U.K. Coal Slumps Most Since July After Reporting Third Loss

The results announced for 2010 for UK Coal plc highlight the dismal performance from this Company. Perhaps some more background information helps to explain why this is so. It now operates three deep mines. This division of the Company has been slimed down over the last decade, but the Company has not made a profit on this activity since 2000 and since then has accumulated losses of nearly £279m on this division. Its surface mining activity produces a much smaller volume of its coal, around 20%. During the same period this division has made a profit of just over £57m. What used to provide an area of profit for the Company which outweighed its losses from the deep mine coal division was its property development activities, but unfortunately since the Credit Crunch crisis this division has now produced losses for the last 3 years. All in all it’s possible to say that its losses for the last 2 years have been understated. In 2009 UK Coal raised nearly £100m of new capital in an equity issue. The money was meant to be used to invest in the deep mines, but now in the Preliminary Annual Report and Accounts we find the Chairperson now saying that in 2010 “The most notable was Daw Mill where, in early 2010, a four month face gap caused the Group to burn through the majority of the cash it had raised from its 2009 equity issue.” It seems that capital moneys were turned into revenue and that other investments were postponed. Then it sold land worth £24m in 2010, again converting capital into revenue, giving the bottom line a boost. In reality then, on its ongoing operations it seems that the losses were nearer to £248m in 2010 than the quoted figure of £125m. Then there is the issue of Generator Loans. UK Coal has entered into agreements with Generating Companies to borrow money and pay it back via special contracts. The 2010 balance sheet shows the value of these loans to be £74,670m and the interest total charged was £8.6m. This is equal to an interest rate of 11.5%, close to that quoted in the accounts (11% accrued interest). This will act as drag on profits at least until 2015. What this Company is good at producing, through its ongoing activities, are numerous clashes with local communities and planning authorities which are both time consuming and expensive for the Company. These are issues which the Company gives little attention too in its public statements, but help to explain some of the Company’s financial problems. These are some of the current examples Old Colliery Sites Rufford, Nottinghamshire Local residents have objected to plans by UK Coal to put an Incinerator on this site. The results of a Public Inquiry in to the issue are expected soon. Nth Selby, York Again objectors are opposing another Incinerator plan on what is a greenfield site. Recently a partner to the planning application, Science City York withdrew their support for the application and now York City council are proposing to serve an Enforcement Order on UK Coal plc to force them to restore the site to a greenfield site. Old and Current Surface Mine Sites Arkwright Village, Derbyshire Local residents have gained a court injunction stopping UK Coal proceeding with a plan to have an Anaerobic Digester plant on a site which they believe should be restored to woodland. Cutacre, Bolton Currently a surface mine site. Residents have long resisted plans to work this site stretching back to the 1990’s. More recently local people have become incensed at UK Coal’s proposed amendments to the restoration plans for the site which would reduce the area of the proposed Country Park and increase the size of the area allocated for commercial development. Huntington Lane, Telford, Shropshire Activists Against Climate Change still occupy part of this site which gained planning permission after a Public Inquiry in 2008 after the Company met fierce local opposition and opposition from Telford Council. Proposed Surface Mine / Opencast Sites UK Coal is proposing a series of new Opencast sites as follows: Bradley Co Durham Resisted by local opposition groups and rejected by Durham County Council in February 2011. UK Coal is now to Appeal. Minorca, Leicestershire This is opposed by local opposition groups including a District Council and 3 Parish Councils. A decision has yet to be made on this application Lodge House Extension, Derbyshire This is a proposal to extend the existing Lodge House site. The original Lodge House proposal was bitterly contested, leading to a Public Inquiry. This new proposal is also being objected to by local people Hoodsclose, Northumberland Again local people are objecting to the plan for an opencast mine near an area of outstanding natural beauty. Shortwoods Farm, Nottinghamshire UK Coal’s activities have again sparked locals into forming a protest group Pittington, Co Durham Even the mere threat of possibly having a potential opencast mine site area safeguarded on a local minerals plan was enough for a strong opposition group to form. Other conflicts with Local Authorities Forge and Monument, Derbyshire Derbyshire County Council had, it seems, to exert considerable pressure on UK Coal to honour its restoration commitments / conditions to carry out restoration work as part of gaining permission to surface mine this site. It is now given as a case example to Planning Officers on how to gain a developers ‘cooperation’ in getting them to honour planning conditions, See http://www.helm.org.uk/server/show/ConCaseStudy.160 Lounge, Leicestershire Leicestershire County Council had to threaten UK coal with Enforcement Action to gain their co-operation to start restoring this mineral site (the site had been granted temporary use as a coal distribution site in the 1980’s) to a greenfield site Evidence to back up some of these facts can be found in the following UK Coal: An Alternative Report, January 2010 @ http://www.leicestershirevillages.com/measham/mopg-reports.html C1) UK Coal’s Financial Situation, 3rd ed, January 2011 @ http://www.leicestershirevillages.com/measham/mopg-briefing-notes-series.html

