Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 1237D

UK Coal PLC

11 May 2012

 



11 May 2012

UK COAL PLC

("UK COAL")

Interim Management Statement

UK COAL today issues its Interim Management Statement for the period from the beginning of the current financial year, 1 January 2012, to today's date.

Production in the first quarter to the end of March was 1.4 million tonnes (2011: 2.1 million tonnes), of which 1.0 million tonnes was from deep mines (2011: 1.6 million tonnes) and 0.4 million tonnes was from surface mines (2011: 0.5 million tonnes).

As previously reported, production in the period at Daw Mill was poor due to the slow ramp up of 303s panel. We continue work to progress the safe recovery of 32s, needed to maintain production over the 2012/13 winter. Otherwise, production at the other mines has been broadly in line with expectations.

We continue to monitor the coal market, given the impact of price movements on our floating priced contracts, and note the decline in the market price particularly since the end of April.

Harworth Estates continues to progress with the disposal of £3 million of surplus land in Q1 2012. The sale of land on the Waverley Advanced Manufacturing Park to Rolls-Royce plc was completed in April. Work has now started on the first residential developments at Waverley, our largest development site.

At the end of the first quarter 2012, total net debt, including generator loans/prepayments but excluding restricted cash balances, was £154.1 million, of which generator balances were £79.5 million.  The total net debt compares with £138.8 million at December 2011 and is stated after the benefit of £5.6 million of receipts in Q1 2012 from property sales.  

As announced on 27 April, we have renewed and extended certain bank facilities since the year end, extending the maturity of our bank facilities from July 2012 through to December 2013 with appropriate amortisation in facility levels prior to this date. We have also extended the maturity of the £10 million loan facility with Peel Holdings Limited, which provides increased headroom for the Group, to November 2013, amortising in value from August 2013.

As previously announced, we continue with the consultation around our proposed restructuring which will be further reported on at the AGM on 22 June.

Other than the information contained in this Interim Management Statement there have been no material events or transactions in the period from 1 January 2012 to 11 May 2012 which have affected UK Coal and its financial position.

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Enquiries

Analysts and investors

Jonson Cox                       Chairman                                                              Tel: [phone]

David Brocksom              Group Finance Director                                  Tel: [phone]

Media

Emma Crawshaw             Cardew Group                                                   Tel: [phone]

Andrew Mackintosh       Director of Communications, UK Coal     Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors

UK COAL is a mining, property and power company employing c.2,500 people with its headquarters at Harworth Park, Harworth, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

Britain's biggest producer of coal, UK COAL operates three deep mines in the Midlands and Yorkshire, and surface mines in the North East, the North West and the Midlands.  Over 90% of the total annual output is sold to generate around 5% of Britain's electricity requirements.

The Group owns around 30,000 acres of land and other property. Harworth Estates, the property arm of the business, currently has plans to develop 85 sites covering a developable area of more than 4,000 acres, creating opportunities for building around 30,000 homes and 32 million square feet of business space over the next decade.

For more information, please go to:  www.ukcoal.com

 

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