Ramaco CEO Blames Chinese Steel Dumping for Quarterly Loss

U.S. metallurgical coal producer Ramaco Resources reported a quarterly loss, blaming weak prices on Chinese steel overproduction and dumping.

Ramaco, based in Lexington, Kentucky, posted a net loss of $18.3 million, or 30 cents per share, for the first quarter of 2026.

The company also reported revenue of $121.6 million and an operating loss of $1.8 million, missing market expectations.

Randall Atkins, Ramaco’s chairman and CEO, linked the difficulties to global steel market pressures.

“The met coal business has been challenged for about a year and a half by China,” Atkins said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Monday.

Metallurgical coal, or met coal, is a type of coal used to make coke for steel production in blast furnaces. Atkins said steelmakers worldwide are demanding lower costs for this coal as they compete with low-priced Chinese steel exports.

Roughly two-thirds of Ramaco’s met coal is sold overseas, making it vulnerable to international demand shifts, according to the CEO.

Production totaled 951,000 tons in the quarter, up 7 percent from the previous quarter, while sales reached 892,000 tons.

The company kept cash costs low at $98 per ton, among the best in the U.S. industry, but cash margins fell to $16 per ton from $24 per ton a year earlier due to weaker prices.

Ramaco ended the quarter with strong liquidity of nearly $489 million and repurchased about 2.6 million shares at an average price of $14.50.

In its earnings materials, the company noted early signs of market balance through mine idlings, bankruptcies, and production cuts.

Atkins expects these supply reductions to support stronger prices in the second half of 2026.

The company is expanding low-volatility met coal output, which has firmer demand, through projects at its Berwind Complex.

Ramaco is also advancing a major pivot into rare earth elements and critical minerals at its Brook Mine in Wyoming.

It plans to reorganize into separate divisions for met coal and critical minerals under a holding company structure.

Broader trade actions reflect the steel market tensions. Australia recently imposed anti-dumping duties of up to 82 percent on certain Chinese steel products to protect local manufacturers.

Ramaco has maintained its full-year production guidance and expects second-quarter shipments of 900,000 to 1 million tons.

The company continues to focus on cost control while developing its minerals business as a long-term strategic shift.