National Coal Corp. Reports First Quarter 2009 Results
Date : 05/11/2009 @ 4:00PM
Source : Business Wire
Stock : National Coal Corp. (NCOC)
Quote : 1.32 0.07 (5.60%) @ 7:57PM
National Coal Corp. Reports First Quarter 2009 Results
National Coal Corp. (Nasdaq: NCOC), a Central and Southern Appalachian coal producer, reports that for the period ended March 31, 2009, it achieved total revenues of $35.1 million based primarily on the sale of 469,012 tons of coal. In the same prior-year period, National Coal generated revenues of $35.7 million primarily through the sale of 612,159 tons of coal.
National Coal President and CEO, Daniel A. Roling said the decline reflects the state of the industry over the last year. “The coal market has pulled back from 2008, when prices set record highs. Coal production also set a high of 1.17 billion tons, an increase of only 0.6% from the prior record set in 2006. The significance of this may take some time to be fully recognized, but the inability of the coal industry to increase production in a meaningful manner in the short-term is quite evident.”
Roling also stated, “Our ability to produce coal during the first quarter, and thus our costs, were heavily impacted by mine closures and the transition into new mines in Tennessee and Alabama as well as continuing poor weather at our Alabama surface mining operations. We did not achieve our anticipated levels of production during the quarter. However, our production levels have increased since March and are on track to achieve anticipated levels. I believe that, barring unforeseen events, our costs should decline going forward.”
For the three months ended March 31, 2009, National Coal reported a net loss of $7.9 million or $0.23 per share versus a net loss of $10.1 million or $0.36 per share during the year ago quarter. The Company also reported an improved and positive adjusted EBITDA of $0.8 million versus a negative adjusted EBITDA of $0.4 million reported in the year-ago quarter.
For the three months ended March 31, 2009, the Company produced 0.38 million tons of coal, 21.4% less than during the year ago quarter. However, production during the first quarter of 2008 included about 0.1 million tons of production from the Straight Creek mining operations, which were sold in the first quarter of 2008. Approximately 20.8% of its production originated from underground mines and 79.2% was produced at its surface and highwall mining operations. “Previously anticipated levels of production are not likely given current market conditions,” said Roling, “but production is still expected at levels necessary to meet all of our contractual commitments.”
The Company realized significantly higher prices for coal sold during the first quarter versus the year ago period. The average realized sales price increased 25.4% during the first quarter to $72.68 per ton from $57.96 during the year ago quarter, and 11.8% from the 2008 full year average.
Looking forward, the Company has committed 1.9 million tons for the full year 2009 at an average contractual price of $76.01 per ton, 1.2 million tons for the full year 2010 at an average contractual price of $76.74 per ton, and 0.3 million tons for the full year 2011 at an average contractual price of $77.70 per ton. At March 31, 2009, the Company’s un-priced and uncommitted future production was approximately 0.2 million tons in 2009, 0.9 million to 1.3 million tons in 2010, and 2.6 million tons in 2011.
Roling said, “The current weak market condition has offered the Company the opportunity to purchase coal to supplement its production, which has fallen short of projections. This opportunity has contributed to a 41.8% increase in accounts payable during the quarter to $19.5 million from $13.8 million at year end 2008.”
Capital expenditures for 2009 are estimated to be in the range of $13.0 to $16.0 million. Year-to-date, National Coal has invested approximately $4.1 million in equipment and mine development during the three months ended March 31, 2009. For the remainder of 2009, management expects to finance $5.9 million of capital expenditures to replace mining equipment and incur an additional $3.6 million to maintain existing assets.
The Company executed an agreement with Next View Partners, LLC on April 9, 2009 to provide a First Lien Credit Facility for $10.0 million, as permitted by the provisions of its Senior Secured Debt Facility that matures in December 2010. The terms of this agreement provide up to $10.0 million to be used for general corporate purposes at an annual rate of 13% for amounts outstanding up to $5.0 million and an annual rate of 15% for amounts outstanding greater than $5.0 million. The collateral securing the debt facility is substantially all the assets of the Company’s Tennessee mining operations. This facility cannot be used to fund the working capital needs of NCA. This agreement currently expires December 15, 2009.
Outlook
Roling stated that “Both prices and volumes should continue to gradually increase as we progress through the year, as we continue to meet our contractual commitments. The intermediate-term future holds many challenges and opportunities, and we believe that we are well positioned to capitalize on them.”
The demand for coal has abated as demand for electricity has declined in line with the weak economy. In addition, the current low price for natural gas has made it advantageous for some consumers of coal to switch fuels for their source of energy. This has contributed to a decline in demand and prices for coal in the intermediate-term. We remain optimistic on the outlook for coal as demand for electricity is anticipated to recover along with the economy. National Coal has the production capability to meet its contractual sales position, and to participate in an anticipated stronger market when demand for coal recovers.
