press release. While these forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to us, if one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if our underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those we projected or expected. In providing these remarks, the partnership has no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, unless required by law to do so. Finally, we will also be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures. Definitions and reconciliations of the differences between these non-GAAP financial measures and the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are contained at the end of ARLP's press release, which has been posted on our website and furnished to the SEC on Form 8K. With that, I will begin with a review of our second quarter 2026 results, expand on our recently closed oil and gas royalties acquisition, and discuss our updated guidance for 2026 before turning the call over to Joe Kraft, our Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, for his comments. Overall, results for the second quarter of 2026, which we refer to as the 2026 quarter, were higher on a year-over-year and sequential basis. Compared to the prior year, which we refer to as the 2025 quarter, total revenues increased to $551.6 million. Net income attributable to ARLP increased 33.9% to $79.6 million, or $0.61 per basic and diluted limited partner unit. And adjusted EBITDA increased 14.7% to $185.7 million. Compared to the first quarter of 2026, which we refer to as the sequential quarter, total revenues increased 6.9%, net income increased $70.5 million, and adjusted EBITDA increased 19.8%. These results were driven primarily by higher coal sales volumes, improved coal operating cost performance, record results from our oil and gas royalties segment, and higher income from our equity method investments, with net income comparisons also affected by impairment charges recorded in the prior periods. Turning to our coal operations segment, total coal sales volumes were 8.6 million tons in the 2026 quarter, up 2.1 percent compared to the 2025 quarter, and up 8.9 percent compared to the sequential quarter. Total coal production was 8.2 million tons, up 1.5 percent year-over-year, and 3 percent sequentially. Segment adjusted EBITDA from coal operations was 151.7 million, up 6.9% year-over-year and 21.3% sequentially. Our average coal sales price per ton was $54.87 in the 2026 quarter, down 5.3% year-over-year and 2.7% sequentially, reflecting the expected roll-off of higher-priced legacy contracts at Tunnel Ridge and a lower percentage of Metiki sales in Appalachia. Segment-adjusted EBITDA expense per ton was $38.68, improving 6.3% year-over-year and 6.6% sequentially. This cost improvement was a key contributor to the quarter's stronger coal operating results and reflects the significant investments we have made in our minds over the past few years to ensure they can operate efficiently and at lower costs. In the Illinois basin, coal sales volumes were 6.4 million tons, down 4.5 percent year-over-year and up 4.9 percent sequentially. Our riverview complex delivered strong productivity and sales performance, helping partially offset lower Hamilton shipments associated with our planned extended longwall move during the 2026 quarter. Illinois basin coal sales price per ton was $51.87, up modestly year-over-year and sequentially, while segment-adjusted EVA die expense per ton was $35.99. In Appalachia, coal sales volumes were 2.2 million tons, up 27.6% compared to the 2025 quarter, and up 22.3% compared to the sequential quarter, primarily due to increased production at Tunnel Ridge. Appalachia coal sales price per ton declined to $63.57, reflecting the expected roll-off of higher-priced legacy contracts at Tunnel Ridge. One of the most notable highlights in the region was segment-adjusted EBITDA expense per ton at $46.22, which improved 29.7% year-over-year and 25.7% sequentially due to higher productivity and improved recoveries at Tunnel Ridge. ARLP ended the 2026 quarter with total coal inventory of 0.8 million tons, down 0.3 million tons from both the 2025 quarter and the sequential quarter. Shifting to our royalties segments, total royalties revenues were 69.3 million and segment-adjusted EBITDA was $51 million in the 2026 quarter. Our oil and gas royalty segment delivered record quarterly revenue of $46.5 million, up 31.1% year-over-year, and record segment-adjusted EBITDA of $38 million, up 27.2% year-over-year. While BOE volumes of $936,000 were up 6.4% year-over-year and down 8.4% sequentially, higher average realized sales price per BOE was the main driver to the favorable variances during the 2026 quarter, increasing 22.7% year-over-year and 22.1% sequentially. Co-royalty segment adjusted EBITDA was $13 million, up 9.7% year-over-year and 5.7% sequentially, driven by higher royalty tons sold, primarily from Tunnel Ridge and the Riverview complex. As it relates to our balance sheet and cash flow, as of June 30, 2026, total debt and finance leases outstanding were $590.2 million, and we had $111.2 million of cash. In anticipation of the closing of the Aldale 3 and 4 acquisition on July 