Final Results

UK Coal PLC 01 March 2007 1 March, 2007 UK COAL PLC Preliminary Financial Results for Year Ended 31 December, 2006 Strong platform for value creation UK COAL PLC, the UK's largest producer of coal and the developer of one of Britain's largest brownfield property estates, today announces its preliminary audited results for the year ended 31 December, 2006. Financial Highlights • Operating Profit pre Exceptional Items up £40m to £47.8m (2005 restated £7.4m) • Operating Profit up £52m to £27.6m (2005 restated: £24.1m loss) • Profit for the year up £50m to £17.5m (2005 restated: £32.8m loss) • Net Assets up 63% (£94m) to £244.1m (2005 restated: £150.0m) • Net Assets per Share up 54% to £1.56 (2005 restated: £1.01) • Net Debt to Equity reduced to 21% from 29% in 2005 • Net Debt at 31 Dec 2006 increased to £51.8m (2005: £43.3m) Operational Highlights • Deep Mining: Stronger market conditions. Improved operating performance - Power station burn at highest since 1996. Coal now has the leading share at 41% of UK electricity generation. International coal price up 28% to $68/tonne from $53/tonne - Ongoing mines output up 9% at 8.2 mt. Sales price per GJ up 4% at £1.41 per GJ. Total operating cost per GJ down 3% (before Exceptional/ non-recurring Items) at £1.55 per GJ - Cash cost of production per GJ for ongoing mines down 4% (before depreciation, amortisation, Exceptional & central costs) at £1.31 per GJ • Surface Mining: Increased activity - Reserves with consent up 11% at 4.1 mt - Reserves seeking consent up 6% (includes applications planned in the next year) - Sales price per GJ up 11% at £1.58 per GJ • Property: Strategy presented. Execution progressing. Considerable value creation - RICS property valuation up 25% at £343.9 million. Management estimate of £800m value in 2006 prices with benefit of permissions being sought - Planning permission gained for Waverley/Orgreave, Sheffield for 650,000 sq.ft. of mixed business use. Planning application has been made for Prince of Wales, Pontefract for 900 homes and 250,000 sq.ft. for mixed business use. Progression of development JVs and further permissions • Power Generation: Increased scale and profitability - Net income up 43% (excluding Emissions Trading Credits) David Jones, Chairman, commented: '2006 has been a year of considerable progress for UK COAL. This is reflected in the increase in our reported profits, the strengthening of our balance sheet and the development of our strategy to secure sustained value creation. 'In mining, we have made clear that we will focus only on accessing and mining reserves where there is a clear prospect of creating substantial value over time. This has led to a reduction in the number of deep mines in operation, as well as creating an improvement in operating profit and a sounder basis for developing the business in future. Our sale of the Maltby mine this week reflects this strategy. 'In property, we have presented the very large store of value which we believe we can realise, we have put in place a strong property management team and we have set out our strategy. This has been well received, and we are aggressively pursuing its execution. 'Overall, during 2006, we have put in place a far stronger platform for future value creation. 2007 will see the execution of our strategy go a great deal further, and we face the current financial year with confidence.' For further information Financial Citigate Dewe Rogerson Tel: 020 7638 9571 Anthony Carlisle Mobile: 07973 611 888 Laure Lagrange Mobile: 07768 698 731 Brett Jacobs Mobile: 07764 655 423 Operational Tel: 01525 381 759 Stuart Oliver Mobile: 07774 231 178 The following Chairman's Statement is an extract from the Chairman's Statement as incorporated in the 2006 Annual Report & Accounts. CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT Financial results Recognising the increasing importance of property to the group, we have adopted the convention of reporting changes in the value of a wider range of our property interests through the income statement. On this basis, overall operating profit before Exceptional Items increased to £47.8 million, compared to £7.4 million for 2005 re-stated, and profit before tax was £17.6 million compared to a 2005 loss of £32.8 million. The impact of the change in reporting improved the results by £47.9 million in 2006 and by £29.3 million in the restated 2005 results. We have also significantly strengthened our balance sheet. We took advantage of the sharply positive re-rating of our business by the stock market to strengthen our capital position through a share placing which raised £29.1 million. We have recognised deferred tax assets for the first time, and we have included a greater number of our investment properties at open market value. As a result, net assets are up by 61%, and net assets per share are up by 54% against their re-stated 2005 levels. As required by accounting rules, the financial statements report our Investment Properties at current fair values. With the benefit of the planning permissions and development plans we already have in hand, however, we believe this under-states its potential value by a factor of well over two times. On pensions, we have made good progress in reducing the deficit in our defined benefit schemes (which are closed to new members). The deficit has been reduced by £22.3 million to £95.7 million. This reflects the investment performance of the pension fund assets and additional contributions paid by the company of £6.4 million. In addition, we have recognised a deferred tax asset of £35.7 million, which is available to offset against our scheme obligations in future years. We have managed our cash carefully, whilst continuing to invest significantly in our businesses and meet the costs of continuing rationalisation. As a result, our net debt has risen to £51.8 million, compared to £43.3 million; but our net debt to equity ratio has improved to 21% from 29%. Board During the year, we have strengthened our Board further on both the executive and non-executive side. We are delighted to have welcomed Jon Lloyd, who joined us last July as Chief Executive of our property business and brings with him a wealth of property development and management experience. We are also delighted to have welcomed Mike Toms, who joined as a non-executive director last May, bringing the considerable experience he has gained as a Town Planner and Economist and from his senior roles and Board position over the past 25 years with BAA plc. Dividend The Group wishes to conserve cash to invest in our property and mining businesses in order to drive shareholder value, preserve financial flexibility and continue to reduce overall risk. For these reasons, the Board is again not recommending the payment of a final dividend. We will keep this under review; but future dividends will be dependent on our overall performance. Outlook Overall, during 2006, we have put in place a far stronger platform for future value creation. 