Demand down but prices still high says UK Coal
LOWER demand for electricity and an “imbalanced” coal market may have affected sales but UK Coal has achieved high prices.
The Doncaster-based coal producer and property group, which successfully raised £100m in a share-raising earlier this month, said today that the average sales price for the third quarter was £2.06/GJ compared to £2.31/GJ for the same period 2008, which had benefited from “very” high market prices.
Group revenue for the quarter ending September was £95m down from £119m for quarter three last year.
Revenue to date is around £255m compared to £292m for the same period.
UK Coal said that development programmes at three ongoing mines remained on track with new faces set to start at Daw Mill, Kellingley and Thoresby early next year.
It said the new faces were in line with its strategy to increase productivity and reduce the uncertainty of output.
Production on the final panel to be worked at Welbeck started in September and will be completed in the first quarter of next year when the mine is expected to close.
Deep mines output in the third quarter was the same as the prior year at 1.5 million tonnes and 4.4 million tonnes in the year-to-date.
Surface mine operations output in the third quarter was in line with the same quarter last year at 0.3 million tonnes.
September year-to-date production was 1.0 million tonnes – slightly up from last year (1.2 million tonnes).
Planning permission has now been given to mine 0.9 million tonnes of coal and 0.25 million tonnes of fireclay. UK Coal is still awaiting determination of applications for three further sites with 2.8 million tonnes of coal.
UK Coal said the firm remained on track to achieve production levels.
On the property front, UK Coal has submitted planning applications for around 400 houses at North Gawber, Barnsley, and around 1,000 homes and more than 3,200 sq metres of retail space on part of the Harworth, North Nottinghamshire, deep mine site.
The latter application also allows for approximately 76,500 sq metres of space for employment uses should the decision be taken in future not to reopen the colliery.
Planning permission has been granted for around 300 homes at Bolsover, Derbyshire and Blyth, Northumberland.
It said in a statement: “We continue making progress on representations bringing forward sites through local and regional planning frameworks to secure our medium and long term project pipeline.
“The property market remains in its early stages of recovery and we are well placed to capitalise on opportunities arising as market activity returns.
