Walter Energy Highlights Significant Progress on Plan to Deliver Value to Shareholders

Walter Energy, Inc. (NYSE: WLT) (TSX: WLT) today sent a letter to
investors highlighting the substantial steps underway to drive
performance and the Company′s concerns that the election of Audley
Capital′s director nominees would destroy shareholder value.

'Your leadership team has aggressively reduced costs (production and
SG&A) and capital spending, safely increased production with a focus on
profitability (including curtailing production at underperforming
mines), and extended our debt maturity profile and enhanced our
liquidity profile,? Michael T. Tokarz, chairman, and Walter J. Scheller
III, CEO and director, said in the letter. 'We recognize that there is
more work to be done and remain focused on continuing to execute our
strategic plan.

'We believe that electing the Audley slate would erode shareholder value
by installing director nominees selected to effect a flawed plan and
disrupt a strategy and a management team that is gaining momentum. . . .
The Board includes the right mix of new and experienced directors to
oversee the continued execution of our strategy and positioning of
Walter Energy for growth as coal demand and prices recover.?

The letter states that '[Julian] Treger has launched a proxy fight to
take effective control of Walter Energy without paying a premium and
without any evidence of a new plan or a team that will drive increased
shareholder value. Importantly, Mr. Treger has a track record of
disregard for Walter Energy shareholders and a history of problematic
actions that raise questions about his true agenda.? The letter also
advises that 'Audley′s proposals mostly consist of a restatement of
initiatives that your management has already been executing, along with
calls for changes that demonstrate a lack of even the most basic
understanding of our business.?

Text of April 4 letter from Messrs. Tokarz and Scheller to Walter Energy
shareholders:

Dear Fellow Walter Energy Shareholders:

On April 25th, at our Annual Meeting of Shareholders, you will be
presented with an important choice about your investment and the future
path of Walter Energy.

Your board and management team have taken meaningful steps to position
Walter Energy to deliver shareholder value. We have completed our
transformation into a focused, pure-play metallurgical coal company and
have installed a new, best-in-class management team that is driving
performance and gaining momentum.

Your leadership team has aggressively reduced costs (production and
SG&A) and capital spending, safely increased production with a focus on
profitability (including curtailing production at underperforming
mines), and extended our debt maturity profile and enhanced our
liquidity profile. We recognize that there is more work to be done and
remain focused on continuing to execute our strategic plan.

We also have further strengthened the Board to ensure we have the right
team to oversee execution of our strategy:

• 
  We have added 4 new directors over the past 2 years;
  
• 
  5 of our directors have financial, operational or director level
  experience at other mining companies;
  
• 
  7 have CEO or CFO-level experience at companies other than Walter
  Energy; and
  
• 
  9 of our 10 directors are independent, the other is our CEO
  

Moreover, like you, your directors and management are shareholders, and
we are as unhappy as you about the recent performance of our stock. The
down cycle of met coal prices has had a significant negative impact on
our stock price and on the stock prices of our peer group. In addition,
although our Western Coal acquisition added superior assets (both
geographically and strategically), we acknowledge that we faced numerous
operating and integration challenges just as coal pricing collapsed.
However, with the help of our strong, new team and after making some
tough decisions, those difficulties are being overcome and we are now
well positioned to deliver substantial value as met coal prices recover.

Notwithstanding this progress, Audley Capital, an activist offshore
hedge fund led by Julian Treger owning less than one-tenth of 1% of
Walter Energy, would like to take effective control of your Board and
change the Company's direction.

Mr. Treger has a history with Walter Energy, having made money at the
expense of other shareholders through a pump-and-dump scheme in 2011.
This time he has launched a proxy fight despite his minimal ownership,
an undisclosed side fee deal with another hedge fund and a consistent
pattern of hiding key facts, including insider trading charges and
factual inconsistencies concerning the employment records of his
nominees.

