ST. LOUIS, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Patriot Coal Corporation (NYSE: PCX) today reported its financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. The Company reported revenues of $503.2 million, EBITDA of $32.5 million, net income of $10.9 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.12 for the 2009 fourth quarter. Net income and diluted earnings per share were reduced by a $20.2 million restructuring and impairment charge related to coal reserves and infrastructure.
For the full-year 2009, the Company reported revenues of $2.0 billion, EBITDA of $110.7 million, net income of $127.2 million, and diluted earnings per share of $1.49. In 2008, Patriot reported revenues of $1.7 billion, EBITDA of $44.2 million, net income of $142.7 million and diluted earnings per share of $2.21. Accretion related to shipments on below-market sales and purchase contracts obtained in the Magnum Coal acquisition in July 2008 totaled $66.1 million and $298.6 million, respectively, in the fourth quarter and 2009 year, and $279.4 million in 2008.
"We posted our highest 2009 quarterly EBITDA in the fourth quarter, which represented a solid finish to a challenging year. And for the year we saw EBITDA increase 150 percent versus 2008. Our stronger operating performance, higher revenues and value-added commercial transactions all contributed to the improvements," said Patriot Chief Executive Officer Richard M. Whiting. "Patriot enters the new year with a more seasoned team and more stable operations. As a result, we are positioned to manage near-term challenges and opportunities, and to prosper as coal markets improve."
"Both of our longwalls performed well this quarter. Federal had its best production quarter in 2009 and Panther had its best quarter since it became part of our portfolio," said Patriot Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mark N. Schroeder. "We are seeing positive results from the upgrades in our operations earlier in the year, with new equipment, improved engineering and mine plans, and, most recently, the addition of a new Senior Vice President of Underground Mining to oversee our longwalls and other Appalachian underground operations."
Commenting on cost per ton for the quarter, Schroeder noted, "Our cost per ton this quarter decreased $3.84 compared with the third quarter, and was our lowest per-ton cost reported this year. The Appalachia segment led this improvement, with a greater than 8 percent cost per ton reduction in the quarter, driven primarily by higher production."
On January 6, 2010, the Company announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had finalized its evaluation process and issued the Hobet 45 permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The Hobet surface mine is part of the Company's Corridor G mining complex in southern West Virginia. At full production capability, the complex produces nearly four million tons of thermal coal annually.
"We are pleased that the Corps of Engineers granted the permit allowing us to continue mining activities at the Hobet mine. We appreciate the diligent efforts of the EPA and the Corps, and we are confident this permit will allow Patriot to continue providing coal for low-cost electricity generation in a manner that reduces any potential impact on the environment," noted Whiting.
Financial Overview
Sales in the fourth quarter included 6.7 million tons of thermal and 1.6 million tons of metallurgical coal, an increase from the 6.3 million and 1.5 million tons, respectively, sold in the 2009 third quarter.
For the 2009 year, shipments of 32.8 million tons represented an increase of 4.3 million from the prior year, driven by the Magnum acquisition, partially offset by the impact of lower demand for thermal coal in 2009. Sales volume in the 2009 fourth quarter declined 1.1 million tons from the prior year, largely a result of rationalized production earlier in 2009.
Revenues in the 2009 fourth quarter were $503.2 million, comparable with revenues of $506.2 million in the 2009 third quarter. Revenues for 2009 increased $390.7 million compared to 2008, primarily due to the inclusion of a full year of Magnum results, partially offset by lower thermal coal volume in 2009. Revenues in the 2009 fourth quarter were $37.9 million lower than the prior year amount, as a result of lower tons sold, partially offset by higher average selling prices.
EBITDA in the 2009 fourth quarter was $32.5 million, compared with $25.4 million in the prior quarter. EBITDA of $110.7 million for 2009 increased 150 percent compared with $44.2 million for 2008. EBITDA was negative $11.8 million in the year-ago quarter. The substantial increase in EBITDA in 2009 resulted from improved performance at the Company's longwall mines, the successful implementation of the Company's Management Action Plan and the addition of Magnum.
During the fourth quarter, Patriot recorded a $20.2 million restructuring and impairment charge. The charge includes a $12.9 million non-cash impairment related to certain infrastructure and thermal coal reserves near the Company's Rocklick complex that were deemed uneconomical for utilization at this time. Additionally, $7.3 million of the restructuring charge related to the discontinued use of a beltline into the Rocklick preparation plant during the quarter. The restructuring charge represents the future lease payments and contract termination costs for the beltline that will be made without future economic benefit to the Company.
Credit and Capital
As of December 31, 2009, Patriot had no borrowings on its revolving credit facility, and a cash balance of $27.1 million. Patriot had available liquidity of just under $200 million at December 31, 2009, almost $75 million higher than the previous year. Total debt was $206.0 million as of December 31, consisting mainly of the 3.25 percent convertible debt due in 2013.
