Business
Preliminary FY07 Results
Preliminary FY07 Results.
About this update from Harworth Group Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n UK Coal PLC\n18 April 2008\n\n\n\n\n\n UK COAL PLC ('UK COAL')\n\n\n\n Preliminary Financial Results for Year Ended 31 December 2007\n\n\n\n Strong operating performance. Strong growth in profits. Strong outlook\n\n\n\nHighlights\n\n\n\n• Operating profit up 200% to £82.7m (2006: £27.6m )\n\n• Profit before tax up 292% to £69.0m (2006: £17.6m)\n\n• EPS up 412% to 59.9p (2006: 11.7p). Excluding tax credit, EPS up 276%\n to 44.0p (2006: 11.7p).\n\n• Net assets per share up 46% to £2.28 (2006: £1.56)\n\n• Average sales price per gigajoule up 15% to £1.62 (2006: £1.41)\n\n• Deep mines in operating profit in the second half of 2007\n\n o H1 operating loss before non-trading exceptional items of £24.7m\n\n o H2 operating profit before non-trading exceptional costs £10.1m\n\n• Major jump in surface mines' operating profit due to increased sites,\n output and selling prices\n\n o Operating profit £8.5m (2006: £0.5m)\n\n• Power generation operating profit up 39% to £4.3m (2006: £3.1m)\n\n• Further gains in property portfolio valuation reflecting long term\n potential\n\n o Like for like RICS portfolio valuation up 21% to £411m (2006: £344m)\n\n o Estimate of Project Worth in 2012 up 17% to £935m (2006: £800m)\n\n o Estimate of Project Worth in 2013 £1 bn\n\n o Planned developable acreage increased 40% to 3,696 acres\n\n• Year end gearing reduced to 23% (2006: 28%) reflecting substantial\n growth in net earnings\n\n\nDavid Jones, Chairman, said\n\n'UK COAL has delivered another year of substantial progress in all our\nbusinesses. Pre-tax profits grew almost fourfold to £69 million; earnings per\nshare increased 412% to 59.9 pence; and assets per share increased 46% to 228\npence. We have shown we have a strong growth platform, that we are effectively\nexecuting our strategy and that we have the potential to deliver further\nsubstantial value this year and beyond.\n\n'In mining, last year, the world coal price has almost doubled, we have\nsuccessfully moved our overall sales prices closer to the market price and we\nare progressively securing a balance of contracts at floating, capped and\ncollared, and fixed prices. This is significantly altering the underlying\neconomics of our mining operations and enabling us to invest in accessing more\nreserves in both our deep and surface mines. There will ...