Even more important for Walter Energy shareholders, the only new aspects
of the platform that Mr. Treger offers are likely to destroy shareholder
value. He wants to force the Company to unwind our attractive coal
marketing arrangements, and sell or divest non-core assets and enter
into joint ventures at the trough of the commodity cycle. These policies
obviously would hurt profitability, yet he wants his nominees to push
for this flawed plan.

We believe that electing the Audley slate would erode shareholder value
by installing director nominees selected to effect a flawed plan and
disrupt a strategy and a management team that is gaining momentum. We
urge you to support the appointment of all ten
of the company's nominees as directors of the board by casting your
votes using the WHITE proxy card.

WALTER ENERGY′S TRACK RECORD, RECENT PERFORMANCE AND STRATEGY FOR
CREATING VALUE

Walter Energy has a track record of shareholder value focus. Over a five
year period starting in 2006, we successfully executed a number of
spin-offs, divestitures and strategic acquisitions to focus the Company
on high quality met coal production. Substantial share value was
unlocked -- during the period from 2006 until the peak of the coal
market in 2011, Walter Energy shareholders earned a 341% rate of return.

The Board also maintained a sharp focus on returning capital to
shareholders. Walter Energy increased its dividend per share more than
300% over the past 10 years. Notably, we have maintained our dividend
throughout the market down cycle.

Of course, we faced substantial headwinds when met coal prices
collapsed. Although our recent stock price declines were in line with
our peers, the bottom line is that shareholder returns declined and our
upward trend was interrupted.

The Board drove a number of strategic changes to address these
challenges. These decisions are already bearing fruit and will ensure
that Walter Energy captures substantial upside when the coal market
recovers. Specifically, we:

• Idled or curtailed underperforming mines to respond to reduced
  demand. Over the past 22 months, we idled the Aberpergwm,
  Gauley Eagle and Willow Creek mines, curtailed production at our Maple
  underground and Brule mines, and accelerated closure of our North
  River mine. When the market recovers, we will be able to resume
  production at mines such as Willow Creek, which has high quality met
  coal assets.
  
• Increased production capacity. Our met coal
  production increased 35% to nearly 12 million metric tons in 2012, and
  we have the capacity to increase production by 28% in 2013 as market
  conditions warrant.
  
• Acquired high quality, highly synergistic assets at attractive
  prices. In May 2011, we acquired mineral rights for the
  Blue Creek mine, which include ~75 million metric tons of met coal
  reserves with an estimated life of 40 to 45 years.
  
• Significantly reduced production costs. Total met cost
  of production per metric ton has been reduced by 21% from fourth
  quarter 2011 to the comparable 2012 quarter. And in Canada we have
  decreased the cost of production per metric ton by 45% at Wolverine,
  43% at Brule and 35% at Willow Creek.
  
• Significantly reduced SG&A. Walter Energy is #1 in
  SG&A cost reduction versus its coal peers. In addition, our SG&A
  reporting includes mine-level overhead costs, yet our SG&A is still
  among the lowest of our peers and the lowest of those companies of a
  comparable size. We are not satisfied with our leadership position --
  in 2012, we decreased SG&A by 19% year-over-year and we are targeting
  further reductions.
  
• Significantly reduced capital spending. Our 2013 capex
  target is $220 million, a 44% decrease from 2012. And even though we
  intend on further decreasing capital spending, we have maintained
  investments in our high-growth, high-margin operations, such as the
  Blue Creek Project.
  
• Strengthened the balance sheet and increased liquidity.
  The Walter Energy team has reduced its near-term maturities by $722MM
  and now has no substantial debt obligations due until 2015, ?and
  enhanced its liquidity by paying down ?its revolver and increasing the
  cash on its balance sheet. We have an attractive cost of debt, in-line
  with our peers, and have no need to raise additional capital (equity
  or otherwise) at this time. (We note that some of Audley′s value
  destructive proposals imply a need for raising additional capital.)
  
• Assembled best-in-class management team. Perhaps most
  importantly, we have empowered a new, experienced and deep management
  team that has been driving our recent progress.
  