2007 will see the execution of our strategy go a great deal further, and we face the current financial year with confidence. David Jones, Chairman 1 March 2007 OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW The narrative below is extracted from the full Operating & Financial Review ('OFR') which is incorporated within the 2006 Annual Report & Accounts Summary Profit Performance by Business Segment Profit Summary by Segment Deep Mining Surface Property Power Generation Other Total 2006 Mining Pre-exceptional Operating (29.0) 0.5 73.3 3.1 (0.2) 47.7 (Loss)/Profit Exceptional Items (24.2) 4.1 - - - (20.1) Operating (Loss)/Profit (53.2) 4.6 73.3 3.1 (0.2) 27.6 Deep Mining Surface Property Power Generation Other Total Mining Profit Summary by Segment 2005 (restated) Pre-exceptional Operating (46.4) 3.3 45.7 3.3 1.4 7.3 (Loss)/Profit Exceptional Items (32.0) (2.5) - - 3.1 (31.4) Operating (Loss)/Profit (78.4) 0.8 45.7 3.3 4.5 (24.1) Market Overview: Coal 2006 saw the highest coal burn at power stations since 1996, as record gas prices, coupled with a low carbon price made coal a fuel of choice for generators for most of the year. In response to demand, international coal prices rose throughout the year, from $53/tonne in January to around $68/tonne by the end of 2006. In addition to this 28% rise during the year, the forward curve has also strengthened. Since 1 January 2005, UK power stations have been required to participate within the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. Generators therefore have to take into account the price of carbon allowances, together with the relative price of coal and gas, when determining which station to run. The high price of gas in the first ten months of the year combined with a low carbon price has encouraged generators to run their coal stations ahead of their gas plant. In 2006, UK power stations consumed some 58 million tonnes (2005: 52 million tonnes) of coal and steam coal imports increased by 11% from 37 million tonnes to 41 million tonnes. Electricity Supply Industry As the table below shows, coal now supplies the largest proportion of the fuel mix for electricity generation: 2006 2005 % % Coal 41 37 Gas 29 33 Nuclear 21 21 Oil, hydro & renewables 9 9 Total 100 100 During 2006, the Group's total coal sales to the power station market, were 8.8 million tonnes (2005: 9.1 million tonnes), reflecting lower than expected production. The contract cover with all customers, for the five years from, and including, 2007 is 22.1 million tonnes, with supply obligations for 17.7 million tonnes. The directors believe there remains an appetite among UK COAL customers for price certainty and secure supply, which the Group is able to satisfy. However, any future contracts must be based on sales prices that allow UK COAL to recover the investment and production costs needed to mine the coal, develop further faces and provide adequate risk adjusted returns. The Group's discussions with its customers are informed by this stance. Industrial and Domestic In April, UK COAL launched a 50:50 joint venture company with Hargreaves Services plc, called Coal 4 Energy (C4E), to jointly market UK COAL's large and graded coal in the domestic and general industrial markets and build mutually on this market position. This business is meeting the expectations of both parties. Customers The profile of UK COAL's business customer base is summarised below, and the directors do not foresee any material change in the mix of the Group's coal sales in the foreseeable future. UK Coal Sales to 2006 2005 Key Markets Tonnes (m) % Tonnes (m) % Electricity Supply Industry 8.8 90.7 9.1 90.0 Industrial 0.3 3.1 0.4 4.0 Domestic 0.3 3.1 0.3 3.0 Other 0.3 3.1 0.3 3.0 Total 9.7 100.0 10.1 100.0 REVIEW OF OPERATIONS BY BUSINESS Group Financial Summary by Business The Group's financial performance is summarised below for each of its business segments. Further segmental analysis is given in note 2 to the financial statements. Profit Summary by Segment Deep Mining Surface Property Power Generation Other Total 2006 Mining Pre-exceptional Operating (29.0) 0.5 73.3 3.1 (0.2) 47.7 (Loss)/Profit Exceptional Items (24.2) 4.1 - - - (20.1) Operating (Loss)/Profit (53.2) 4.6 73.3 3.1 (0.2) 27.6 Deep Mining Surface Property Power Generation Other Total Mining Profit Summary by Segment 2005 (restated) Pre-exceptional Operating (46.4) 3.3 45.7 3.3 1.4 7.3 (Loss)/Profit Exceptional Items (32.0) (2.5) - - 3.1 (31.4) Operating (Loss)/Profit (78.4) 0.8 45.7 3.3 4.5 (24.1) The Group achieved an operating profit of £27.6m (2005 re-stated: £24.1m loss) including property revaluation gains of £68.6m (2005 restated: £40.7m). Reported profit includes an accounting policy change which widens the investment property portfolio which is stated at market valuation in the financial statements. The effect on profit in 2006 and 2005 as re-stated is set out below and only affects the property segment. Property 2006 2005 (Restated) £m £m Operating Profit applying 2005 accounting policies 25.4 16.4 Effect of Accounting Policy change 47.9 29.3 Operating Profit (restated 2005) 73.3 45.3 DEEP MINING Financial Review Deep mining improved its financial performance, producing a profit before Exceptional Items over three of the four quarters of the year. In the third quarter, however, the division faced difficulties on several fronts, which contributed to a loss of 1.3 million tonnes of production across several mines equating to some £44m of lost revenues. These factors resulted in a loss for the year for ongoing mines of £28.0m (2005: £35.0m). There were significant geological problems at Harworth and Rossington, which proved insurmountable and ultimately led to the decision to close or mothball these mines. These mines made an operating loss of £25.2m (2005: £43.4m) and involved exceptional closure costs of £25.4m (2005: £24.1m). As a result, total deep mining operating losses for the year were £53.2m (2005: £78.4m). Overall, the remaining five deep mines achieved a 9% increase in the Group's output of coal to 8.2 million tonnes (2005: 7.5 million tonnes), demonstrating a more robust platform for future operations. The profit performance of the ongoing mines, which in 2006 included Maltby, and the closed mines is set out in the table below, noting operating and cash costs per Gigajoule against sales prices per Gigajoule to indicate levels of production profitability. 