Capital expenditures totaled $24.1 million in the 2009 fourth quarter and $78.3 million for the 2009 year. The Company kept a sharp focus on capital expenditures in 2009, as it redeployed equipment to its most productive mines, while outfitting the Panther longwall with virtually all new or refurbished equipment.
Safety and Environmental Awards
Maintaining a safe workplace and being a steward of the environment are important drivers of Patriot's success. Patriot achieved a record safety incidence rate of 3.52 per 200,000 hours worked in 2009. This compares favorably with the national average industry rate for all coal mines of 4.00 per 200,000 hours worked and with the Company's safety incidence rate of 3.75 in 2008.
During the quarter, Patriot received the U.S. Department of Interior, Office of Surface Mining's 2009 Silver Good Neighbor Award for Excellence in Surface Mining. The Company was awarded this honor for exemplary stewardship in restoring surface mining land located in Henderson County, Kentucky.
Market Overview
"During the quarter, we continued to see the demand for metallurgical coal strengthen. Asian economies are recovering more rapidly, and are importing met coal at a robust pace. Idled steel mill capacity is being restarted around the globe. European and Brazilian markets are poised to expand further, while U.S. steel markets have stabilized," continued Whiting. "With these improving markets, we recently increased sales of crossover met coal for delivery in 2010, primarily from the Panther mine. This was a key strategy in our acquisition of Magnum."
"The met market is extremely active with an upward trend in pricing," commented Whiting. "We feel very comfortable with our position of unpriced met coal for 2010, especially since our unsold met coal primarily consists of tonnage in the second half of the year."
"On the thermal side, we are encouraged by the drawdown of coal inventory as the U.S. faced severely cold weather in December and January. Coal inventories held by eastern utilities, in fact, declined by 18 million tons in the last six weeks. This was the largest inventory decline in any six-week period in the last five years," noted Whiting. "Moreover, the colder temperatures have also drawn down natural gas inventories from almost 16 percent above the five-year average in early December to less than 4 percent above the five-year average in late January."
"As we noted last quarter, we believe that thermal markets will likely come into balance in 2010 as U.S. industrial production continues to recover. Further, we believe Central Appalachia will be the first coal basin to come into balance, largely as a result of reduced coal supply. As a reminder, overall Central Appalachian coal production declined more than 13 percent in 2009, the largest decrease of any coal basin. With the recent higher coal burn, we are now more confident of improvement in thermal markets," noted Whiting. "We have very manageable levels remaining of unpriced thermal coal for 2010, with less than 1.5 million tons available in Appalachia, the majority of which is in Central Appalachia, and approximately 0.5 million tons available in the Illinois Basin. As we move through 2010, we anticipate negotiation of thermal coal contracts in a strengthening market for deliveries in 2011 and beyond."
Outlook
For 2010, the Company currently anticipates sales volume in the range of 33.0 to 35.0 million tons. This includes metallurgical coal sales of at least 6.5 million tons, representing a meaningful increase over the 5.4 million tons sold in 2009. Additionally, this guidance incorporates the impact of moves at both longwalls in the first quarter of 2010 and extended moves mid-year as both longwalls relocate to new areas within the mines.
Based on this expected volume, cost per ton is expected to be in the range of $53.00 to $57.00 for the Appalachia segment and $36.00 to $38.00 for the Illinois Basin segment. These estimated costs per ton compare favorably to $57.13 and $37.30 reported in 2009 for the Appalachia and Illinois Basin segments, respectively.
"We are targeting higher metallurgical coal volumes in 2010 from existing operations as a result of the strengthening market," noted Schroeder. "Although the average selling price per ton for 2010 deliveries did not change from the average reported last quarter, the majority of our met coal sales in recent weeks for deliveries in 2010 was crossover coal, sold at very good margins. More than half of our remaining unpriced met coal in 2010 consists of our highest-grade products. Based on current global market conditions, we believe these tons will be sold at prices substantially above the average of business already booked."
Priced thermal business for 2011 includes 8.4 million tons related to legacy contracts priced significantly below the current market. Unpriced volumes and the resulting total sales volume will depend on the finalization of production plans, taking into account demand and pricing.
Conference Call
Management will hold a conference call to discuss the fourth quarter results on February 2, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. Central Standard Time. The conference call can be accessed by dialing 800-230-1085, or through the Patriot Coal website at www.patriotcoal.com. International callers can dial 612-234-9960 to access the conference call. A replay of the conference call will be available on the Company's website and also by telephone, at 800-475-6701 for domestic callers or 320-365-3844 for international callers, access code 144149.
About Patriot Coal
Patriot Coal Corporation is a leading producer and marketer of coal in the eastern United States, with 14 current mining complexes in Appalachia and the Illinois Basin. The Company ships to domestic and international electric utilities, industrial users and metallurgical coal customers, and controls approximately 1.8 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves. The Company's common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PCX.