1st, we drew $56 million on our revolving credit facility at Quarter End to fund part of that purchase price. As a result, our total and net leverage ratios were 0.82 and 0.67 times debt to trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA. We ended the 2026 quarter with total liquidity of $424 million, which also included $312.8 million of borrowings available under our revolving credit facilities. In addition, we held 646 Bitcoins valued at $37.8 million based upon a Bitcoin price of $58,559 per coin as of June 30, 2026, which was down 14.1% sequentially and resulted in a $6.3 million decrease in the fair value of digital assets and an impact of five cents per basic and diluted limited partner unit for the 2026 quarter. For the 2026 quarter, distributable cash flow was $108.2 million, and our distribution coverage ratio was 1.39 times, representing a 39% increase compared to the sequential quarter. Turning to our oil and gas minerals acquisition, subsequent to quarter end on July 1, 2026, we completed the previously announced acquisition of certain general partner and limited partner interests in Aldale Minerals 3 LP and Aldale Minerals 4 LP for $206.2 million, subject to customary post-closing adjustments. As described in our June press release, the transaction implied an aggregate gross valuation for the Aldale 3 and Aldale 4 funds of $410 million and involved the acquisition of $306.2 million of third-party interest across the two funds, with the difference between the gross valuation and the $306.2 million of third-party interest acquired, reflecting existing interest already owned by ARLP and Kraft-related parties. ARLP acquired $206.2 million of the third-party interest, while Kraft-related parties separately acquired $100 million of the Aldale III limited partner interest, and both ARLP and the craft-related parties rolled forward their existing ownership interest. After closing the transaction, Alliance owns and controls 100% of the non-economic general partner interest and has an approximate 61% economic interest across the two funds. ARLP did not acquire interest from the craft-related parties, and the entire transaction structure was reviewed and approved by our conflicts committee, which is comprised entirely of independent directors. The net benefit of the transaction structured ARLP is twofold. First, participation by the CRAFT-related parties allowed us to complete the acquisition at its full scale while maintaining a disciplined investment level and improving our expected returns on investment capital. And second, it preserves liquidity and financial flexibility for our team to continue advancing our ground game acquisition efforts, where we remain active with acquisitions exceeding $15 million in each of the last three quarters. We funded our $206.2 million acquisition using a combination of cash on hand, borrowings under our revolving credit facility, and a new $150 million term loan at Alliance Minerals, LLC. The term loan has an 18-month maturity, scheduled amortization, and bears interest at SOFR plus a pricing grid ranging from 175 to 225 basis points, based on the amount of the loan outstanding. Looking forward, we expect to prioritize reducing leverage and maintaining financial flexibility while continuing to evaluate disciplined minerals acquisition opportunities. Turning to our updated 2026 guidance, we are maintaining our overall coal sales volume guidance of 33.75 to 35.25 million tons, coal sales price guidance of $54 to $56 per ton, and total segment-adjusted EBITDA expense guidance of $37 to $39 per ton. We view these ranges as balanced, with any upside continuing to depend largely on summer burn activity and the pace of utility inventory draws over the remainder of the year. Contracting activity was a significant positive during the quarter, which Joe will discuss in more detail in a moment. But in short, we're essentially fully committed and priced for 2026 at the midpoint of guidance, with strong momentum already building for 2027. In the oil and gas royalties segment, we are increasing full-year volume guidance to reflect the Aldale 3 and 4 acquisition beginning in the third quarter of 2026. We now estimate 1.95 to 2.05 million barrels of oil, 10 to 10.5 million MCF of natural gas, and 1.1 to 1.2 million barrels of natural gas liquids for the full year. Because the Aldale 3 and 4 acquisition closed on July 1, 2026, production, revenue, and income will be reported on a consolidated basis beginning in the third quarter, with amounts attributable to the craft-related party's ownership reflected as non-controlling interest. Combining that interest and the existing non-controlling interest in Cavalier Minerals JV, our guidance includes an estimated $13 to $15 million of net income attributable to non-controlling interest, reflecting six months of Aldale 3 and 4, and a full year of Cavalier. Please note, the Aldale 3 and 4 acquisition did include hedges related to oil and gas, so we have also included a summary of the commodity derivatives that were assumed as a part of the acquisition in our earnings release. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Joe for his comments. Joe?