2006 2006 2006 2005 2005 2005 £m £m £m £m £m Ongoing Closed Total Ongoing Closed Total Turnover 285.6 25.3 310.9 248.6 41.3 289.9 Operating (loss)/profit before (29.2) 0.2 (29.0) (27.1) (19.3) (46.4) Exceptional Items Exceptional Items 1.2 (25.4) (24.2) (7.9) (24.1) (32.0) Operating (Loss) (28.0) (25.2) (53.2) (35.0) (43.4) (78.4) 2006 2006 2006 2005 2005 2005 KPIs: Sales and Costs per Gigajoule Ongoing Closed Total Ongoing Closed Total Sales per Gigajoule £1.41 £1.40 £1.41 £1.35 £1.37 £1.35 Operating Cost per GJ pre-Exceptional £1.55 £1.66 £1.54 £1.54 £2.16 £1.59 Items Cash cost per GJ pre-Exceptional £1.31 £1.43 £1.31 £1.39 £1.96 £1.36 Items * Cash cost is defined as operating costs excluding depreciation, amortisation and central cash costs of £10m Operating costs Total operating costs per GJ reduced in the year to £1.54 (2005: £1.59), benefiting from lower infrastructure costs at Harworth and Rossington in the run down to closure in 2006. Operating costs per Gigajoule exclude Exceptional or significant non-recurring items. Ongoing mines operating costs per GJ increased to £1.55 per GJ (2005: £1.54) reflecting the events of the third quarter. The increase in Sales price to £1.41 per GJ (2005: £1.35) helped to reduce the scale of losses. The increase in sales price in 2006 and further price increases expected in 2007 and beyond should provide greater leverage to improve deep mining profitability in the medium term. Cash costs per GJ also improved at £1.31 per GJ (2005: £1.36). This excludes central, capital and exceptional costs, and is disclosed to indicate the level of unit cash generation from the mines when comparing this cost to sales price per GJ. Sale of Maltby Following the year end, we took the decision to sell our Maltby mine to Hargreaves Group with a transfer of operational assets and liabilities, together with the workforce. Hargreaves is the second largest customer for Maltby, and the benefits to it of owning Maltby's metallurgical coal production and reserves should improve the security of employment at the mine. The consideration of £21.5 million results in a profit on disposal of some £13 million. Maltby delivered an operating loss of some £18 million last year after Exceptional Items. Exceptional Items Exceptional Items of £24.2m (2005: £32.0m) primarily related to the closure of Harworth and Rossington collieries and to the costs associated with a roof fall at Maltby. Harworth colliery incurred exceptional costs of £15.8m relating to costs of closing operations. Of this, £10.3m was incurred in bringing the colliery to closure. Additionally, assets were written off, including plant and equipment of £3.6m, and stores stocks of £1.9m. Exceptional costs of £5.3m were incurred in closing operations at Rossington. Other Exceptional Items include income of £7.9m (2005: £14.6m) from the Coal Investment Aid scheme which was in the last year of its operation, and pension scheme gains of £4.4m (2005: £5.2m) arising from the effect of redundancies. A full analysis of Exceptional Items in the year by colliery is tabled below: Exceptional Items Stores Asset write Closure cost Redundancy Other 2006 2005 stock offs Total Total Deep Mining £m £m £m £m £m £m £m Closed mines - - - - - Harworth (1.9) (3.6) (10.3) - - (15.8) (11.6) Rossington (0.3) (0.2) (4.8) - - (5.3) (14.7) Central stores write offs (4.3) - - - - (4.3) - Coal Investment Aid - - - - - - 2.2 Total closed mines (6.5) (3.8) (15.1) 0.0 0.0 (25.4) (24.1) Maltby - - - - (7.0) (7.0) - Daw Mill - - - - (2.4) (2.4) - Kellingley - - - - - - (7.7) Ellington - - - - - - (8.7) Other - - - (1.7) 4.4 2.7 (3.9) Coal Investment Aid - - - - 7.9 7.9 12.4 Total ongoing mines 0.0 0.0 0.0 (1.7) 2.9 1.2 (7.9) Exceptional Items (6.5) (3.8) (15.1) (1.7) 2.9 (24.1) (32.0) Cash flow Total cash outflows for deep mining were £40.2m (2005: £63.6m). Redundancy payments were made of £10.0m (£16.1m), and payments were made of £11.5m (2005: £13.4m) to restore and rehabilitate mines and against surface damage and liability claims. After reducing liabilities, receipts from secured deposits for coal and insurance claims were £9.9m (2005: £3.1m), and Coal Investment Aid receipts were £11.1m (2005: £18.5m) in the last year of the scheme. Additional payments to the pension and concessionary fuel schemes of £6.4m (2005: £6.5m) reduced pension liabilities accordingly. Operating Review With the exception of the third quarter, ongoing deep mines were profitable in 2006. However, third quarter performance, and our first fatalities since 2001, overshadowed a year of underlying improvement. Production and operating performance by colliery are set out below: Production 2006(mt) 2005 (mt) Ongoing mines Daw Mill 2.7 2.0 Kellingley 2.1 2.0 Maltby 0.7 1.1 Thoresby 1.5 1.4 Welbeck 1.2 1.0 Total Ongoing Mines 8.2 7.5 CLOSED MINES Harworth 0.5 0.8 Rossington 0.2 0.5 Ellington 0.0 0.2 Total Closed Mines 0.7 1.5 Total Deep Mines 8.9 9.0 Ongoing mines Daw Mill: Output increased to 2.7 million tonnes (2005: 2.0 million tonnes), although this was overshadowed by two fatalities within two months in 2006, and an additional fatality since the year-end in January 2007. This has brought the colliery into a period of intensive health, safety and environmental reviews and investigations. The underlying potential of Daw Mill, which has two sets of state of the art equipment and remaining reserves of some 21.5 million tonnes, however, remains robust. Kellingley: Output of 2.1 million tonnes improved on the excellent 2005 result of 2.0 million tonnes. Productivity was sustained, and continuous production was achieved despite two face changes. The colliery continues to be strongly productive in an area of difficult geology with a move planned to a new area of reserve in 2008. The mine is currently developing into the new reserves, and the key objectives remain focused on cost efficiencies. During this period of intensive investment, however, cash generation from this colliery will be limited. Maltby: Output of 0.7 million tonnes (2005: 1.1 million tonnes) was severely impaired by a critical roadway closure throughout Q3 after a major roof fall. Localised old workings and hard ground severely restricted progress and almost halted production. The team succeeded in recovering the roadway and full productivity was restored in Q4 after a difficult and highly challenging mid-year, with flexibility enhanced by a new five-shift pattern. Since the year end this colliery has been sold. Thoresby: Output improved to 1.5 million tonnes (2005: 1.4 million tonnes) despite a 7 week face gap from August when ground movements prevented recovery of vital equipment. Operational teams worked hard to overcome major salvage difficulties and introduced a new more effective four shift pattern for the rest of 2006, returning the colliery to full productivity. Welbeck: Output of 1.2 million tonnes exceeded 2005 (1.0 million tonnes) following a period of intense operational review and revised working practices. This was achieved despite face gap delays of 15 weeks after encountering extremely difficult ground conditions caused by nearby old workings, which greatly slowed down a face