Corsa Reports Second Quarter and First Half 2014 Financial Results

TORONTO, Aug. 27, 2014 /CNW/ - Corsa Coal Corp. (TSXV: CSO) ("Corsa" or the "Company") reports financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014. The Company has filed its unaudited Condensed Interim Consolidated Financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013 and related Management's Discussion and Analysis on www.sedar.com and has posted these documents to its website www.corsacoal.com.

All amounts are in United States dollars. References to "Second Quarter 2014" means the three months ended June 30, 2014 and to "First Half 2014" means the six months ended June 30, 2014.

Financial Highlights

Operations Highlights

• Completed the acquisition of PBS Coals Limited ("PBS") on August 19, 2014. See the Corsa news release titled "Corsa Announces Completion of Acquisition of PBS Coals" dated August 20, 2014 and the recent investor presentation uploaded to the Corsa website.
• Sales of 315,000 tons of coal in Second Quarter 2014 and 582,000 tons in First Half 2014.
• Sales guidance of 1,700,000 tons of coal for the year ended December 31, 2014, including additional tons as a result of the PBS Transaction. See "Outlook".
• Increased production from the Casselman Mine as a result of the start-up of a continuous haulage system in January 2014 and the recent addition of a second unit of production.

Operating Results: Overview

All dollar amounts are presented in thousands of dollars.

Outlook

The Company's coal sales guidance for 2014 is approximately 1,700,000 tons. This consists of thermal coal sales guidance of approximately 870,000 tons and metallurgical coal sales guidance of approximately 830,000 tons with 430,000 tons expected to be sold as a result of the acquisition of PBS. See "PBS Transaction" in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 for further details.

Metallurgical Coal

In order to make a strong and stable coke for production of steel, low volatile coal is a necessary ingredient in the sensitive coal blend required. Unlike high volatile coal, low volatile metallurgical coal is a regionally scarce commodity. Wilson Creek's metallurgical reserve base consists entirely of premium rank low volatile coal. This unique quality gives the Company's metallurgical coal product a secure place in the domestic and seaborne trade.

During 2013, the Company was able to demonstrate the value of its metallurgical coal to domestic and international steel producers. As a result of the positive quality and reliability of its metallurgical coal, the Company has been awarded supply agreements for 2014 and beyond. In First Half 2014, metallurgical coal sales were 138,000 tons. The metallurgical coal sales guidance for the second half of 2014 is approximately 692,000, from the newly formed combination of PBS and Wilson Creek, all of which have been contracted. The Company also has sales contracts for 150,000 tons in 2015 and 38,000 tons in 2016, with further updates to come on 2015 volumes after the upcoming 2015 sales season.

Through the acquisition of PBS, the Company gained access to a significant new customer base which has sales contracted with both domestic and international steel producers. This has further diversified the Company's customer base. Corsa has historically made sales of metallurgical coal to some of PBS' customers but a significant portion of the sales contracts acquired as part of the PBS Transaction are new customers to the Corsa group. The Company is working with its new customers and internally to ensure a seamless transition for the delivery of the contracted sales of PBS and will continue to support a reliable supply of metallurgical coal in the future.  A significant portion of the domestic and international metallurgical coal production is being produced at a loss, a situation that most view as unsustainable.  Producers have responded to these conditions and have increasingly shown supply discipline, cutting approximately 20 million metric tonnes of production so far this year. 

Thermal Coal

In First Half 2014, the Company was able to actively participate in the spot market and has also scheduled spot orders for deliveries in the second half of 2014. Total sales of thermal coal in the First Half 2014 amounted to 444,000 tons. The Company is also aware of several utilities, which consume the Company's thermal coal product, in the market securing tons for the second half of 2014 and into calendar 2015. While the thermal coal market continued to stabilize in First Half 2014, the Company has been successful in maintaining a high level of contracted sales for the future. The thermal coal sales guidance for second half of 2014 is approximately 426,000 tons, all of which has been contracted by the Company. The Company also has sales contracts in place for 500,000 tons in 2015 and 500,000 tons in 2016. The Company continues to actively market coal to domestic utilities and industries.

Non-GAAP Measures

Management uses Adjusted EBITDA as an internal measurement of operating performance for the Company's mining and processing operations. Management believes this non-GAAP measure provides useful information for investors as they provide information in addition to the GAAP measures to assist in their evaluation of the operating performance of the Company. Reference is made to the Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 for a reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to GAAP measures.

Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis

Refer to the Company's unaudited Condensed Interim Consolidated Financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013 and related Management's Discussion and Analysis, filed on www.sedar.com and has posted to Corsa's website www.corsacoal.com, for the details of the financial performance of the Company and the matters referred to in this release.

Caution

The estimated coal sales, projected market conditions and potential development disclosed in this news release are considered to be forward looking information. Readers are cautioned that actual results may vary from this forward looking information. Actual sales are subject to variation based on a number of risks and other factors referred to under the heading "Forward-Looking Statements" below as well as demand and sales orders received.

Information about Corsa

Corsa's primary business is the mining, processing and selling of thermal and metallurgical coal, as well as actively exploring,   acquiring   and   developing   resource   properties consistent with its coal business.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this press release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" under applicable securities laws. Except for statements of historical fact, certain information contained herein relating to projected sales for the year ended December 31, 2014, including price and demand, constitutes forward-looking statements which include management's assessment of future plans and operations and are based on current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs, which may prove to be incorrect. Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "estimates", "expects" "anticipates", "believes", "projects", "plans", "outlook", "capacity" and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause the Company's actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: risks that the actual production or sales for the 2014 fiscal year will be less than projected production or sales for these periods; risks that the prices for coal sales will be less than projected or expected; liabilities inherent in coal mine development and production including restarting idled mines; geological, mining and processing technical problems; inability to obtain required mine licenses, mine permits and regulatory approvals or renewals required in connection with the mining and processing of coal; risks that the Company's coal preparation plant will not operate at production capacity during the relevant period, unexpected changes in coal quality and specification; variations in the coal mine or coal preparation plant recovery rates; dependence on third party coal transportation systems; competition for, among other things, capital, acquisitions of reserves, undeveloped lands and skilled personnel; incorrect assessments of the value of acquisitions; changes in commodity prices and exchange rates; changes in the regulations with respect to the use, mining and processing of coal; changes in regulations on refuse disposal; the effects of competition and pricing pressures in the coal market; the oversupply of, or lack of demand for, coal; inability of management to secure coal sales or third party purchase contracts; currency and interest rate fluctuations; various events which could disrupt operations and/or the transportation of coal products, including labour stoppages and severe weather conditions; the demand for and availability of rail, port and other transportation services; the ability to purchase third party coal for processing and delivery under purchase agreements; and management's ability to anticipate and manage the foregoing factors and risks. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this press release are based on certain assumptions regarding, among other things, coal sales being consistent with expectations; future prices for coal; future currency and exchange rates; the Company's ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations and access capital markets to meet its future obligations; the regulatory framework representing royalties, taxes and environmental matters where the Company conducts business; coal production levels; the Company's ability to retain qualified staff and equipment in a cost-efficient manner to meet its demand; and the Company being able to execute its program of operational improvement and initiative to realize cost synergies following the PBS Transaction.. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release unless required by law. The statements as to the Company's capacity to produce coal are no assurance that it will achieve these levels of production or that it will be able to achieve these sales levels.

The TSX Venture Exchange has in no way passed on the merits of this news release.  Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Corsa Coal Corp.