Thank you, Kerry, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our call today. Alliance delivered a superb second quarter, highlighted by Kohl's improved operating performance, record oil and gas royalties results, and meaningful commercial transactions, Headlined by our minerals acquisitions and another exceptional quarter of booking sales by our marketing team, who secured 21.2 million tons of new commitments. New domestic sales commitments totaled 18.5 million tons, spread out over the next five years. There was a brief period of time during the 2026 quarter when export pricing presented attractive opportunities and we secured 2.7 million tons of export commitments over the 2026 to 2028 time period. On the production side, I want to give a shout out to all of our coal operations teams whose performance was stellar across the board. At Tunnel Ridge, our longwall move from panel 27 to panel 28 was the second fastest 1,200-foot face-to-face move in the mine's history. And the operation closed June, with its highest shipping month since 2023, brought its longwall back online in mid-May, and has shown consistent improvements in key operating metrics. recovery yields this month have been at record levels for that coal mine at our Riverview complex strong productivity at both the Henderson mine and the Riverview mine have positioned us ahead of our internal production targets for both the 2026 quarter and year to date Gibson South and Warrior continued to be steady performers contributing to our outstanding results in the Illinois Basin. At MC Mining, we moved from a four-day to a five-day production schedule on the strength of new business secured by our marketing team, a good example of our commercial and operating teams working in tandem. With 2026 Longwall moves behind us and no additional moves expected until 2027, we believe our coal operations are well positioned to meaningfully increase production and cash flow generation during the second half of the year. We also expect to see cost improvements across the portfolio as productivity gains flow through the system and our key mines operate at more normalized run rates. Strong contracted sales book helped limit the impact of lower domestic coal demand in the first half of this year that was caused by mild weather and lower natural gas prices. As Kerry mentioned, we are essentially fully committed at the midpoint of guidance and we now have 29.4 million tons committed and priced for 2027 delivery. We believe this level of forward commitment reflects both the strategic importance of our coal supply and the confidence customers place in ARLP's ability to deliver. Turning to the broader markets, PJM capacity auction results earlier this month serve as another important reminder of the structural tightness developing in power markets. The 2028-2029 base residual auction cleared at the $325 per megawatt day cap for the third consecutive auction, while total clear capacity remained well short of PJM's reliability requirement. We believe these results reinforce the value of dispatchable coal-fired generation needed to maintain system reliability. Recent operating conditions have already put that scarcity to the test. On July 1st, PJM served a preliminary hourly peak of 161.9 gigawatts and had to invoke hot weather maximum generation and load management procedures. It posted another maximum generation alert on July 15th, and MISO was under a similar alert that same day with demand above 120 gigawatts. The Department of Energy has continued to lean on its Section 202c Emergency Authority to keep generation available in both markets and separately authorized PJM to draw on backup generation at data centers and other large facilities as an emergency reliability resource. In our view, these events reinforce the point we have been making. As electricity demand grows, the grid needs reliable dispatchable baseload capacity from all existing resources. Federal policy is also acknowledging that preserving and modernizing existing cogeneration can be a faster and more cost-effective way to support reliability. The DOE recently announced up to $500 million of Defense Production Act Title III funding for 13 coal-fired plants, six of which we sell to, aimed at improving efficiency and extending plant life. Last week, President Trump announced a major expansion of the Voluntary Ratepayer Protection Pledge, which has been signed onto by most electric utilities that serve the data center build-out. The pledge is intended to prevent other electricity ratepayers from bearing the cost of electricity for data centers. Voting America's power, one of the best ways to provide power for data centers is to take advantage of the existing coal fleet. They went on to say the existing coal wheat is being underutilized and can generate more of the electricity that is needed by data centers without incurring the cost of new power plants and expensive infrastructure that can take years to build. Turning to oil and gas royalties, the segment delivered another record quarter, and the July 1st closing of the Aldell 3 and 4 acquisition marks the next phase of growth for this platform. With this transaction, our cumulative investment in oil and gas royalties now exceeds $1 billion, a significant milestone in the evolution of this platform. To repeat what I stated when we announced the transaction in June, this acquisition accelerates the continued growth of our oil and gas royalty segment, adds scale and development upside across multiple U.S. basins, is anchored by a meaningful Permian position, and expands our natural gas footprint with entry into the Haynesville, a resource play well-positioned benefit from the long-term LNG export demand growth. We expect this acquisition to be immediately accreted to AROP's free cash flow per unit, increasing our estimated distributable cash flow per unit by eight to nine percent next year. Looking ahead, our strategic priorities remain unchanged. Maintaining a strong, conservatively managed balance sheet, investing with discipline in our core businesses and positioning a line for continued growth while delivering attractive after-tax returns to our unit holders. That concludes our prepared comments, and I'll now ask the operator to open the call for questions.
