Energybuild Share Discussion Threads

[lasata] 29/3/2010 14:00

Jonwig: i am sure WTN will be fair to EBG if indeed they eventually take them out.

Kombi: welcome to the silent thread but dont be deceived by this as EBG is an absolute gem.........

EBG: not valued at £52 M YET......

WTN: we all wonder what their intentions are

HSP: are top company too but dont think WTN would let them have EBG at this stage as there is alot of unexplored coal potential down those valleys and they will want to develop this themselves

[kombimatec] 29/3/2010 11:27

EBG is currently valued at only GBP 52M. Would WTN buy the remainder or sell their holding? Only a minnow for WTN. HSP are currently in merger talks with UKC. Perhaps if that doesn't work out could HSP be a buyer. On the otherhand would WTN see any mileage in taking a stake in the newly formed merger if that goes ahead?

[jonwig] 29/3/2010 11:05

My expectation is that WTN will take them out in an all shares deal, and that wouldn't disappoint me unless they bid a silly price.

[lasata] 29/3/2010 09:39

Good to know you are alive Jonwig - this chart is technically backing up the very sound fundamentals of this UK coal producer. I am more optimistic now than i have been for a longtime and being only two posters on this BB is a healthy sign as well.........

[jonwig] 29/3/2010 08:53

Don't worry, Lasata - you're being heard and watched!

[lasata] 29/3/2010 08:45

Always enjoy talking to myself.....

[lasata] 29/3/2010 08:23

Looks like a chart breakout too

[lasata] 29/3/2010 08:17

Times are looking equally promising for UK domestic producers, which should benefit from the change in dynamics which make it economically unviable to import coal.


Dudley said: "UK domestic producers should benefit from the prospects of a weak pound, as spot and new contracted prices will be largely marked off the US dollar quoted price of coal, while rising freight rates, driven by raw material consumption in developing countries, reduce the economics for UK generators to import coal. This creates a great environment for many of the UK-listed coal companies to grow."

[lasata] 29/3/2010 08:11

Very positive on UK coal producers:


Get into coal if profit is the goal

Fiona Bond
26.03.10 15:40




Coal has long been hailed the bête noire by environmentalists, but with global demand for energy growing, its popularity is only set to rise.


Coal now amounts to nearly a third of UK electricity and with the International Energy Agency estimating that energy demand will shoot up by more than two thirds over the next 20 years, coal companies are poised to take advantage.


Western Coal Corporation (WTN), the UK-listed Canadian coal producer, is growing testament to this. The AIM-listed group has pointed to a 59% price increase for hard coking coal for the fiscal year 2011.


In addition, the company said it plans on expanding its business, with the Canada, US and UK operations all earmarked for sales growth.


In the past month alone, the stock has gained over 52% and analyst Will Dymott of Cenkos Securities believes this trend will continue.


"Western now represents a financially strong company with relatively low risk expansion potential financed from cash flows with the aim of becoming a top tier international producer of seaborne metallurgical coal," Dymott said.


Watch resident stockpicker Edmond Jackson's view on the firm as he joins forces with iBall TV to pick Western Coal as a stock to watch for 2010.


Metallurgical coal is a key ingredient in the making of steel and with global steel production set to increase by around 9% over this coming year, with continued growth from emerging markets, the outlook is positive.


Spot prices for metallurgical coal have already risen above the $200 a tonne level, almost double where they stood a year ago. Tim Dudley, analyst at Arbuthnot, believes UK listed coal stocks will continue to attract interest on the back of rising prices.


"Those international producers exposed to the seaborne market will continue to see historically high prices. This will be driven by growing demand in China and India against supply limitations, most acute for coking coal due to its relative scarcity as a result to barriers imposed by infrastructure limitations on new production entering the market in the near term," Dudley said.


While Asia has typically been known as an exporter rather than importer, the picture has altered of late given that its rapid growth. Barring new coal supply being discovered, some analysts say it could become a key importer.


Imports to China shot up to 34.4 million tonnes in 2009, over five times greater than the 6.85 million tonnes recorded in 2008. China is believed to have imported 13.11 million tonnes of coal in February - a jump of almost 200% year-on-year, while the country's northern Shanxi province - which accounts for one third of the country's coal output - also saw a rise in imports to 903,000 tonnes during the first two months of the year.


So confident are UK-listed companies of Asian demand, that earlier this month FTSE 100 major BHP Billiton overhauled its coal contracts from yearly to quarterly with its customers across China, India and Japan, effectively allowing it to tap in to rises in the coal price.


Charles Kernot, analyst at Evolution Securities, commented: "China's move to a net importer has also impacted international trade flows, putting pressure on shipping capacity and increasing international freight rates. We see little likelihood of this situation reversing in the foreseeable future and expect that China's demand for all forms of energy will continue to squeeze global markets."


Coal's significance becomes even more poignant in light of comments from Sir David King, the government's former chief scientist, that the world's oil reserves have been greatly exaggerated.


He claims that demand may overtake supply as soon as 2014 and conventional reserves are actually somewhere in the region of 850-900 billion, rather than the 1,150-1,350 billion barrels suggested.


Times are looking equally promising for UK domestic producers, which should benefit from the change in dynamics which make it economically unviable to import coal.


Dudley said: "UK domestic producers should benefit from the prospects of a weak pound, as spot and new contracted prices will be largely marked off the US dollar quoted price of coal, while rising freight rates, driven by raw material consumption in developing countries, reduce the economics for UK generators to import coal. This creates a great environment for many of the UK-listed coal companies to grow."


