Walter Energy Announces Second Quarter 2013 Results

BIRMINGHAM, AL — (Marketwired) — 08/01/13 — Walter Energy Inc. (NYSE: WLT) (TSX: WLT), a leading, publicly traded “pure-play” producer of metallurgical (met) coal for the global steel industry, today announced results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2013.

“Our mines continue to perform well, as our focus on cost reduction and improving productivity continued in the second quarter, further improving our cost competitiveness,” said Walt Scheller, Chief Executive Officer. “In a difficult met coal pricing environment, we continue to pursue measures to reduce operating costs, SG&A expenses and capital spending.”

Walter Energy reported a net loss of $34.5 million, or $0.55 loss per diluted share, in the second quarter 2013, compared to net income of $31.9 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2012. Second quarter 2013 consolidated revenues totaled $441.5 million, a decrease from $677.6 million in the second quarter of 2012, primarily due to lower met coal prices and lower coal sales volume. Partially offsetting the declines in volume and pricing, consolidated financial results for the second quarter reflect the favorable impact of lower costs, including improved met coal cost performance and continued reductions in selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses.

Net income for the second quarter of 2013 includes charges of $3.3 million, net of tax, or $0.05 per diluted share, primarily related to proxy contest expenses and a restructuring and asset impairment net benefit of $3.4 million, net of tax, or $0.05 per diluted share. These charges and adjustments are reconciled in the Company–s “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.” The adjusted net loss for the second quarter totaled $34.7 million, or $0.55 loss per diluted share, and second quarter 2013 adjusted EBITDA totaled $36.7 million.

Second quarter of 2013 met coal sales volume, including both hard coking coal (HCC) and low-volatility (low-vol) PCI, was 2.4 million metric tons (MMTs), representing a decrease of 0.4 MMTs from second quarter 2012. HCC sales volume was 2.0 MMTs in the second quarter of 2013, a decrease of 13.8% compared to the second quarter of 2012. Low-vol PCI sales volume declined 15.8% in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the prior-year comparable quarter. Second quarter 2013 shipments were impacted by vessel delays at the Port of Ridley, with over 200,000 metric tons (MTs) of June shipments moved to the third quarter at carryover pricing. Met coal sales tonnage was approximately 89% of total coal sales volume in the second quarter of 2013 compared to 76% for the same period last year.

Met coal sales price per ton averaged $150.41 in the second quarter 2013, down from second quarter 2012 pricing of $193.31 per metric ton (MT), due to weak global met coal market conditions. The average selling price for low-vol PCI was $135.55 per MT as compared to $163.51 per MT in the prior year comparable quarter.

Consolidated cash cost of sales for the second quarter 2013 averaged $122.04 per MT, down 9.7% compared to the second quarter of 2012, reflecting a reduction of 5.7% in cash cost of sales per MT in the Company–s U.S. operations and a reduction of 10.4% per MT in the Canadian operations. The Company recorded a lower of cost or market (LCM) charge, of which approximately $19.0 million related to the effect of the decline in third quarter 2013 met coal prices on valuing second quarter ending inventory, primarily relating to the Company–s Canadian operations.

Met coal production was 2.9 MMTs in the second quarter of 2013, comprised of 2.5 MMTs of HCC and 0.4 MMTs of low-vol PCI. Met coal production increased 9.2% compared to 2.7 MMTs produced in the second quarter of 2012. The strong performance in the current quarter was driven by a production increase of 0.4 MMTs, a 26% improvement, at the Company–s premium HCC mines in Alabama as compared to the second quarter in the prior year.

Met coal cash cost of production averaged $78.47 per MT in the second quarter of 2013, down 23.3% compared to the prior-year comparable quarter. Cash cost of production per MT in the Company–s Alabama low and mid-vol mines decreased by $5.84 per MT, or 8.2%, in the second quarter of 2013 as compared to the second quarter last year, primarily due to improved productivity. Cash cost of production per MT in the Canadian operations decreased by $50.39 per MT, or 32.9%, as compared to the second quarter of 2012. Strong productivity increases at Brule led to significantly improved cost performance, with cash cost of production totaling $79.82 per MT, compared to $101.68 per MT in the first quarter of 2013. Results for the Wolverine mine were negatively impacted by property development costs along with costs and downtime from unanticipated repairs.

SG&A expenses totaled $27.1 million in the second quarter 2013, representing a decline from $35.8 million in the second quarter of the prior year. SG&A expenses in the second quarter of 2013 included expenses of $5.4 million, primarily related to the proxy contest. Compared to the prior-year comparable period, second quarter 2013 SG&A expenses reflect the reclassification of $8.1 million from SG&A expenses to cost of sales, comprised of operations-related direct administrative charges.

Interest expense for the second quarter of 2013 totaled $53.1 million compared to $31.1 million in the second quarter of 2012, with the increase primarily driven by an increase in long-term debt and higher interest rates. Also included in interest expense is a non-cash component, primarily made up of amortization of debt expense, which totaled $5.6 million in the second quarter of 2013 and $4.7 million in the prior-year comparable period.

Results for the second quarter 2013 included a restructuring and asset impairment pre-tax net benefit of $9.1 million associated with the amendment of a sales contract eliminating commitments to deliver coal, thus allowing for the accelerated closure of the Company–s North River mine in Alabama, partially offset by an asset impairment charge related to the closure. The Company also recorded a pre-tax restructuring charge of $3.3 million related to the previously announced curtailment of operations in April 2013 at Willow Creek.