transfer. The colliery has now increased round the clock shift patterns and has reduced face cycle times by up to 30% by increasing shearer cutting speeds. Closed and mothballed mines Harworth coaling was run down from the half year, finishing in August, after attempts to develop a new face became impossible following geological faulting. The site is now in a state of care and maintenance to temporarily preserve access to alternate reserves if economic contracts can be secured. Rossington ceased production in April 2006, following the extraction of the final 0.2 million tonnes of coal. Face Gaps and Operational Costs The length of face gaps, when production changes from one area of the mine to another, are a key performance driver of the business. This typically represents a period of no production when costs are running at normal levels, or in certain cases slightly higher. There were five face changes in the year, resulting in three protracted face gaps totalling 26 weeks (2005: 33 weeks). Welbeck had a face gap of 15 weeks from May to July, Maltby had four weeks in Q1, and Thoresby seven weeks in Q3. Management efforts and planning continue to focus on reducing these production gaps. Face gaps and operating costs by quarter are set out in the following table: All Mines: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total Face Gaps 2006 (weeks) 4 10 12 0 26 Face Gaps 2005 (weeks) 3 23 7 0 33 Tonnes 2006 (million) 2.9 2.4 1.5 2.1 8.9 Op. Costs per GJ 2006 £1.40 £1.40 £2.47 £1.26 £1.54 Operational costs per GJ improved in 2006 except in Q3 when costs increased due to factors discussed above. Productivity Costs per GJ reduced in the fourth quarter when productivity improvements were achieved as a result of initiatives to make the mines competitive with foreign coal suppliers, including:- • Closure or mothballing of high risk, inefficient areas of reserve. • Improved planning on a daily, weekly and long term basis. • Introduction of project control techniques to improve the management and accountability through the identification and delivery of critical activities to time and cost. • Focus on improving the maintenance regime at the mines in order to improve machine availability and reduce down time. • Improving productivity through focus on performance indicators, cycle time, detailed delay analysis and reduction. • Introduction of multi-disciplined Operational Improvement teams. • Introduction of more efficient technologies from around the world in all aspects of the underground environment. At the ongoing mines the workforce agreements launched in 2005 are being consolidated across all the mines giving a much more flexible system of working. Future Prospects In the final quarter of 2006, deep mining production returned to operating profitability before Exceptional Items. Forward prices are projected to improve significantly as historic contracts expire in the next two years, providing improved potential for deep mining cash generation. Our strategy continues to focus on mining only where access to reserves is sufficiently economic. We are also undertaking a wide-ranging operational review to identify and implement further cost-efficiencies within operations. We continually review forward price and cost projections to seek out optimal mining decisions for shareholder value. Decisions have to take account of long-term as well as short term projections. UK COAL continues to have a healthy projection of reserves, which will be mined only where economic. Our reserves potential is described in more detail below. Reserves The reserves available in the ongoing deep mines are critical to the long term prospects of the Group. The definition of reserves is always subject to some elements of change. UK COAL continues to utilise the latest technology in seismic exploration, including 3D representations of seams, to provide better definition of reserves. These techniques have been used at Daw Mill, Kellingley, and Thoresby to assess the reserves more effectively. The Group's latest estimate at January 2007 of its deep mine coal reserves, excluding Maltby, are as follows: Coal (million tonnes) Reserve Resource Mineral Potential Total: 173 40 70 63 Reserve: Proven reserves which are accessible using the broad infrastructure in place at the current time, and which are in the current mining plan. Resource: Proven reserves, but reserves that require substantial development and other costs to allow accessibility and are not currently in any mining plan. Mineral potential: Coal that has been assessed (although possibly not to the same extent as Reserve and Resource coal) but UK COAL does not have any licenses or planning permission to extract the deposits. These figures must be treated with caution, being based on the Group's best estimate at the current time. A number of factors may cause the actual production to vary significantly from these estimates, including availability of government support, future coal prices and geological issues. SURFACE MINING Financial Review Surface mining's financial performance is set out below: 2006 2005 Surface mines Surface mines £m £m Turnover 21.7 33.4 Operating profit before Exceptional Items 0.5 3.3 Exceptional Items 4.1 (2.5) Operating profit 4.6 0.8 KPIs Sales per GJ 1.58 1.42 Controllable cash costs per GJ 1.46 1.25 Operating cost per GJ 1.87 1.31 (before Exceptional Items and provision releases) Surface mining achieved a small profit on output of 0.6 million tonnes (2005: 1.0 million tonnes). Profitability was held back, with only one site operating for most of the year and three sites being developed, increasing operating cost per GJ to £1.87 (2005: £1.31). The result includes provision releases of £5.4m mainly in respect of restoration liabilities in the North East which have been reassessed now that we have planning permission to extract coal in adjacent reserves. Exceptional income of £4.1m includes gains of £4.4m from the disposal of unutilised plant, and £0.3m related to redundancy. Operating Review With the completion of coaling at Orgreave in January 2006, the Group operated for most of 2006 with only one surface mine, Maidens Hall, in Northumberland. This has since been supplemented by operations commencing at Stony Heap in August 2006, and Stobswood North and Cutacre in December. Surface mining made good progress in developing its potential reserves in 2006 to 14.1 million tonnes, including applications planned to be submitted in 2007 (2005: 13.1 million tonnes). Planning approval was gained for two sites in 2006. Reserves with planning consent at the year end were 4.1 million tonnes (2005: 3.7 million tonnes), and planning applications submitted in the year were 5.4 million tonnes (2005: 5.1 million tonnes). Applications expected to be submitted in the new financial year amount to 4.6 million tonnes (2005: 4.3 million tonnes). Future