History
Warrior Met Coal emerged from the Walter Energy restructuring, returned cash to shareholders through debt-funded dividends, refinanced at lower cost, and added federal coal reserves.
2017-2018: Debt-funded payouts
Warrior Met Coal, a metallurgical coal producer based in Brookwood, Alabama, came onto the NYSE in 2017 after the Walter Energy Chapter 11 restructuring. Its first big move was a return of capital. In November 2017 it issued $350 million of 8.00% senior secured notes due 2024 and, with cash on hand, paid a $600 million special dividend of $11.21 a share.
In March 2018 it tapped the notes for another $125 million to fund up to a further $350 million of special dividends, paying a $3.5 million consent fee to bondholders to loosen the dividend covenant. Together the dividends totalled about $950 million. Former creditor-owners also sold their stakes in two underwritten offerings in 2018; the company received no proceeds. Shares on issue slipped from 53.4 million at the end of 2016 to 51.6 million by the end of 2018, though the beats do not explain the fall.
2020-2021: Caution and refinancing
In February 2020 the company adopted a shareholder rights plan. In March 2020, with COVID-19 creating uncertainty, it drew $70 million on its revolving credit facility as a precaution to hold more cash.
In December 2021 it issued $350 million of 7.875% senior secured notes due 2028 and, with cash on hand, redeemed all $343.4 million of the 8.00% notes still outstanding. It also signed a second amended and restated revolving credit facility. Shares on issue stayed near 51 million.
2022-2026: New reserves
The record for these years is quiet apart from the rights plan's exercise price being raised twice, to $56 in 2022 and $159 in December 2023. In August 2025 the credit facility was raised by $27 million to $143 million and extended to 2030.
In November 2025, two subsidiaries won federal coal leases from the Bureau of Land Management next to Mine No. 1 and Mine No. 4, covering 8,346 and 5,704 acres. They add an estimated 53.2 million tons of recoverable coal for about $47 million in bid payments over five years. The mining plan was approved in January 2026, clearing the leases for development. Shares on issue stood at about 52.8 million.
Written from the 6 story beats below (2017 to 16 Jan 2026), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.