Atlantic Coal PLC Trading update & Q3 2015 production & sales update (8218A)

TIDMATC

RNS Number : 8218A

Atlantic Coal PLC

01 October 2015

Atlantic Coal plc ("Atlantic Coal" or the "Company")

Positive trading update and Q3 2015 production and sales update

Atlantic Coal, the AIM listed anthracite coal mining company operating in Pennsylvania, USA announces a trading update and a positive production and sales update for the nine months ended 30 September 2015. Atlantic Coal owns and operates the Stockton anthracite mine ("Stockton"), located near Hazleton, Pennsylvania.

Key production/sales summary - nine months ended 30 September 2015

 
                                  9 months ended   9 months ended   Change 
                                   30 September     30 September 
                                   2015             2014 
-------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  -------- 
 Clean Coal Production (tons)     151,523          118,279          +28.1% 
-------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  -------- 
 Run of Mine Production (tons)    365,985          243,527          +50.3% 
-------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  -------- 
 Overburden Removed (BCY)         3,284,564        2,192,620        +49.8% 
-------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  -------- 
 Total Coal Sales (tons)          186,186          112,831          +65.0% 
-------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  -------- 
 Clean Coal Inventory (tons)      26,149           8,839            +182.7% 
-------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  -------- 
 Wash Recovery Rate (%)           55.0             40.1             +37.2% 
-------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  -------- 
 

Commenting on the Q3 performance, Atlantic Coal's Managing Director Steve Best said:

"I am pleased to report an excellent production and sales performance during Q3. This is particularly pleasing when viewed against the very challenging market conditions for commodities, in particular for thermal and metallurgical coals, the prices of which have plunged dramatically. In contrast anthracite prices have held up well and we will be raising the prices of all of our anthracite grades by $10 a ton from the 12(th) of October 2015, to take advantage of the healthy market for anthracite as we move into what is traditionally our best period of the year for both sales volumes and prices.

Our impressive year-on-year increases in production reflect our investment in new plant and equipment and its increased capacity and reliability. Our Komatsu PC3000 hydraulic excavator gives us 98% availability and the combination of mining the almost solid Mammoth seam and improvements to the washing plant have resulted in an almost 37% increase in our wash recovery rate i.e. the % of clean coal which we recover from run of mine coal. In August 2015 we also introduced a new blasting pattern, which is providing a much more effective fracturing of the overburden rock which, in turn, enables higher production rates from our excavators.

We are also very near to reaching the bottom of the coal basin in the current cut and, according to indications from old underground mine maps, we are due to enter the almost solid 30 feet thick Mammoth seam, which will further assist in maintaining our high production levels.

On the sales front we are entering the traditional home and industrial heating market season and, for the first time going into the winter, we have a very healthy inventory of clean coal which means that we have the confidence to supply our traditional customer base and also to go out and seek new customers. While the steel industry is experiencing global reductions in production insofar as anthracite is concerned, this is being counterbalanced by an increase in demand for anthracite to replace high sulphur petroleum coke with a consequent increase in demand from that sector which also bodes well for the future as the steel industry recovers.

We continue to make good use of our new rail loading terminal to supply both existing and new customers, giving us both extended market reach and improved competitiveness by avoiding haulage to, and loading costs at, third party rail loading terminals.

All of this has contributed to both sustaining our very healthy 2015 H1 financial performance (as reported on 27(th) August 2015) and improving upon the first two months of H2 which showed an increasing rate of turnover.

We therefore look forward with confidence to the final quarter of 2015 and the Directors are confident that the financial performance of the Company for the remainder of H2 will match the results reported in H1."

**ENDS**

For further information on the Company, visit: www.atlanticcoal.com or contact:

 
 Steve Best        Atlantic Coal plc         Tel: [phone] 
 Nick Naylor       Allenby Capital Limited   Tel: [phone] 
 John Depasquale   Allenby Capital Limited   Tel: [phone] 
 Alex Brearley     Allenby Capital Limited   Tel: [phone] 
 

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

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October 01, 2015 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)