Feb 19 (Reuters) - Australia's Whitehaven Coal WHC.AX swung to a loss in its first-half on Thursday, as persistent weakness in coal prices offset robust production across its major operations.
The country's largest independent coal miner reported an underlying net loss after tax of A$19 million ($13.38 million) for the six months ended December 31, compared with an A$350 million profit posted in the prior period.
This compares with a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of A$16 million profit.
($1 = 1.4205 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Nichiket Sunil and Shruti Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
((Shruti.Agarwal@thomsonreuters.com;Nichiket.Sunil@thomsonreuters.com))