SunCoke adjusted EBITDA climbs $17.8 million to $76.9 million on an extra Phoenix month, terminals and coke mix

SunCoke Energy's third-quarter Adjusted EBITDA rose $17.8 million to $76.9 million from $59.1 million a year earlier, while revenue slipped $1.1 million to $485.9 million, the company said in its quarterly release on Tuesday. Net income attributable to SunCoke fell to $21.8 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, from $22.2 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, and consolidated net income was $23.8 million in both periods.

Both of SunCoke's operating segments expanded Adjusted EBITDA against the year-earlier quarter, and the consolidated gain of $17.8 million arrived despite slightly lower revenue. Segment Adjusted EBITDA rose $21.0 million in total, but a $3.2 million increase in Corporate and Other expense, to $6.3 million from $3.1 million, absorbed part of that gain; the release attributed the higher corporate cost to employee-related expenses. The mix underneath differed too: coke revenue fell on lower volumes while industrial services revenue rose, partly on an extra month of Phoenix results and higher terminal throughput.

Domestic Coke earns more per ton on fewer tons

Domestic Coke lifted Adjusted EBITDA $7.1 million to $51.1 million even as sales volumes fell to 875,000 tons from 951,000 tons, with capacity utilization of 99% against 97% a year earlier. Profit per ton carried the segment: Adjusted EBITDA per ton climbed to $58.40 from $46.27. SunCoke attributes the gain to a change in the mix of contract and spot coke sales and to favorable coal-to-coke yields, partly offset by lower blast coke volumes after the Haverhill I battery was shut down. Segment revenue fell $34.4 million to $379.4 million, which the company tied to that shutdown and to the pass-through of lower coal prices on long-term, take-or-pay contracts.

Industrial Services adds a month of Phoenix

Industrial Services contributed $32.1 million of Adjusted EBITDA, up $13.9 million, and a revenue increase of $32.7 million to $96.8 million that nearly offset the $34.4 million decline at Domestic Coke. Terminals handling volumes rose to 6.42 million tons from 5.24 million tons. Gates said in the release: "Our Industrial Services segment benefited from higher terminals handling volumes and a full quarter of contribution from Phoenix, as compared to a partial quarter in the prior year period." SunCoke bought Phoenix Global during 2025, so the year-earlier quarter reflected only part of the period while this one carried all three months.

A tax-credit swing holds reported profit flat

Reported profit did not follow Adjusted EBITDA. Income tax expense of $8.3 million replaced an $18.8 million benefit recorded a year earlier. The release attributes the tax swing to "the absence of capital investment tax credits recorded in the third quarter of 2025", and depreciation and amortization rose as well. A $6.9 million property insurance recovery tied to a 2023 flood at the Jewell cokemaking facility cushioned reported profit; the company deducts property insurance recoveries in arriving at Adjusted EBITDA, so the recovery is excluded from that measure.

Guidance columns and a lower fourth-quarter bar

The call presentation's 2026 guidance summary sets an original Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA range of $230 million to $250 million beside a revised $250 million to $265 million, with segment ranges changed as well, to $172 million to $178 million for Domestic Coke from $162 million to $168 million and to $110 million to $115 million for Industrial Services from $90 million to $100 million; neither column carries a date, so the table records a revision without fixing when it was made. The deck names one increase explicitly, free cash flow guidance to $180 million to $185 million, and pairs it with revised operating cash flow of $270 million to $285 million. The news in the release is the company's expectation of clearing the top of the range: SunCoke said it expects to "modestly exceed the high end of our full-year 2026 Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA guidance range of $250 million to $265 million." Nine months of Adjusted EBITDA totaled $203.0 million, so exceeding the $265 million top takes more than $62.0 million in the fourth quarter, against the $76.9 million just reported. The net income range of $22 million to $42 million implies fourth-quarter consolidated net income of between a $14 million loss and $6 million on the company's stated range, against $36.0 million of consolidated net income through September.

Dividend, Algoma settlement and the leverage picture

The board declared a $0.12 per share dividend, the 29th consecutive quarterly payment, payable December 1, 2026. SunCoke also said it reached a settlement agreement with Algoma Steel in October 2026 over its 2025 claim, without disclosing terms in the release. The presentation put liquidity at $276 million and gross leverage at 2.34x on $607 million of total debt and $260 million of trailing 12-month Adjusted EBITDA, while the balance sheet's long-term debt line fell to $600.8 million from $685.5 million at December 31, 2025.

The next checkpoint is the fourth-quarter 2026 earnings release, which will show whether the fourth quarter clears the $62.0 million that the Adjusted EBITDA guidance now requires.