Thank you. We will now be conducting a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line from the question queue. You may press star 2 if you would like to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. One moment, please, while we poll for questions. Thank you. Our first question comes from the line of Matthew Key with Texas Capital Securities. Please proceed with your question.
Hey, good morning, and thank you for taking my questions. I wanted to start just on capital allocation and how you guys are thinking about it for the remainder of the year. Obviously, you just executed a pretty big acquisition on the oil and gas royalty segment, but I was wondering if there would be more of an appetite for incremental M&A as we progress through the remainder of 2026.
Yes, so in addition to the announcement we made July 1st, we did also invest in about $16 million of oil and gas reserves during the quarter, which is like I think the third quarter in a row that we've been able to do ground game acquisitions at that level. So we have included in our plan for the year, giving them the opportunity to continue that at that pace. We'll continue to look at other deals if they're attractive to us. In the coal space, you know, we do have some reserve issues we're looking at that could be some small investments that we're planning to make. And we're also looking at different things that, you know, will continue to allow us to meet our goals and objectives. You know, we're pleased with the investment we made in the Gabin power plant. So, we continue to have that on our list of things to consider as we move forward. So, we feel like we're in great position, and we do have some opportunities we're pretty excited about as we look forward with the growing energy demand due to the data center investments.
Got it. No, that's very helpful. And I just wanted to ask about volume cadence over the second half of 26. Obviously, no major long-wall moves in the back half of this year. So should we be thinking 3Q, 4Q should look pretty similar from a volume and cost perspective, or are there any kind of other moving parts we should consider as we model the back half?
I think with Hamilton starting up mid-May, it's going to be producing at a higher run rate than what you've seen in the second quarter. the first quarter so you're gonna see probably doubling of that production in the third quarter versus the second quarter and that will drive costs lower for the Illinois basin also you know I think that would be the major issue as you're thinking about both the third quarters which which would continue into the fourth quarter yeah yeah I think Matt as you as you take a look at the
back half of the year you know we did what roughly 16 and a half million sales in the first half so that that implies you know pick up in the back half of the year you know about uh to get to the midpoint of the guidance range you know another 18 million tons of sales or so you know i think um you know it's reasonable to expect that that can be spread out pretty evenly between the last two quarters you know as joe mentioned you know we we will see a pickup in the illinois basin just because we'll have Hamilton back on line in the back half of the year, and so that's obviously leading to a lot of that pickup in volume. So I think when you look at the back half, it's definitely reasonable to assume just in total kind of that volume cadence about $9 million each one of the quarters to get to the big point of the run.
That's clear. I appreciate the time today, gentlemen, and best of luck moving forward. Thank you, Matt.
Our next question comes from the line of Nathan Martin with Benchmark Stonex. Please proceed with your question.
Thanks, operator. Good morning, Joe. Good morning, Terry. Congrats on closing the all-bill transaction.
Thank you, Nate.
