The Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price is burning bright today.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) coal stock closed yesterday trading for $5.19. In early afternoon trade on Thursday, shares are changing hands for $5.89 apiece, up 7.7%.

That's a particularly strong achievement considering the ASX 200 is down 1.4% at this same time.

This outperformance follows the release of Whitehaven's half-year results for the six months to 31 December (H1 FY 2025).

Read on for the highlights.

Whitehaven share price surges on earnings boost

ASX 200 investors are bidding up the Whitehaven share price after the miner reported six-month revenues of $3.43 billion, up 116% year on year.

Underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $960 million were up 52% from H1 FY 2024.

Now, it's worth noting that Whitehaven's first-half results include $588 million of EBITDA from its Queensland mines. FY 2025 represents the first full financial year the ASX 200 company has owned the Queensland operations at Daunia and Blackwater.

The miner reported an underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) of $328 million, down 13% year on year.

As for passive income, the board declared a fully franked interim dividend of 9.0 cents per share. Eligible investors can expect to receive that on 14 March.

Whitehaven also said it will resume its share buyback, allocating up to $72 million to buy back shares over the next six months.

On the production front, the ASX 200 coal stock reported 19.4 million tonnes (Mt) of managed run-of-mine (ROM) production, up from 10.3Mt in H1 FY 2024.

Whitehaven received an average price of $232 per tonne over the half-year. The first-half unit cost of coal of $137 per tonne is tracking at the low end of the miner's FY 2025 guidance range.

As at 31 December, Whitehaven had available liquidity of $1.33 billion.

What did management say?

Commenting on the results helping boost the Whitehaven share price today, CEO Paul Flynn said:

Operational performance at Daunia and Blackwater – and across our NSW mines – has been in line with or better than plan, and demand for Whitehaven's metallurgical and thermal coal products continues to prove strong.

Prices held up well in the half year and margins remain attractive, despite relatively soft market conditions.

Flynn added:

Whitehaven is benefiting from increased scale and diversification into metallurgical coal, and the structure of the acquisition including deferred payments, coal-price contingent payments and the sell down of 30% of Blackwater is creating value for Whitehaven's shareholders.

What's next for the ASX 200 coal stock?

Looking at what could impact the Whitehaven share price in the months ahead, the miner maintained its full-year FY 2025 guidance on coal production, sales, costs, and capital expenditure, with costs tracking at the low end of the guidance range while production and sales are at the high end.

On the sales guidance, the ASX 200 stock did adjust its equity coal sales volumes to reflect its 70% equity ownership of the Blackwater mine from 1 April 2025.

"The board will be well placed to review Whitehaven's capital allocation framework at the end of FY25 when we have seen a full year of cashflows from the larger business and received the US$1.08 billion of proceeds from the Blackwater sell down," Flynn said.

Whitehaven share price snapshot

Despite today's big boost, the Whitehaven share price remains down 18% over 12 months, though that doesn't include the two dividend payouts.