Prospects UK COAL owns approximately 97 million tonnes of surface coal reserves situated under its owned land, which, at current prices, should be capable of economic extraction. With the import of coal potentially restrained by port and rail capacity in the country, our reserves should form an important national resource with economic value. Although planning permission for coaling has been difficult to obtain in previous years, UK COAL believes this attitude is changing and is confident that, in future, schemes can be progressed. The Group is continuing its efforts to obtain further planning permission based on improvements in the environmental acceptability of brownfield site regeneration. The end result will be both additional domestic production and sites restored to a standard and at a cost which would be prohibitive without prior mining. The Group has significant surface mining plant, equipment and expertise and is actively looking at additional sites in England, Scotland and Wales in order that these resources may be used efficiently. A summary of remaining Reserves through the various stages of planning is set out in the table below: Surface Mines - Reserves Estimated Estimated (in thousands of tonnes) Reserves Reserves Site Dec 2006 Dec 2005 Maiden Hall Extension 465 920 Cutacre 1,495 1,500 Stony Heap 174 257 North Stobswood 969 987 Steadburn 1,000 - Sites with Planning Consent Gained 4,103 3,664 Sharlston 360 360 Steadburn (consent gained in 2006) - 1,000 Long Moor 725 725 Lodge House 1,000 1,000 Potland Burn 2,000 2,000 Oxcroft 15 - Park Wall North 1,250 - Sites submitted for Planning 5,350 5,085 Huntington Lane 900 650 Park Wall North - 1,000 Blair House 700 1,000 Chesterfield Canal 500 400 Bradley 500 500 Minorca 1,000 800 Butterwell 1,000 - Sites to be submitted in the next year 4,600 4,350 Remaining Reserves in Process 14,053 13,099 PROPERTY Financial Review The property business performed strongly, achieving a 25% increase in both market valuation of its assets to £343.9m (2005: £274.2m) and gross rental income of £6.0m (2005: £4.8m) mainly due to business parks income growth. This lifted net rental profits to £3.3m (2005: £2.3m). After revaluation gains of £68.6m (2005: £40.7m), property activities generated a profit of £73.3m (2005: £45.7m). 2006 2005 Property Property Restated £m £m Turnover - Agricultural Land 2.6 2.7 Turnover - Business Parks 3.4 2.1 Gross Rental Income 6.0 4.8 Operating Costs (2.7) (2.5) Net Rental income 3.3 2.3 Profit on sale of assets* 1.4 2.7 Operating profit 4.7 5.0 Revaluation gains 68.6 40.7 Total profit before interest and tax 73.3 45.7 * Disposal profits on a historic cost basis were £10.7m (2005:£9.6m) A strategic review of our property portfolio was completed in November, indicating significant potential for value creation. The great majority of our land is agricultural and is likely to remain so for the long term. This land provides a flow of rental income and portions of it may be selectively sold, thereby also potentially providing capital that can be redeployed into higher return brownfield site development activity. A portion of our land supports our continuing mining operations and provides sites which may become surface mines with appropriate permissions - in a number of cases also providing a potential pipeline of future development sites, once mining activities are completed and the land is restored. Within our land portfolio, there are also a number of sites which represent considerable potential for development and consequential considerable value creation. These represent the core of our brownfield site development proposals and activities and are reported on below. Accounting Policy Change The Group has revised its accounting policies during the year to bring the market value of its full range of properties held for investment on to the balance sheet. Group properties are now classified either as: • Investment Properties. These are valued at market value if held for capital growth, or rental income, or both, or • Operating Properties. These are properties used in the business and are held at historic or deemed cost from when consent to mine is gained until mining completes. The group accounting policy of recognising initial revaluations in reserves and subsequent revaluations in the income statement is unchanged. This is in accordance with International Accounting Standards. The accounting policy change increased gains in the income statement by £47.9m (2005: £29.3m) and the property values in the balance sheet by £213.7m (2005: £165.7m). Deferred taxation of £1.1m (2005: £1.0m) has been provided on revaluation gains. The vast majority of UK COAL's property has capital losses available to offset taxable valuation gains, and therefore no significant deferred tax liability has been incurred. Expenditure on property development activities (net of grants) amounted to £3.4m (2005: £7.3m). The significant increase in the value of the property portfolio in 2006 of £68.6m (2005: £40.7m) was recorded on the balance sheet. Gains in the value of property do not involve a cash flow until they are realised on sale. As a result, this item does not appear in the cash flow statement Operating Review On 3 July, Jon Lloyd joined the Group board as Chief Executive of Property. Under his direction, a strategic appraisal of the Group's property business was completed and presented externally in November, outlining the Group's inherent property value and development strategy. This was well received and has led to a substantial market reappraisal of the potential value of our property business. The operating structure of the property business has been further strengthened by three key appointments, Development Director, Estates Director and Forward Planning Manager. The Development Director will lead delivery on the planning consents and on-site infrastructure and it's appropriate development through the direction of highly skilled and motivated external project teams. The Estates Director and Forward Planning Manager will focus on growing the asset base and half yearly portfolio valuations by identifying and bringing forward additional properties over and above the 2,650 acres identified in the November 2006 presentation. The Harworth Estates portfolio RICS valuation at the year end is summarised in the table below: Like-for-like Dec 2006 Dec 2005 Dec 2005 to Dec 2006 Business Parks 48,300 36,960 29.7% Commercial with planning 23,200 30,060 17.4% Other commercial & residential 157,312 116,164 34.8% Agricultural 115,110 90,985 31.4% Total 343,922 274,169 33.8% The valuation is before the deduction of rehabilitation and restoration costs of £51.7m (2005: £66.4m), which are provided in the accounts and relate mainly to working surface mines and sites in aftercare. On a like for like basis, taking into account disposals and