In short, Walter Energy has the right plan to deliver value to
shareholders over the near and long term -- continue to reduce costs,
manage capital spending carefully, and adjust production as conditions
warrant to ensure profitability. The Board includes the right mix of new
and experienced directors to oversee the continued execution of our
strategy and positioning of Walter Energy for growth as coal demand and
prices recover. And, when prices do recover, we expect that our share
price and value will appreciate significantly, consistent with our
history as a pure-play met coal company.

THE AUDLEY PROXY FIGHT

Mr. Treger has launched a proxy fight to take effective control of
Walter Energy without paying a premium and without any evidence of a new
plan or a team that will drive increased shareholder value.

Importantly, Mr. Treger has a track record of disregard for Walter
Energy shareholders and a history of problematic actions that raise
questions about his true agenda:

1. Pump and dump strategy. In 2011, he sent a letter to
the Walter Energy Board calling for the Company′s sale and asking for a
response within the next three weeks. In the letter, Mr. Treger
indicated that the Company could be sold for twice its then trading
price and stated that the stock was undervalued and he knew of third
parties interested in acquiring the Company. The next morning, ?he
publicly disclosed the letter. To take advantage of the sharp increase
in our stock price following his disclosure, Audley immediately began
selling its Walter Energy shares, disposing of 300,000 shares ? 1/3 of
its total holdings -- ?within four days.

2. A troubling pattern of hiding problematic facts about his
deficient nominees.

• 
  Mr. Treger failed to disclose that one of his nominees was the subject
  of insider trading charges. When asked about his decision to hide this
  fact, he tried (incorrectly) to assert that the tipping and insider
  trading charges filed against Robert Stan were not 'a formal charge?
  and were 'immaterial.? Mr. Treger further said that he did not
  disclose these troubling charges because Mr. Stan had assured him that
  Mr. Stan would be 'exonerated.?
  
• 
  Edward Scholtz, another one of his nominees, ?asserted that he is a
  director of a company even though he is not listed on the company′s
  website, and that he acted as chief operating officer of another
  company from 2008 to 2012 even though that company′s disclosures state
  that the position was held by another individual during much of that
  period. When these misstatements and omissions were identified,
  Mr. Treger dismissed them defensively as 'obscure.?
  

We believe none of Audley′s nominees would create value for shareholders
and all of them are tethered to Audley's flawed plan. Our Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee carefully reviewed the Audley slate and
determined that, individually and collectively, they lack the
qualifications and experience to be suitable candidates for your Board.

3. Side deals. Audley's proxy includes vague disclosures
about fee arrangements with another hedge fund that would economically
benefit Mr. Treger and his firm -- and may incentivize him to 'shop? the
Company′s assets for his own gain. In fact, Audley may already be
pursuing this goal -- Mr. Treger implies that he may be pursuing joint
venture opportunities for the Company′s Blue Creek property, Wolverine
mine and Wales property.

Even more troubling for Walter Energy shareholders is Audley's failure
to provide a credible plan.

Audley's proposals mostly consist of a restatement of initiatives that
your management has already been executing, along with calls for changes
that demonstrate a lack of even the most basic understanding of our
business. For example, Audley calls for Walter Energy to initiate a
dividend, even though we have been paying dividends for 13 years, and
calls for us to disclose additional reserve information, even though a
comprehensive reserve statement, which adheres to regulatory guidelines,
was included in our annual SEC filings.

Audley does offer a few 'new' ideas; however, if implemented, each would
share a common feature -- all would destroy shareholder value.
Specifically, Audley proposes to:

• 
  Issue convertible debt and dilute existing shareholders, at a time
  when the shares are significantly undervalued and we have sufficient
  liquidity;
  
• 
  Raise off-balance sheet financing, which will reduce accounting
  transparency and unnecessarily raise funds when our capital position
  is sound;
  
• 
  Reopen our coal marketing arrangements, one of our crown jewels ('Walter′s
  marketing group is envied of much of the industry and knows extremely
  well where its high quality coal will earn the best return? -- Coal &
  Energy, Market Commentary Jim Thompson, 26-Mar-2013); and
  
• 
  Spin-off or sell non-core assets at the trough of the coal cycle.
  

