New World Resources Quarterly Coking Coal Price Falls 9%

Thu,October 27, 2011

Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- New World Resources Plc, the biggest Czech producer of coking coal, said the average agreed price for coking coal and coke delivery in the fourth quarter declined because of weaker European demand.

The price of coking coal fell 9 percent from the previous quarter to 171 euros ($239) per ton, the Amsterdam-based miner said today in a Regulatory News Service statement. Coke prices for the last three months of the year are seen at 341 euros a ton, down 13 percent from the previous quarter, the company said.

The thermal coal price for 2011 is unchanged at 71 euros a ton, the company said. The miner cut its 2011 coke sales estimate to between 525 and 575 kilotons, from a previous forecast of 720 kilotons.

The figures show continued weakness in coking coal prices and a decline in the price premium over Asian markets, Ceska Sporitelna AS analyst Petr Bartek wrote in a report to clients. The production mix of the company remains “weak,” wrote Bartek who recommends investors “accumulate” shares in the company.

NWR produces coking, or steelmaking, coal and thermal coal and owns four mines and two coking facilities in the Czech Republic. It sells coal to customers including the Czech unit of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker.

NWR, which reiterated its full-year production targets, fell 1.38 koruna, or less than 1 percent, to 143.62 in Prague trading as of 10:30 a.m.

(sourced Business Week)

Czech miner NWR sees coking coal price rise

Thu Feb 24, 2011 9:31am GMT

PRAGUE Feb 24 (Reuters) - Czech coal miner New World Resources (NWRSsp.PR: Quote) (NWRS.L: Quote) expects higher coking coal prices in the second quarter of the year, its chief financial officer said on Thursday.

"We expect that in the second quarter there will be a relatively significant growth in coking coal prices," Marek Jelinek said.

However, he also said he expected an increase in mining costs of around 10 percent this year as well as gradually increasing sales each quarter. (Reporting by Jan Korselt, writing by Jana Mlcochova,sourced:Reuters)

Poland could float coal miner JSW as early as May

Sunday, 30 Jan. 2011By Geoffrey T. Smith and Marynia Kruk
DAVOS, Switzerland (Dow Jones)--Poland could float state-owned Jastrzebska Spolka Weglowa SA, the European Union's largest coking coal miner, as early as May this year, though the structure of the stake sale is still to be determined, the undersecretary of the treasury, said Friday.

"We're testing various scenarios aiming to float sometime around May or June," Krzysztof Walenczak told Dow Jones Newswires during an interview at the annual World Economic Forum. The initial public offering of JSW could be the largest on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 2011, though analysts' valuations of the company vary widely, from six billion zlotys ($2.1 billion) to nearly PLN16 billion.

Coking coal has become a hot commodity lately, especially after floods in Australia's Queensland state hit output of the commodity which is mixed with iron ore in blast furnaces to produce steel. Australia provides about two-thirds of all seaborn coking coal.
Poland is in the midst of a privatization drive which is aiming to raise at least PLN15 billion from asset sales this year, after having raised PLN22 billion last year, according to the Treasury Ministry's website.

JSW's valuation could be buoyed by interest from a potential "natural" acquirer from across the border, Czech-based coking coal producer New World Resources (NWR.LN), Pawel Puchalski, an analyst at BZWBK in Warsaw, said Friday.
NWR, which already has two existing projects in Poland, launched a failed takeover bid for Lubelski Wegiel Bogdanka SA (LWB.WA), Poland's only listed coal miner, last year. The company has been able to seek acquisitions because of improved cash flow on soaring demand for coking coal by central European steel makers.

However, JSW's trade unions would likely oppose a bid by NWR. Analysts say JSW could cut about a third of its headcount if it upgraded the equipment it uses the way NWR has.
JSW's Chief Executive Jaroslaw Zagorowski was quoted as saying in state news agency PAP in early January that the listing could be worth between PLN3 billion and PLN5 billion, with the Treasury retaining a 51% stake and employees receiving shares.(sourced:Dow Jones Newswires)

NWR Says Quarterly Prices for Coke, Coking Coal Gain

Friday, Jan 28, 2011 By Lenka Ponikelska

New World Resources NV, a mining and coking company based in Amsterdam, said contract prices for first-quarter delivery of coke and coal increased.
The company agreed to deliver mostly semi-soft coking coal for an average price of 165 euros ($226) per metric ton, 7 percent up on the previous three months, it said today in a statement. Coke prices are up 1 percent, at 339 euros a ton.

Thermal coal prices are 13 percent higher than a year ago, at 71 euros a ton, the company said.
NWR said it fulfilled its overall coal production targets for 2010. A lower-than-expected proportion of coking coal in the sales mix affected 2010 revenue. The shortfall in coking coal production was partly offset by an increase in that of thermal coal, according to the statement.
The company expects to produce about 11 million tons of coal and 800 kilotons of coke in 2011, the company said, adding that external sales are likely to reach 10.3 million tons of coal and 720 kilotons of coke on 2011.

The company has the capacity to produce an extra 400 kilotons of coal this year, depending on market conditions, the company said.
NWR is due to publish fourth-quarter results on Feb. 24. (sourced : Bloomberg)