Whitehaven Coal managing director Paul Flynn says he has strong shareholder support for spending on growth as he temporarily suspended the miner’s share buyback program to preserve cash for a tilt at BHP’s coking coal mines.

Fresh from reporting a $2.66 billion profit, Mr Flynn declined to confirm whether Whitehaven had bid for the BHP assets but noted they would fit with his long-held strategy to increase the company’s exposure to coking coal.