Alpha Natural Resources, Inc.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Alpha Natural Resources Announces
Results for Second Quarter 2009
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Reports net income for second quarter of 2009 of $15.4 million, or $0.22 per diluted share |
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Coal revenues decline due to weak steel and utility markets |
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Alpha maintains strong liquidity position in excess of $1 billion at end of second quarter |
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Shareholder vote scheduled for this Friday, July 31st, for approving merger with Foundation Coal |
ABINGDON, Va., July 27, 2009—Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE: ANR), a leading supplier of high-quality Appalachian coal, reported a decline in revenues and profit compared with last year’s record second quarter, driven by weakened power generation and steel mill production
due to the global economic downturn.
For the three months ended June 30, 2009, Alpha reported coal revenues of $333.9 million and net income of $15.4 million, or $0.22 per diluted share. This compares with $604.7 million of coal revenues and net income of $67.1 million, or $0.94 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2008, which were record highs for the company.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, depletion and amortization (EBITDA) from continuing operations for the quarter just ended totaled $68.2 million, compared with a record $143.8 million in the second quarter of 2008. A reconciliation of EBITDA from continuing operations to income from continuing operations, the most closely
related GAAP measure, is provided in a table included with the accompanying financial schedules.
For the six months ended June 30, 2009, Alpha recorded coal revenues of $758.3 million compared with $1,027.1 million in the same period of 2008. Net income for the first half of 2009 was $56.3 million ($0.80 per diluted share), compared with net income of $92.7 million ($1.35 per diluted share) in the first half of 2008. EBITDA from continuing
operations for the six months ended June 30, 2009 was $177.8 million, compared with $232.3 million in the first six months of 2008.
“As we predicted earlier this year, the persistence of weak demand conditions greatly reduced metallurgical and thermal coal shipments in the second quarter,” said Michael Quillen, Alpha’s chairman and CEO. “While global business conditions certainly aren’t anywhere near where they were at this time last year,
we have seen encouraging early signs of a turnaround in the steel markets and renewed interest from coal buyers, which had been mostly absent to this point.”
Kevin Crutchfield, Alpha’s president, added: “Alpha’s been somewhat insulated from the sharp drop in coal-based electricity generation in this recession due to pricing on thermal contracts that were settled in vastly more favorable conditions
last year. So pricing has held up for the utility business and continues to compare quite favorably to last year.”