The Company–s capital expenditures totaled $46 million for the second quarter of 2013, representing a decrease of 63% from the second quarter 2012. Capital expenditures for the first six months of 2013 totaled $80 million compared to $246 million in the first six months of 2012.

Available liquidity was $487.5 million at the end of the second quarter of 2013, consisting of cash and cash equivalents of $170.9 million plus $316.6 million of availability under the Company–s $375 million revolving credit facility, net of outstanding letters of credit of $58.4 million.

The Company executed an amendment to its credit facility in July 2013, improving its financial flexibility in addressing the current difficult global met coal cycle. The amendment modifies related covenants, suspending interest coverage ratio compliance until March 31, 2015 and senior secured leverage ratio compliance until June 30, 2014. In addition, compliance in both covenants was made less restrictive once reinstated. The Company incurred fees and charges of $18.3 million in July 2013 associated with execution of the amendment, and interest margins on the debt under the credit facility increased by 1% going forward.

Strong met coal production performance in the Company–s Alabama underground mines has continued in the third quarter; however, volumes for the third quarter are expected to be lower than the second quarter due to a planned longwall move. Production in the Company–s Canadian operation is also expected to be lower in the third quarter, as the Wolverine mine has moved into a less favorable phase of its mining cycle. The Company remains on track to achieve its full-year met coal production target of approximately 11 million metric tons.

The Company is planning further reductions in SG&A expenses and capital expenditures. SG&A expenses have been targeted for additional reductions of $10 million, with an annual targeted run rate of $80 million. In addition, the Company has reduced its capital spending target to approximately $150 million for the full-year 2013.

This release contains the use of certain U.S. non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) measures. These non-GAAP measures are provided as supplemental information for financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Management believes that these non-GAAP measures provide additional insights into the performance of the Company, and they reflect how management analyzes Company performance and compares that performance against other companies. These non GAAP measures may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other entities. A reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP measures is provided in the financial section of this release.

The Company will hold a webcast to discuss second quarter 2013 results on Thursday, August 1, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. ET. To listen to the live event, visit .

Walter Energy is a leading, publicly traded “pure-play” metallurgical coal producer for the global steel industry with strategic access to high-growth steel markets in Asia, South America and Europe. The Company also produces thermal coal, anthracite, metallurgical coke and coal bed methane gas. Walter Energy employs approximately 4,100 employees, with operations in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom. For more information about Walter Energy, please visit .

Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this release are forward-looking and made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and may involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are based on information available to management at the time, and they involve judgments and estimates. Forward-looking statements include expressions such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “will,” and similar terms and expressions. These forward-looking statements are made based on expectations and beliefs concerning future events affecting us and are subject to various risks, uncertainties and factors relating to our operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and many of that are beyond our control, that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those matters expressed in or implied by these forward-looking statements. The following factors are among those that may cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements: unfavorable economic, financial and business conditions; the global economic crisis; market conditions beyond our control; prolonged decline in the price of coal; decline in global coal or steel demand; prolonged or dramatic shortages or difficulties in coal production; our customer–s refusal to honor or renew contracts; our ability to collect payments from our customers; inherent risks in coal mining such as weather patterns and conditions affecting production, geological conditions, equipment failure and other operational risks associated with mining; title defects preventing us from (or resulting in additional costs for) mining our mineral interests; concentration of our mining operations in limited number of areas; a significant reduction of, or loss of purchases by, our largest customers; unavailability of cost-effective transportation for our coal; availability, performance and costs of railroad, barge, truck and other transportation; disruptions or delays at the port facilities we use; risks associated with our reclamation and mine closure obligations, including failure to obtain or renew surety bonds; significant increase in competitive pressures and foreign currency fluctuations; significant cost increases and delays in the delivery of raw materials, mining equipment and purchased components; availability of adequate skilled employees and other labor relations matters; inaccuracies in our estimates of our coal reserves; estimates concerning economically recoverable coal reserves; greater than anticipated costs incurred for compliance with environmental liabilities or limitations on our abilities to produce or sell coal; our ability to attract and retain key personnel; future regulations that increase our costs or limit our ability to produce coal; new laws and regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that impact the demand for our coal reserves; adverse rulings in current or future litigation; inability to access needed capital; events beyond our control that may result in an event of default under one or more of our debt instruments; availability of licenses, permits, and other authorizations that may be subject to challenges; risks associated with our reclamation and mine closure obligations; failure to meet project development and expansion targets; risks associated with operating in foreign jurisdictions; risks related to our indebtedness and our ability to generate cash for our financial obligations; downgrade in our credit rating; our ability to identify suitable acquisition candidates to promote growth; our ability to integrate acquisitions successfully; our exposure to indemnification obligations; volatility in the price of our common stock; our ability to pay regular dividends to stockholders; costs related to our postretirement benefit obligations and workers– compensation obligations; our exposure to litigation; and other risks and uncertainties including those described in our filings with the SEC. Forward-looking statements made by us in this release, or elsewhere, speak only as of the date on which the statements were made. You are advised to read the risk factors in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the SEC, which are available on our website at and on the SEC–s website at . New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict these events or how they may affect us or our anticipated results. We have no duty to, and do not intend to, update or revise the forward-looking statements in this release, except as may be required by law. In light of these risks and uncertainties, readers should keep in mind that any forward-looking statement made in this press release may not occur. All data presented herein is as of the date of this release unless otherwise noted.

Ruth Pachman
212-521-4891

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Mark Tubb
205-745-2627