Maybe just following on Matt's questions for the back half of the year, we saw a pretty significant quarter-over-quarter decline in real-life price return for the Appalachia segment. I know you guys mentioned there's increased sales mix of lower-priced Tone Ridge Tons there, I think some reduced sales price for Tone and Matiki as well. But how should we think about the realizations in the second half? Do you expect them to kind of remain at those levels? Could they improve or could they be drawn down a little bit more as some of those contracts roll-off that you guys talked about?
Yeah, I think we're pretty stable on pricing for both the Illinois Basin and the Appalachia Basin for the rest of the year comparable to the second quarter revenue numbers based on our contracts. It will depend on the actual timing of some of those shipments, but it should be pretty consistent with the second quarter revenues on a per-ton basis.
Okay, got it, Joe. Appreciate that. And then, you know, Committed in price, 21.2 million tons, as you guys said, for 26 all the way out to 2031, just since last quarter. How would you categorize the pricing of those tons versus maybe your price return guidance for full year 26?
I'd say they're within basically where the indexes are trading today with some inflation or factored in going forward. So there will be some increases to those contracts, but that would be in the ordinary base in mid-50s and then in northern mid-60s would be the price targets.
Very helpful. Appreciate that. And then I guess just one other question, costs are much better than expected, all of a sudden that lower pricing in Appalachia. I think, Kerry, you kind of just talked about this on the previous question, But so we kind of expect those costs to remain where they are, maybe we can get a little bit better. Looks like, you know, just carrying them forward, we'd probably be at the lower end of the cost return guidance for the four-year, but we'd appreciate any thoughts there.
Well, I think if you kind of look in the back half of the year, when you look at where our cost guidance is, you know, it does imply to kind of get to the midpoint of where our cost guidance range is. about a 10% reduction on a going forward basis in the back half of the year compared to what we experienced in the first half of the year. So I think that's kind of a good marker that's out there. It may be shaded a little bit more to the Illinois Basin than Appalachia, but we should see cost improvements at both of those regions going forward, somewhere in the neighborhood of that 10% of what I'm talking about, or what I just mentioned previously.
All right, great. I'll pass it on. I appreciate the time, and best of luck in the second half.
Thanks, Nate.
As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, press star 1 on your telephone keypad. Our next question comes from the line of Mark Reichman with Noble Capital Markets. Please proceed with your question.
Yes, so you now have 29.4 million tons committed in price for 2027. So you added, what, about 5.6 million tons domestically and more than doubled the exports to 2.7. I was just curious, you know, what are utilities telling you about their expected coal burn over the next several years? And do you believe the increase in the electricity demand? I mean, what are your expectations for 2027 versus 2026 in terms of your overall production and sales profile?
As we looked at 27, I think we will – what we already got embedded pretty much is, you know, Hamilton running at the second-half run rate for the full year. So that should be, you know, another million tons and could be a little higher depending on the market. So that's the major change. Our Riverview complex has been running really well. Tunnel Ridge has been running well, but I think that as we would look at it today, we're probably a million to a million three more volume next year if things go as planned. based on our current utilization. We do feel that the demand will be available for us. Everything's always, you know, market conditions, whether it's weather or natural gas prices. But data centers are coming online, so demand will go up. And depending on what percentage coal gets versus gas will depend somewhat on gas prices, but also back to my prepared remarks, we do believe that in PJM that there is excess capacity in the coal plants. They're going to need to be called upon to meet the demand that's being discussed by all of our customers in PJM.
If you listen to all their earnings calls, they talk about the pipeline that they have at data centers coming online, and they're all projecting increases, 3% at least, on a year-over-year basis of electric generation on an annual basis for the next three years When you reference the Defense Production Act Title III funding, you know, and my understanding that $425 million of the $500 million would fund the 12 coal plant modernization projects across Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. I mean, doesn't that kind of fall into your wheelhouse? I mean, are a lot of those coal-fired plants' customers or yours?
Six of those, 13, are customers' powers. Looking to be operating to well into the next decade.
Right. Right. Now, I think Matthew kind of touched on this, but how should investors kind of think about the balance between, say, debt reduction, additional royalty acquisitions, unit distributions, and maybe even potential unit repurchases over the next 12 to 24 months?