development expenditure, the property portfolio has shown a gain of £86m (34%). On a net basis after disposals and acquisitions, the portfolio value has increased by £69.7m, being 25%. We expect, however, that the valuation of UK COAL's property interest with the benefit of the planning permissions currently in hand and envisaged would be substantially greater than the valuation of our land and property interests in their current usage and, in 2006 prices, could be around £800m by 2012. Principal development activity The principal areas of development activity in 2006 are summarised below. Waverley/Orgreave, Rotherham Planning approval was granted at Waverley for a business park area of 650,000 sq ft offering mixed use. Work is progressing towards submitting further planning applications to create a new community which in total will include up to 4,000 new homes, a 60 acre business park, 20 acres other community use (social, health and education) and a 300 acre country park. The Advanced Manufacturing Park is already well established on this site and includes a number of companies involved in the high-tech metals and aviation industries. Prince of Wales, Pontefract We submitted a planning application to Wakefield Metropolitan Borough Council at the end of 2006 for the redevelopment and regeneration of this major site. The planning application includes over 900 homes and 250,000 sq ft of employment space along with community facilities. We have engaged in substantial pre- application discussions with the Local Authority and other interested parties and are hopeful that planning approval will be granted during the middle of 2007. Other Developments We are continuing to progress a large number of other development projects and have entered in to a number of arrangements with blue chip key partners which will help us maximise value from these developments. We are discussing further opportunities and carrying on the process of working up new schemes to ensure we continue to add value across the whole of the portfolio. Business Parks Our business parks continue to be well-tenanted and attract strong demand when units become available. We are currently agreeing terms to add further capacity to our Asfordby business park with construction of a new, pre-let, building and will continue to develop this area of the business. Sales We have continued our policy of disposing of land assets where we have maximised value. This has included land at our Tetron and Denby developments, both of which are now nearly sold out, and a successful auction of agricultural land which had little or no development potential, achieving proceeds some 60% above our market expectations for the 1,700 acres sold. Development Market Conditions The majority of our development land identified is classified as brownfield and as such, is well positioned to respond to and benefit from evolving Government policy. Kate Barker's report for the Government in December 2006 foreshadows changing planning policy and processes that should both streamline the planning timeline for our major sites and give further confidence as to the likelihood of planning success. Recent announcements by the Department of Communities and Local Government set a very strong platform from which we intend to build a nationally significant residential development land bank. We will realise this through working in partnerships with some of the UK's most successful house builders. Demand for our mixed use employment sites and our increasing residential development sites remains strong and we expect it to be robust for the period of our initial property strategy articulated to shareholders in November 2006. Rental income from our existing business parks and our agricultural estate is expected to continue to grow. The primary opportunity for income and trading profits will come from the gaining of planning consents for our mixed use employment land and residential development sites. Success will be measured initially by targeting and achieving planning consents for the maximum possible acreage of employment development and optimum number of housing units. Our participation in the residential market will principally be by way of gaining consents and disposing of serviced sites to major house builders who will pay both full market value and offer a share of any super profit created during the build-out phase. We will both sell serviced plots and progressively build out a number of our mixed use sites with best in class development partners. Future Prospects The Group is currently managing around 60 separate property projects and continues to seek out additional opportunities. In the short term, it is the intention of management to maintain, and enhance where possible, the current income streams while adding value by: • Completing master planning and gaining planning consents at our key development sites; • Completing construction and letting of development properties; • Commencement of master planning at appropriate sites; • Constructing new buildings at existing business parks, where demand for pre-let accommodation is strong; • Continuing the process of securing planning at sites where there is the opportunity to create value through new commercial or residential development; • Identifying specific opportunities to extend the development programmed beyond the initial 60 sites • Specifically focusing on bringing forward a premium mixed use business park at Cutacre Bolton • Exploiting the agricultural portfolio for surface mining, residential development and possible disposals of surplus land and properties. Valuation A full independent property valuation of all our properties in current usage was carried out at 31 December 2006 in accordance with the 'RICS Appraisal and Valuation Standards' published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Of the portfolio valuation, £311.7m (2005: £251.2m), is recognised in the balance sheet at market value under investment properties. POWER GENERATION Financial Performance Harworth Power's financial performance is set out in the table below: 2006 2005 £m £m External revenue 0.3 0.9 Inter company revenue 6.2 3.3 Total Revenue 6.5 4.2 Emissions Trading credits 1.8 2.4 Methane costs (1.8) (0.5) Other costs (3.3) (2.7) Operating profit 3.2 3.4 KPIs: MWh generated 119,717 104,526 £ net income/MWh (excluding Emissions Trading Credits) £10.94 £8.76 Operating profit (excluding Emissions Trading income) grew by 43% to £1.3m (2005: £0.9m) from a 15% increase in electricity generation to 119,717 MwH (2005: 104,526 MwH), on improved power prices and lower operating costs following a review of operating practices. Our total operating profit of £3.2m (2005: £3.4m) reflects the improved operating performance and reduced benefit of UK Emissions Trading scheme credits for which 2006 represented the last year of