National Coal Corp. Reports Fourth Quarter and Year End 2008 Results
Date : 03/29/2009 @ 10:38PM
Source : Business Wire
Stock : National Coal Corp. (NCOC)
Quote : 1.15 0.0 (0.00%) @ 7:40AM
National Coal Corp. Reports Fourth Quarter and Year End 2008 Results
National Coal Corp. (Nasdaq: NCOC), a Central and Southern Appalachian coal producer, reports that for the year ended December 31, 2008, it achieved total revenues of $132.6 million based primarily on the sale of 2.0 million tons of coal. In the same prior year period, National Coal generated revenues of $92.8 million based primarily on the sale of 1.8 million tons of coal.
For the three months ended December 31, 2008, total revenues of $31.9 million were based primarily on the sale of 413,993 tons of coal at an average net sales price of $74.91 per ton. Revenues for the same period in 2007 totaled $34.0 million and were based primarily on the sale of 616,668 tons of coal at an average net sales price of $54.87 per ton. The Company had a net loss attributable to common shareholders for the quarter of $7.9 million versus a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $8.6 million in the year-ago quarter.
For the twelve months ended December 31, 2008, National Coal reports a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $35.6 million or $1.13 per diluted share compared to a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $30.2 million or $1.46 per diluted share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2007. During 2008, the Company produced 1.8 million tons of coal and sold 2.0 million tons of coal; this compares favorably to the 1.4 million tons produced and 1.8 million tons sold during 2007. Also for the year ended December 31, 2008, National Coal reports an Adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, and Depreciation and Amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA”) of negative $0.8 million, compared to an Adjusted EBITDA of $0.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2007.
Daniel A. Roling, President and CEO at National Coal Corp. said, “Like the rest of the country, the weakened economy has recently impacted the demand and price for our product. Significant increases in fuel costs as well as the increased time and expense associated with a challenging regulatory and permitting environment impeded our ability to control costs during 2008. However, we were still able to bring existing assets on-line during 2008 and due to our efforts throughout 2008 we have still been able to realize increased sales at higher prices per ton in 2009 compared to 2008.
“We are pleased with the new and revised coal supply agreements we are committed to for 2009 and beyond. As a result of these agreements we are now committed to sell 2.1 million tons at an average selling price of $75.28 per ton during 2009, 1.0 million tons at an average selling price of $77.40 per ton during 2010, and 0.35 million tons at an average selling price of $79.43 per ton during 2011. This leaves the Company with uncommitted tons of between 0.2 and 0.3 million tons during 2009, 1.1 to 1.5 million tons during 2010, and 2.5 million tons during 2011. Should higher prices occur before those tons are committed, the Company may benefit from the higher sales prices for its coal.”
National Coal’s operations are located in the Southeastern United States, which experienced heavy rainfall during the fourth quarter of last year and part of the first quarter of this year. In some areas, rainfall nearly doubled because of the frequent storms. As a result, the Company was unable to produce coal at anticipated levels on our surface mines. However, in the first quarter of 2009, our production is recovering to planned levels in both Alabama and Tennessee.
2008 Review
At the twelve months ended December 31, 2008, National Coal had cash and cash equivalents of $4.6 million and negative working capital of $6.0 million. Cash flows used in operations were $4.8 million and $8.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively.
During 2008, the Company invested $24.1 million in equipment and mine development including $6.9 million through equipment financing arrangements. Of this total, $0.5 million was used to acquire a 524-acre mineral lease in eastern Tennessee that includes approximately 1.4 million tons of recoverable high quality coal. Additionally, the Company acquired an adjoining 1,000-acre mineral and surface tract in eastern Tennessee that includes approximately 2.3 million tons of high quality coal. The purchase price was $7.0 million of which $2.0 million was paid in cash and $5.0 million in the issuance of 756,430 shares of common stock.
During the first quarter of 2008 National Coal completed the sale of its Straight Creek assets located in Kentucky for $11.0 million in cash; the transaction also resulted in the return of $7.4 million in restricted cash, and relieved the Company of $3.6 million in reclamation liabilities and $2.7 million of equipment-related debt that was assumed by the buyer. The sale included property, plant, equipment, and mine development with a net book value of $16.1 million. After a negative working capital adjustment of approximately $288,000, the transaction resulted in a loss of approximately $365,000, which is reflected in Other income (expense), net on the consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2008. The proceeds of this transaction were used in March and April 2008, to repay the $10.0 million Term Loan Credit Facility entered into in October 2006 with Guggenheim Corporate Funding, L.L.C. The repayment resulted in additional interest expense of $1,168,923 for the year ended December 31, 2008, from the write-off of deferred financing costs associated with the Term Loan Credit facility.
Also during the first quarter of 2008, the Company’s dragline at National Coal of Alabama’s L. Massey surface mine suffered a major mechanical failure. After five months of lost production, it was repaired and placed back in service during the third quarter of 2008 at the Poplar Springs North mining complex. The breakdown resulted in estimated lost production of 140,000 tons and lost revenues of $9.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2008.
Roling also said, “During 2008 we achieved the reopening of idled underground Mine No. 17, completion of our new underground Mine No. 14, both which are in Tennessee, and started development on two new mines – the Kansas surface mine in Alabama and the underground Mine No. 5 in Tennessee, both of which started production this month. As a result of these accomplishments, we were able to reopen our large, modernized Baldwin preparation plant and loading facility located in Devonia, Tennessee, which also facilitated the opening of our short-line railroad that operates on our New River reserve between Devonia and Oneida, Tennessee.”
As of December 31, 2008, National Coal was operating four surface mines in Alabama, and three underground mines, one surface mine, and one highwall mining operation in Tennessee.
2009 Outlook
Looking forward, the Company is well positioned to grow its business organically, depending on market conditions. National Coal has opened one surface mine this quarter in Alabama and one deep mine in Tennessee. In addition, the Company has four issued mining permits for new mines that are not yet operating and three issued permits for mines that were operating but have been idled, all of which are in Tennessee.
The Company has goals to acquire and develop additional mining properties and increase production from its existing reserve base. Since the Company has not yet priced a portion of the coal it is able to produce over the next several years, it is well positioned to take advantage of possible future market demand, or to realize possible long-term opportunities with certain users of the high quality coal contained in its reserve base.
At December 31, 2008, un-priced and uncommitted future production was approximately 0.2 million to 0.3 million tons in 2009, 1.1 million to 1.5 million tons in 2010, and 2.5 million tons in 2011. National Coal intends to invest approximately $8.1 million in capital expenditures during 2009.
Cash cost of production during 2009 is anticipated to decline from the 2008 level, which was heavily impacted by the high cost of fuel, the five month down time on the dragline in Alabama, completion of mining at an underground mine, and heavy rain during the fourth quarter. The lower costs should be driven by the dragline being fully operational, opening of new mines, and the start up of the Baldwin facility and the short line railroad. However, the deteriorating worldwide economies and other factors that are out of our control could impede our goals and future plans.