Well, I think, as I mentioned, and again, in my remarks, you know, we'll look to maintain a growth in the oil and gas royalty segment. I think on the coal side, you know, we're going to continue to maintain our operations by investing the capital we need there. Our matrix will not be capital intensive, but there are some opportunities for growth there that we may deploy some capital. And, you know, we continue to want to reward our shareholders, unit holders, with very attractive after-tax returns. So we will see what develops. I think with the LNG terminals coming online, there is opportunity for natural gas prices to rise. So we're feeling good both for what we're doing on the oil and gas mineral side as well as how we're positioned in the coal industry. So we feel really good about our future.
That's very helpful. Thank you very much.
Our next question comes from the line of Michael Matheson with Sidoti. Please proceed with your question.
Good morning, and congratulations on the quarter.
Thank you, Michael.
A couple of questions about the balance sheet. It looks like inventories are down quite a bit from March to December. What drove that, and would you expect inventories to stay at this new lower level?
What primarily drove it was Hamilton in the second quarter. Again, they were not operating at, you know, we had that plan long, long move really for the first half. So when you look at the inventory we had built going into the year, in large part, that was to satisfy the Hamilton contracts we had. And we have had, you know, good shipments. We had over 3 million tons last month. We'll have 3 million tons this month, as Kerry mentioned. And, you know, we've got strong contractual commitments that should continue at that pace. So we're essentially producing, or we've got contracts already covered at what our production level is. And we do believe that there will be opportunities to maintain these inventories at this level for the rest of the year.
I think realistically, I mean, this is anywhere from half a million tons to three-quarter million tons is kind of a normal run rate, Michael. So we are kind of right in that level right now. Obviously, we'd like them to be as low as possible, but generally that's where we will target and end up is kind of in that range.
You know, it's reasonable to be at a million, so we don't like to be above a million. So, by being under that, back to the range carry just mentioned, we're doing a great job this year in managing our inventory.
Okay, excellent. Thank you for that information. Also on the balance sheet, it looked like trade receivables are up quite a bit. Is that just seasonality, or were there other factors at play?
I wouldn't say there's other factors. Well, I mean, the factors at play get to be, you know, how much you ship, you know, during that month. And so, as Joe said, we had a really strong shipping month in June. And so that plays into, you know, what the receivables look like at a quarter end, you know, at a particular point in time. And so that was, you know, the biggest piece of why the trade receivables were higher.
Turning back to the income statement, what drove income in equity method investments so much higher in the quarter?
So our equity method investments, the benefit, Joe mentioned our investment in the Gavin power plant. And that was one of the primary drivers. They had a really strong quarter. and so our investment in that Gavin power plant continues to to be very positive so that was one particular piece of it as well as our investment in in the NGP fund both of those had had really strong quarters and so that's that's primarily what's driving what's going on within in that number for the quarter. It's hard to say whether something like that is realistic each and every quarter going forward. It would obviously be great if it was. I think in the past, we've guided that particular area to around $3 million benefit per quarter. I think that's probably a reasonable one. It will look a little different going forward, too, because we did make this Aldale 3 and 4 acquisition, and there were some benefits from our previous investment in Aldale 3 that was flowing through that line item that will now go, you know, into another area. But I do think that that number around $3 million a quarter is a reasonable one, you know, as we look for the balance of this year.
Well, great. Very informative. I appreciate all that, and good luck simulating all the new loyalty revenue. Good luck with that.
Great. Thank you.
This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the floor back over to Mr. Marshall for closing comments.
Thank you, Operator, and to everyone on the call, we appreciate your time this morning and also your continued support and interest in Alliance. We expect to report third quarter 2026 financial and operating results in late October, and we look forward to speaking with you then. This concludes our call for the day. Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your participation. This does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines and have a wonderful day.
Corrections from filings
The transcript is a record of speech and may carry misspoken or mis-transcribed figures. The company's filings state:
- Bitcoin value: the transcript reads “$37.8 million”, but the company's 8-K filed 2026-07-27 reports $37.9 million.