For all of these reasons, the Audley plan is inferior to the Walter
Energy plan, is value destructive and is clearly not in the interests of
Walter Energy shareholders.

So why is Audley really pushing such a flawed and flimsy plan in support
of its proxy fight for effective control? Given that Audley owns such
few shares of Walter Energy, Mr. Treger stands to gain -- or lose --
relatively little by forcing his plan. It is not surprising that
questions have been raised about whether Audley has an undisclosed
financial plan to make money at the expense of Walter Energy
shareholders -- perhaps through side deals.

WALTER′S BOARD AND MANAGEMENT ARE SETTING THE STAGE FOR A PROFITABLE
FUTURE

Walter′s Board and management are aggressively positioning your Company
to benefit from the anticipated upturn in the met coal market, and we
are making significant progress.

Now is not the time to disrupt that work. Please vote for Walter
Energy′s ten nominees and make sure that your interests are protected as
your committed and energized Board continues to build and deliver value
for our shareholders, today and in the future.

Your vote is important in this election, and we urge you to vote TODAY
so that your voice is heard. To elect the Walter Energy Board′s
nominees, we encourage you to vote today by telephone, by Internet,
or by signing and dating the enclosed WHITE proxy card and returning it
in the postage-paid envelope provided. We also urge you to
discard all GOLD proxy cards sent to you by Mr. Treger or Audley Capital.

Sincerely,

Michael T. Tokarz, Chairman of the Board

Walter J. Scheller, III, Chief Executive Officer and Director

About Walter Energy

Walter Energy is the world's 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 and contractors with operations in the United States, Canada
and United Kingdom. For more information about Walter Energy, please
visit www.walterenergy.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

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 which 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 may result in an event of default
under one or more of our debt instruments; availability of licenses,
permits, and other authorizations 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 successfully
integrate acquisitions; 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 post-retirement 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 www.walterenergy.com
and on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
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.

Important Additional Information

On March 8, 2013, Walter Energy filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission ('SEC?), a definitive proxy statement (as it may be amended
or supplemented, the 'Proxy Statement?) concerning the proposals to be
presented at Walter Energy′s 2013 Annual Meeting of Stockholders in
connection with the solicitation of proxies from Walter Energy′s
stockholders. The Proxy Statement contains important information about
Walter Energy and the 2013 Annual Meeting. In addition, Walter Energy
files annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other
information with the SEC. INVESTORS AND STOCKHOLDERS ARE STRONGLY URGED
TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND ACCOMPANYING PROXY CARD AND OTHER
DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY BECAUSE
THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT WALTER ENERGY AND THE PROPOSALS
TO BE PRESENTED AT THE 2013 ANNUAL MEETING. These documents are
available free of charge at the SEC′s website (www.sec.gov)
or from Walter Energy at our investor relations website (www.investorrelations.walterenergy.com).
The contents of the websites referenced herein are not deemed to be
incorporated by reference into the Proxy Statement.

Certain Information Regarding Participants

Walter Energy, its directors and certain of its officers may be deemed
to be participants in the solicitation of Walter Energy′s stockholders
in connection with its 2013 Annual Meeting. Information regarding the
names, affiliations and direct and indirect interests (by security
holdings or otherwise) of these persons is found in the Proxy Statement
for the 2013 Annual Meeting, which is filed with the SEC. Additional
information regarding these persons can also be found in other documents
filed by Walter Energy with the SEC. Stockholders are able to obtain a
free copy of the Proxy Statement and other documents filed by Walter
Energy with the SEC from the sources listed above.

For media:

Ruth Pachman, 212-521-4891

ruth-pachman@kekst.com

or

For
investors:

Mark Tubb, 205-745-2627

mark.tubb@walterenergy.com