Bathurst Resources FY loss widens on investment to build Buller coal reserves

Thursday 15th September 2011

Bathurst Resources posted a wider full-year loss as the dual-listed coal miner acquired reserves and pursued resource consents and infrastructure for its Buller Coal Project on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island.

The net loss was A$13.5 million in the year ended June 30, from a loss of A$8.4 million a year earlier, the Perth-based company said in a statement. Revenue was A$8.8 million, up from A$99,000.

Bathurst, which began as an ASX-listed company in 2007 with an initial focus on mining thermal coal for power stations in the U.S. state of Kentucky, acquired the Buller Coal Project in November last year from L&M Coal and has since acquired adjacent coal resources. It now has potential reserves of 72.8 million tonnes around Buller, mainly high-quality coking coal suitable for steel mills.

The company will benefit from what analysts at UBS Securities called the project’s “low capital intensity” given its proximity to existing infrastructure including rail lines and its use of contractors.

In July, UBS estimated revenue would rise to A$14 million in 2012 and to A$148 million in 2013, the first year it expects the business to report a profit, at A$21 million. It estimates an EBIT margin of 21.3% in 2013.

The company has raised A$165 million in equity capital in the past 12 months and had cash of about A$87 million as at June 30. It also agreed to finance facilities, for up to US$50 million with Stemcor Australia and US$40 million with CITIC Resources Australia.

The NZX-listed shares were last at $1.12 and have gained 25% this year.

(BusinessDesk)

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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