The results announced for 2010 for UK Coal plc highlight the dismal performance from this Company. Perhaps some more background information helps to explain why this is so. It now operates three deep mines. This division of the Company has been slimed down over the last decade, but the Company has not made a profit on this activity since 2000 and since then has accumulated losses of nearly £279m on this division. Its surface mining activity produces a much smaller volume of its coal, around 20%. During the same period this division has made a profit of just over £57m. What used to provide an area of profit for the Company which outweighed its losses from the deep mine coal division was its property development activities, but unfortunately since the Credit Crunch crisis this division has now produced losses for the last 3 years. All in all it’s possible to say that its losses for the last 2 years have been understated. In 2009 UK Coal raised nearly £100m of new capital in an equity issue. The money was meant to be used to invest in the deep mines, but now in the Preliminary Annual Report and Accounts we find the Chairperson now saying that in 2010 “The most notable was Daw Mill where, in early 2010, a four month face gap caused the Group to burn through the majority of the cash it had raised from its 2009 equity issue.” It seems that capital moneys were turned into revenue and that other investments were postponed. Then it sold land worth £24m in 2010, again converting capital into revenue, giving the bottom line a boost. In reality then, on its ongoing operations it seems that the losses were nearer to £248m in 2010 than the quoted figure of £125m. Then there is the issue of Generator Loans. UK Coal has entered into agreements with Generating Companies to borrow money and pay it back via special contracts. The 2010 balance sheet shows the value of these loans to be £74,670m and the interest total charged was £8.6m. This is equal to an interest rate of 11.5%, close to that quoted in the accounts (11% accrued interest). This will act as drag on profits at least until 2015. What this Company is good at producing, through its ongoing activities, are numerous clashes with local communities and planning authorities which are both time consuming and expensive for the Company. These are issues which the Company gives little attention too in its public statements, but help to explain some of the Company’s financial problems. These are some of the current examples Old Colliery Sites Rufford, Nottinghamshire Local residents have objected to plans by UK Coal to put an Incinerator on this site. The results of a Public Inquiry in to the issue are expected soon. Nth Selby, York Again objectors are opposing another Incinerator plan on what is a greenfield site. Recently a partner to the planning application, Science City York withdrew their support for the application and now York City council are proposing to serve an Enforcement Order on UK Coal plc to force them to restore the site to a greenfield site. Old and Current Surface Mine Sites Arkwright Village, Derbyshire Local residents have gained a court injunction stopping UK Coal proceeding with a plan to have an Anaerobic Digester plant on a site which they believe should be restored to woodland. Cutacre, Bolton Currently a surface mine site. Residents have long resisted plans to work this site stretching back to the 1990’s. More recently local people have become incensed at UK Coal’s proposed amendments to the restoration plans for the site which would reduce the area of the proposed Country Park and increase the size of the area allocated for commercial development. Huntington Lane, Telford, Shropshire Activists Against Climate Change still occupy part of this site which gained planning permission after a Public Inquiry in 2008 after the Company met fierce local opposition and opposition from Telford Council. Proposed Surface Mine / Opencast Sites UK Coal is proposing a series of new Opencast sites as follows: Bradley Co Durham Resisted by local opposition groups and rejected by Durham County Council in February 2011. UK Coal is now to Appeal. Minorca, Leicestershire This is opposed by local opposition groups including a District Council and 3 Parish Councils. A decision has yet to be made on this application Lodge House Extension, Derbyshire This is a proposal to extend the existing Lodge House site. The original Lodge House proposal was bitterly contested, leading to a Public Inquiry. This new proposal is also being objected to by local people Hoodsclose, Northumberland Again local people are objecting to the plan for an opencast mine near an area of outstanding natural beauty. Shortwoods Farm, Nottinghamshire UK Coal’s activities have again sparked locals into forming a protest group Pittington, Co Durham Even the mere threat of possibly having a potential opencast mine site area safeguarded on a local minerals plan was enough for a strong opposition group to form. Other conflicts with Local Authorities Forge and Monument, Derbyshire Derbyshire County Council had, it seems, to exert considerable pressure on UK Coal to honour its restoration commitments / conditions to carry out restoration work as part of gaining permission to surface mine this site. It is now given as a case example to Planning Officers on how to gain a developers ‘cooperation’ in getting them to honour planning conditions, See http://www.helm.org.uk/server/show/ConCaseStudy.160 Lounge, Leicestershire Leicestershire County Council had to threaten UK coal with Enforcement Action to gain their co-operation to start restoring this mineral site (the site had been granted temporary use as a coal distribution site in the 1980’s) to a greenfield site Evidence to back up some of these facts can be found in the following UK Coal: An Alternative Report, January 2010 @ http://www.leicestershirevillages.com/measham/mopg-reports.html C1) UK Coal’s Financial Situation, 3rd ed, January 2011 @ http://www.leicestershirevillages.com/measham/mopg-briefing-notes-series.html