operation. We are awaiting the final approval from the MoD before we start work on our Royal Oak site. We hope this will be later in the year. Harworth Power has continued to progress a series of planning applications to install wind turbines on Group property where this is economic and represents the best use for the properties concerned, or can be combined with a sustainable property development. The planning process is lengthy. However, Harworth Power currently is progressing applications for 40 turbines, with a land bank containing further suitable sites which will be progressed when appropriate. During 2006 a planning application for a wind Farm at Stonish Hill consisting of 7 turbines was turned down, although an appeal is currently being pursued. A further project at Lynemouth in Northumberland is currently under consideration by the local planning authority with determination due early in 2007. Three further projects are at varying stages of development for submission in 2007. Future Prospects Coal Mine Methane We expect to continue to extract methane from existing sites, while the new capacity installation at Harworth mine will offset some of its mothballing costs. Increased generation is forecast with the installation of new engines at mine sites where methane capture is being improved. Capital will be invested where adequate returns are available, principally in the installation of new engines at mine sites. The UK Emissions Trading Scheme finished at the end of 2006, reducing the incentive to invest in certain emissions reduction projects. Harworth Power is actively involved in discussions as to the form of any replacement scheme. Wind farms The Group plans to progress further applications in respect of 30 turbines generating 60MW during 2007. Harworth Power continues to identify other opportunities to generate additional power utilising renewable energy sources, assessing the commercial strengths and risks of these schemes and the level of investment needed to make investment in those schemes match the returns required by the Group. OTHER BUSINESSES Other businesses comprise our new joint venture, Coal 4 Energy, which made a £0.1m profit, and LHTC (Lionheart Trading Company) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary company, which mainly provides group support services and maintenance. Overall profits were £0.2m. 2005 profits of £5.2m related to businesses and assets now disposed of. CAPITAL STRUCTURE UK COAL's net assets of £244.1m (2005 restated: £150.0m) comprise four major elements: 2006 2005 £m £m Property mainly at market value 326.8 265.4 Mines acquired and machinery at depreciated cost 224.0 244.9 Provisions for future costs and pensions deficits (233.1) (317.4) Net debt and working capital to fund operations (73.6) (42.9) Total net assets £244.1m £150.0m Provisions Deep mining provisions of £93.4m (2005: £106.0m) are held for all future costs where an obligation exists at the balance sheet date. Of these provisions, £39.7m (2005: £40.0m) are funded by ring-fenced deposits, and £74.2m (2005: £70.8m) are expected to fall due after more than one year. Provisions have been made for employer and public liabilities, surface damage relating to deep mines activities, restoration and closure costs of deep mines, spoil heap care obligations, pumping costs and groundwater contamination. Redundancy provisions have been made for obligations only if they exist at the balance sheet date. Retirement benefit provisions The Group has a deficit of £120.4m (2005: £142.3m) on its defined benefit pension and retirement schemes, combined with it's concessionary fuel reserve, and are valued annually by independent actuaries applying International Accounting Standard (IAS) 19. The deficit reduction in 2006 of £21.9m comprises: • Net actuarial gains of £11.6m (2005: £14.3m loss) arising mainly from higher than expected asset returns. The gains are reported within reserves in the statement of recognised income and expense (SORIE). • Additional payments to the pensions and benefit schemes of £6.4m (2005: £6.5m) representing the net difference between employer contributions payments made of £21.0m (2005: £19.3m) and the actuary's calculation of the costs of benefits accrued in the year. • Gains on curtailments of £4.3m (2005: £5.2m) due to redundancy levels. These are reported in the income statement as Exceptional Items. • A deficit increase of £0.4m (2005: £2.8m), from interest costs on scheme liabilities exceeding expected asset returns, which is charged to income. Taxation Deferred taxation assets of £35.7m (2005: nil) are now recognised on the balance sheet. This represents tax relief anticipated to be available from future payments into the pension scheme to reduce the deficit. The full scale and origin of UK COAL deferred tax assets, recognised and unrecognised in the financial statements, is set out below. Due to the availability of losses within the Group, there is no current tax charge for the period. The Group has potential gross deferred tax assets as at 31 December 2006 of £369.6m representing potential future tax savings of £110.9m. Group net debt The Group secures borrowings against its property and operational assets. In total across the four business segments this amounted to £152m of facilities comprising a revolving credit facility of £54m, overdraft facilities of £10m, £66m secured on property, £9m on surface mining plant, and £13m of finance lease debt outstanding. Average maturity of the facilities was 2.2 years (2005: 1.8 years). Total borrowings of £97.7m (£2005: £96.5m) were drawn against debt facilities at the year-end, leaving borrowing headroom of £47.3m (2005: £9.0m). Net debt including ring-fenced cash deposits was £51.8m (2005: £43.3m). Net Debt to Equity reduced to 21% from 29% in 2005 mainly as a result of increased property asset values recognised on the balance sheet. Interest The Group incurred £5.7m (2005: £3.6m) of financing costs in the year on average debt throughout 2006 of £50m (2005: £28m). Financing costs include £1.0m charged in amortisation of fees. A summary of debt funding is set out below. 