However, it is difficult to ignore the noises coming out of global governments that the world must place itself on a low carbon footing.


Greenpeace has slammed coal-fired power stations on the basis "we can't cut our CO2 emissions by 80% by 2050 and keep pumping the stuff out of our power plant", and while there remains a lack of carbon prices in most advanced economies, there continues to be uncertainty surrounding the possibility of future proposals.


UK energy supplier RWE npower recently urged the government to come to an agreement with energy companies and consumers to encourage investment into alternative energies, while the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change has pledged its support for Carbon Capture and storage technology.


However, Dymott of Cenkos Securities, believes coal companies will adapt to the changing ways.


"There are a number of new cleaner methods and I believe companies are moving in the right direction. There will be growing concern about blackouts and power supply shortages so I believe investors will continue to keenly look into this area."

[lasata] 25/3/2010 16:04

On the cusp of a breakout at 23p...........

[jonwig] 24/3/2010 17:37

WTN wouldn't want to commit cash in tidying up EBG to 100%, but if its own shares rank better than cash, they might give it a thought. I don't hold any WTN but wouldn't object to swapping my holding in EBG for a reasonable price.

[lasata] 24/3/2010 16:24

This may travel same direction as its parent company - WTN

[lasata] 24/3/2010 13:25

Video of CEO of the parent company - gives EBG good mention too:

[lasata] 19/3/2010 09:50

True value of this company should now come into view - especially when one notes how well its parent company (WTN) is doing. Coal shares are hot at present!

[lasata] 18/3/2010 16:21

closes here would confirm chart breaKOUT

[lasata] 18/3/2010 12:05

Next resistance on the chart is 25p and then 31p followed by blue sky.......

[lasata] 18/3/2010 11:57

The other point to note is that there a very few sellers of this share around.

Their parent comapny is flying too

[lasata] 18/3/2010 11:57

Jon:

Not quite suren what 180% referring to. But "coalies" worldwide are in the sweet spot and with £ weak imports for power stations are expensive making domestic supplies popular. EBG will have enjoyed the cold winter too

Technically this share is breaking out.

It is a shame that Hargreaves pipped them to the post on Tower Colliery but they have plenty to progress on with that enormous cash balance in the bank.

[jonwig] 18/3/2010 09:58

Thanks Lasata, I missed that for some reason.

I'm not sure of the significance of the statement that EBG will increase its production by 180%: tons or $? And the timescale presumably is that of the previous paragraph: April 10 to March 11.

Tonnage in the HY to Dec 09 was only 95,000t thanks to delays. Annualising that to (say) 200,000t suggests 360,000t as the production WTN refers to.
That's still not as significant, I think, as EBG's own statement:

... well placed to progress towards its goal of producing 750,000 tonnes of clean coal by the end of June 2013

Also, I think the opencast segment will decline, so if the numbers refer to deep mine then we start to get impressive.

Anyway, the share price seems to be on one of its periodic upswings before dropping back. Will it top 30p this time?

[lasata] 18/3/2010 09:41

Note ref to EBG: Sales growth of 180%............



(WTN), the Canadian/US coal producer which is listed on AIM, yesterday alongside its existing quotation on the Toronto Stock Exchange, has delivered startling news in recessionary times.

In a context of achieving strong coal sale prices, the company has announced a fiscal 2011 (April 2010 to end-March 2011) operating plan aiming at total sales of six million tonnes, up 75% on fiscal 2010. Metallurgical coal is expected to represent 80% of total shipments, relative to thermal coal, and reflects firm demand for example from the global steel industry.

In terms of regional expansion, Canada, the US and UK operations (a 54% holding in AIM-listed Energybuild, operating in Wales) are targeting sales growth of 60%, 100% and 180% respectively.

Moreover, with the price of hard coking coal expected in a range of US$ 200 a tonne and cash costs below $100 a tonne, together with about $150 million cash at bank at end-December 2009 Western says it has enough cash to fund all organic growth plans for the year.

Management has negotiated a sales price of US$200 a tonne for hard coking coal and $170 a tonne for its low-volatile PCI coal for 75% of sales in Asia for fiscal 2011. These prices are for April to June 2010 and reflect a 59% increase for hard coking coal and 89% for low volatile PCI coal contracts. This benefits from strong global coal prices prevailing, liked to Indian and Chinese demand especially.

[lasata] 16/3/2010 13:23

Highlights:

· During the year, the Aberpergwm underground mine will be ramping up
production to an annual run rate of nearly 0.5 million tonnes per year by fiscal
year-end.

· The UK Operations expect to invest approximately GBP13 million in fiscal
2011 in equipment and development costs to expand the underground mine.

Note: The above noted figures in the UK Operations represent 100% of
Energybuild's operations. Western owns approximately 55% of Energybuild.

[lasata] 08/3/2010 08:04

I agree with strong coal prices around the world and weak £ the sea is set fair for EBG

[hpotter] 21/2/2010 22:39

azalea,
I don't have a full list but Western are stating that they have 54.70% of EBG shares. Cambrian and Coal Intl were taken over by Western and their holdings form part of the 54.7%.
Weakness in stirling should help EBG secure a market for their increased production, and hopefully make some profit.

[investinggarden] 15/2/2010 11:07

Energybuild in the red