Fording Canadian Coal Trust 2006 first quarter earnings results

CALGARY, April 24  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fording Canadian Coal Trust (TSX: FDG.UN, NYSE: FDG) today announced its first quarter 2006 results. Cash available for distribution for the quarter nearly tripled to $202 million ($1.37 per unit) compared with $72 million ($0.49 per unit) in 2005.

Net income was $165 million in the first quarter, up from $65 million for the same quarter in 2005, largely due to higher metallurgical coal sales prices. Net income before unusual items and future income taxes was $197 million compared with $60 million in 2005.

"We had a good first quarter because of high coking coal prices," said Jim Popowich, President of Fording Canadian Coal Trust. "While we did not meet all of our targets with respect to coal sales volumes and costs, our distribution of $1.40 per unit was over three times what we paid for the first quarter of 2005. Based on our current price settlements for the 2006 coal year, we will see reduced coking coal prices starting in the second quarter this year; however, prices remain at historically high levels and will provide a good foundation for distributions over the next three quarters."

  Highlights for the First Quarter:

  -  Elk Valley Coal settled coal prices with substantially all of its
     customers for the coal year commencing April 1, 2006 at an average
     price of US$107 per tonne. Average calendar year prices are expected
     to increase to be US$112 per tonne.

  -  Cash available for distribution increased to $202 million, or $1.37
     per unit, from $72 million in 2005. Distributions for the quarter were
     $1.40 per unit. Since the formation of the Trust, distributable cash
     on a cumulative basis has exceeded distributions to unitholders by
     $4 million.

  -  The average coal price in the first quarter of 2006 was US$122 per
     tonne, which was double the price in the same quarter of 2005. Prices
     in Canadian dollar terms increased 83% to $152 per tonne, and reflect
     a stronger Canadian dollar.

  -  Coal sales volumes decreased 9% from first quarter 2005 levels to
     3.1 million tonnes, due to customers not taking deliveries of coal
     shipments as scheduled and to the termination of contracts with the
     majority of customers in China.

  -  Elk Valley Coal's unit cost of product sold increased 36% to $38.60
     compared with the first quarter of 2005 primarily due to higher mining
     costs.

  -  Unit transportation costs in Elk Valley Coal increased 26% over the
     first quarter of 2005 to $37.80 and reflect higher rail and port
     rates.

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  Conference Call and Webcast



A conference call to discuss these results will be held Tuesday, April 25 at 8:00 a.m. Mountain time, 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. To participate in the conference call, please dial 1-800-814-3911 or 416-644-3416 approximately 10 minutes prior to the call. A live and archived audio webcast of the conference call will also be available on the Trust's website http://www.fording.ca/.

About Fording Canadian Coal Trust

Fording Canadian Coal Trust is an open-ended mutual fund trust. Through investments in metallurgical coal and industrial minerals mining and processing operations, the Trust makes quarterly cash distributions to unitholders. The Trust, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, holds a 60% interest in the Elk Valley Coal Partnership and is a leading producer of the industrial mineral wollastonite. Elk Valley Coal, comprised of Canada's senior metallurgical coal mining properties, is the world's second largest exporter of metallurgical coal, supplying high-quality coal products to the international steel industry. The Trust's shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FDG.UN and on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol FDG.

MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

This management's discussion and analysis, dated April 24, 2006, should be read in conjunction with Fording Canadian Coal Trust's unaudited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto for the quarter ended March 31, 2006, management's discussion and analysis and consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2005, and other public disclosure documents of the Fording Canadian Coal Trust and its predecessors.

The Trust reports its financial information in Canadian dollars and all monetary amounts set forth herein are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated.

  Fording Canadian Coal Trust
  ---------------------------



Fording Canadian Coal Trust (the Trust) is an open-ended mutual fund trust created pursuant to a declaration of trust and governed by the laws of Alberta. The Trust does not carry on any active business. The Trust directly and indirectly owns all of the interests of NYCO and Fording LP, which holds a 60% interest in Elk Valley Coal. The Trust uses the cash it receives from its investments to make quarterly distributions to its unitholders.

References to "we" and "our" in management's discussion and analysis are to the Trust and its subsidiaries. References to Elk Valley Coal are either to Elk Valley Coal Partnership or to the Trust's Elk Valley Coal segment as the context requires. Our Elk Valley Coal segment includes our interest in the Elk Valley Coal Partnership and certain financial transactions of our subsidiaries that relate to the segment, such as foreign currency hedging activity and mineral taxes.

  Elk Valley Coal
  ---------------



Elk Valley Coal is a general partnership between Fording LP and Teck Cominco. Teck Cominco is the managing partner of Elk Valley Coal and is responsible for managing its business and affairs, subject to certain matters that require the agreement of all partners. Our consolidated financial statements reflect our proportionate interest in Elk Valley Coal.

Elk Valley Coal is the second largest supplier of seaborne hard coking coal in the world. Hard coking coal is a type of metallurgical coal that is used primarily for making coke by integrated steel mills, which account for approximately 60% of worldwide steel production. The seaborne hard coking coal market is characterized by the global nature of international steel making, the relative concentration of quality metallurgical coal deposits in Australia, Canada and the United States and the comparatively low cost of seaborne transportation.

Elk Valley Coal has an interest in six mining operations. The Fording River, Coal Mountain, Line Creek and Cardinal River operations are wholly owned. The Greenhills operations are a joint venture in which Elk Valley Coal has an 80% interest. Effective August 1, 2005, the Elkview operations were contributed to the Elkview Mine Limited Partnership in which Elk Valley Coal owns, directly and indirectly, a 95% general partnership interest.

  NYCO
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NYCO consists of subsidiaries of the Trust that operate wollastonite mining operations in New York State and Mexico, and a tripoli mining operation in Missouri. NYCO is a leading producer of wollastonite.

Wollastonite is an industrial mineral that is used in the manufacture of automotive composites, adhesives and sealants, metallurgical fluxes, friction material, paints and corrosion-resistant coatings, fire-resistant construction wallboard, cement-based products and ceramics. Tripoli is an industrial mineral that is used primarily in buffing and polishing applications.

  Non-GAAP Financial Measures
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This management's discussion and analysis refers to certain financial measures, such as distributable cash, cash available for distribution, sustaining capital expenditures, and net income before unusual items and future income taxes, that are not measures recognized under GAAP in Canada or the United States, and do not have standardized meanings prescribed by GAAP. These measures may differ from those made by other issuers and, accordingly, may not be comparable to such measures as reported by other trusts or corporations. We discuss these measures, which have been derived from our financial statements and applied on a consistent basis, because we believe that they are of assistance in the understanding of the results of our operations and financial position and are relevant measures of the ability of the Trust to earn and distribute cash to unitholders.

  Caution on Forward-looking Information
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This management's discussion and analysis contains forward-looking information within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 relating, but not limited to, the Trust's expectations, intentions, plans and beliefs. Forward-looking information can often be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "goal", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "may", and "will" or similar words suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. This management's discussion and analysis contains forward- looking information, included in, but not limited to, the sections titled 'Overview', 'Results of Operations', 'Liquidity and Capital Resources', 'Outlook', and 'Changes in Accounting Policies'.

Unitholders and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. By its nature, forward-looking information involves numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, of both a general and specific nature, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking information or contribute to the possibility that predictions, forecasts or projections will prove to be materially inaccurate. For a further discussion of the assumptions, risks and uncertainties relating to the forward-looking statements contained in this management's discussion and analysis, please refer to the sections entitled Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.

  Overview
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The table below summarizes our financial results and some of our key operating statistics on a consolidated basis.