2006 2005 £m £m Cash deposited to cover insurance requirements 19.6 25.4 Subsidence security fund 22.7 26.8 Other cash balances* 3.6 1.0 Cash and cash equivalents 45.9 53.2 Debt (84.1) (75.3) Finance leases and hire purchase contracts (13.6) (21.2) Borrowings (97.7) (96.5) Net (borrowings) / funds (51.8) (43.3) *Cash balances within net funds of £45.9m include £2.1m cash balances held for restricted use subject to property sale completion. Contingent liability Guarantees have been given in the normal course of business for performance bonds of £2.5m (2005: £ 2.1m) to cover the performance of work under a number of Group contracts. There are no other contingent liabilities. Consolidated Income Statement for the year ended 31 December 2006 2005 Notes £000 £000 Continuing operations Restated Revenue 2 339,713 341,214 Cost of sales (381,021) (417,136) Gross loss (41,308) (75,922) Coal Investment Aid 4 7,892 14,641 Net appreciation in fair value of 68,622 40,668 investment properties Profit on disposal of operating 416 463 property, plant and equipment Profit on disposal of investment 1,406 2,746 properties Profit on sale of business - 3,100 Other operating income and (9,383) (9,756) expenses Operating profit/ (loss) 27,645 (24,060) Finance costs 5 (12,376) (11,753) Finance income 5 2,261 2,992 Finance costs - net 5 (10,115) (8,761) Share of post-tax profit from 105 - joint ventures Profit/ (loss) before tax 17,635 (32,821) Tax (143) - Profit/ (loss) for the year from 17,492 (32,821) continuing activities Discontinued operations Loss for the year from - (72) discontinued operations Total loss from discontinued - (72) operations Profit/ (loss) for the year 17,492 (32,893) Attributable to: Equity holders of the Company 17,492 (32,893) Earnings per share pence pence Restated From continuing operations: Basic and diluted 11.7 (22.1) From discontinued operations: Basic and diluted - - From total operations: Basic and diluted 11.7 (22.1) The 2005 figures have been restated following a change in accounting policy to widen the Group's definition of investment property (see Note 6). Consolidated Statement of Recognised Income and Expense for the year ended 31 December Group Company 2006 2005 2006 2005 Notes £000 £000 £000 £000 Restated Actuarial gain/(loss) on defined 10 benefit pension schemes 12,478 (10,286) - - Actuarial loss on concessionary 10 fuel reserve (855) (3,995) - - Movement on deferred tax asset relating to retirement benefit liabilities 35,752 - - - Property revaluation on transfer to 7 investment properties - 53,370 - - Net gain recognised directly in equity 47,375 39,089 - - Profit/(loss) for the year 17,492 (32,893) (1,700) (22,878) 64,867 6,196 (1,700) (22,878) Prior year adjustment - 6 investment properties 164,719 229,586 Attributable to: Equity holders of the Company 64,867 6,196 (1,700) (22,878) Balance Sheets at 31 December Group Group Company Company 2006 2005 2006 2005 Notes £000 £000 £000 £000 ASSETS Restated Non current assets Operating property, plant and equipment 6 237,942 254,387 - - Investment properties 7 311,677 251,161 - - Investments in subsidiaries - - 473,224 473,224 Investment in joint venture 205 - - - Deferred tax asset 35,752 - - - Trade and other receivables 964 4,728 - - 586,540 510,276 473,224 473,224 Current assets Inventories 36,640 42,168 - - Trade and other receivables 47,604 63,312 167,340 137,168 Derivative financial instruments 675 - 675 - Cash and cash equivalents 45,928 53,220 2,548 425 130,847 158,700 170,563 137,593 LIABILITIES Current liabilities Financial liabilities - Borrowings 8 (15,501) (62,986) (12,476) (52,395) Trade and other payables (106,284) (104,927) (189,687) (144,220) Provisions 9 (27,931) (52,320) - - (149,716) (220,233) (202,163) (196,615) Net current liabilities (18,869) (61,533) (31,600) (59,022) Non current liabilities Financial liabilities - Borrowings 8 (82,264) (33,555) - - - Derivative financial instruments - (55) - - Trade and other payables (312) - - - Deferred tax liabilities (1,172) (1,029) - - Provisions 9 (119,309) (121,778) - - Retirement benefit obligations 10 (120,495) (142,338) - - (323,552) (298,755) - - Net assets 244,119 149,988 441,624 414,202 Equity Capital and reserves Ordinary shares 1,566 1,485 1,566 1,485 Share premium 30,756 1,771 30,756 1,771 Revaluation reserve 141,040 141,040 - - Capital redemption reserve 257 257 257 257 Fair value reserve 112,342 40,668 - - (Deficit on) / retained earnings (41,842) (35,233) 409,045 410,689 Total equity 244,119 149,988 441,624 414,202 The financial statements on pages 1 to 15 were approved by the Board of Directors on 1 March 2007 and were signed on its behalf by: G R Spindler C Mawe Chief Executive Finance Director Cash Flow Statements for the year ended 31 December Group Group Company Company 2006 2005 2006 2005 £000 £000 £000 £000 Restated Cash flows from operating activities Profit/(loss) for the year 17,492 (32,893) (1,842) (22,878) Depreciation / impairment of property, - plant and equipment 45,577 52,030 - Net fair value appreciation in - investment properties (68,622) (40,668) - Net interest payable and amortisation of discount on provisions 10,115 8,376 2,654 3,750 Net charge for share based remuneration 198 173 198 173 Net capitalised surface mine development and restoration costs (5,382) (2,298) - - Profit on disposal of investment property (1,406) (2,746) - - Profit on disposal of operating property, plant and equipment (416) (463) - - Profit on sale of interests in businesses - (3,100) - - Decrease in provisions (36,246) (21,378) - - Tax 143 72 - 72 Operating cash flows before movements in working capital (38,547) (42,895) 1,010 (18,883) Decrease in stocks 5,527 2,004 - - Decrease / (increase) in receivables 18,797 (1,551) (30,847) 29,376 Decrease/(Increase) in payables (5,072) (2,376) 45,466 (45,967) Cash (used in)/generated from operations (19,295) (44,818) 15,629 (35,474) Tax paid - (72) - (72) Financing cost (1,028) (738) - - Interest paid (6,939) (5,744) (3,322) (4,276) Cash (used in)/generated from operating activities (27,262) (51,372) 12,307 (39,822) Cash flows from investing activities Interest received 2,261 2,992 668 526 Net receipt from insurance and subsidence security funds 9,915 3,075 - - Disposal of businesses - 8,844 - - Proceeds on disposal of property, plant and equipment 24,191 15,861 - - Investment in joint venture company (205) - - - Net purchase of shares in subsidiaries - - - (26) Development costs of investment properties (3,256) (8,082) - - Purchase of operating property, plant and equipment (33,312) (19,433) - - Cash (used in)/generated from investing activities (406) 3,257 668 500 Cash flows from financing activities Proceeds from issue of ordinary shares 29,067 1,672 29,067 1,672 Net drawdown of bank loans 8,829 63,464 (39,919) 39,275 Proceeds from new finance leases 359 4,939 - - Repayments of obligations under hire purchase and finance leases (7,964) (19,799) - - Dividends paid to shareholders - (1,483) - (1,483) Cash generated from financing activities 30,291 48,793 (10,852) 39,464 Increase in cash 2,623 678 2,123 142 At 1 January Cash 1,004 326 425 283 Cash equivalents 52,216 55,291 - - 53,220 55,617 425 283 Reduction in cash equivalents (net receipt from insurance and subsidence security funds) (9,915) (3,075) - - Increase in cash 2,623 678 2,123 142 45,928 53,220 2,548 425 At 31 December Cash 3,627 1,004 2,548 425 Cash equivalents 42,301 52,216 - - Cash and cash equivalents 45,928 53,220 2,548 425 MORE TO FOLLOW This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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