(Adds sequential performance in paragraph 1, shares and analyst quote in paragraph 2-5, updates quote in paragraph 10)

July 17 (Reuters) - Australia's Whitehaven Coal said on Monday fourth-quarter output was impacted by a labour crunch and equipment overhaul at its key Narrabri mine, but a stronger sequential performance helped the coal miner meet its full-year guidance.

Its shares advanced as much as 2.9% to A$6.840 by 0041 GMT, outperforming the broader market, up 0.2%. Rival New Hope also rose 1.7%, while Coronado Global lost more than 1.5%.

After a disrupted first half, Whitehaven improved to beat expectations for the latest quarter, said Tom Sartor of broker Morgans.

Whitehaven clocked an average coal price of A$264 per metric ton during the June quarter, a 34% sequential drop on the March quarter, the company said.

"It was a combination of things from volume through sales through achieved costs, which is a function of volume. And also price realisations were a bit better than we thought," Sartor added.

A longwall shift at the Narrabri mine was delayed by third-party hindrances for equipment overhaul including labour shortages, the miner said, with fourth-quarter production at the mine falling significantly by 63% year on year to 448,000 metric tons.

However, a stronger June quarter in comparison to the March quarter helped deliver Whitehaven's overall FY23 guidance for both production and sales.

Coal producers have been hit by a drop in thermal coal demand and a slump in prices this year due to high natural gas inventories in Europe, increased availability of renewable power and subdued global growth.

Total managed run-of-mine coal production for the quarter ended June 30 was 5.1 million metric tons, down from 6.4 million metric tons a year earlier and just below a UBS estimate of 5.2 million metric tons.

"In metallurgical markets, volatility is expected to continue for the balance of CY23 reflecting uncertainty around the strength of economic activity in developed and developing economies," the company said.

(Reporting by Roushni Nair and Poonam Behura in Bengaluru; editing by Christian Schmollinger, Sonali Paul and Rashmi Aich)