Walter Energy Announces Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2011 Results

BIRMINGHAM, AL — (Marketwire) — 02/21/12 — (NYSE: WLT) (TSX: WLT)

(NYSE: WLT) (TSX: WLT), the world–s leading, publicly traded pure-play producer of metallurgical (met) coal for the global steel industry, today announced results for the year and quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011. Summary highlights below.

“Walter Energy delivered solid growth in 2011 growing revenue by almost $1 billion and earning a record EBITDA of $822 million,” said Walt Scheller, Chief Executive Officer. “We completed a major met coal acquisition of Western Coal, which is contributing to significant sales growth, greater global diversification and the broadening of our portfolio of mining assets. For 2012, we remain well-positioned to achieve record met coal production, and we are on target for 11.5 – 13.0 MMTs comprised of approximately 75% hard coking coal and 25% PCI. We expect more than one-third of the increase to come from Mine No. 7, just under one-third to come from our other U.S. operations, and approximately one-third to come from our Canadian operations. Longer term, our development portfolio for new met coal projects is strong and should continue to make Walter Energy one of the largest and most profitable (measured by profit per ton) producers of met coal in the world.”

Sales of hard coking coal (HCC) were 1.9 MMTs in the fourth quarter of 2011, up 18% from 1.6 MMTs in the third quarter 2011. The average net selling price for HCC was $244/MT, as compared with $263/MT in the third quarter 2011. Average cash costs for HCC were $132/MT, the same as in third quarter 2011. In the fourth quarter 2011, cash margins for HCC were $112/MT.

Sales of low-volatility pulverized coal injection (low-vol PCI) were 523 thousand MTs in the fourth quarter 2011 and 562 thousand MTs in the third quarter. The average net selling price for PCI was $212/MT in the fourth quarter 2011 and $209/MT in the third quarter 2011. Average cash costs for PCI were $165/MT in the fourth quarter and $143/MT in the third quarter 2011. In the fourth quarter 2011, cash margins for PCI were $47/MT.

For the full-year 2011, revenues were $2,571 million, a $983 million increase, or 62% over 2010 revenues of $1,588 million and were driven largely by the Western Coal acquisition. EBITDA was $822 million in 2011, up $129 million, or 19% from 2010 EBITDA of $693 million. The improvement in both revenue and EBITDA was largely due to the acquisition of Western Coal and more favorable pricing for HCC year over year.

Operating income for 2011 was $559 million and net income was $349 million, or $5.76 per diluted share. Operating income for 2010 was $594 million and net income was $386 million, or $7.18 per diluted share. The decreases are largely due to the acquisition of Western Coal and the related issuance of additional shares. The average number of shares outstanding was 60.6 million in 2011 and 53.7 million in 2010.

Revenues for the fourth quarter 2011 were $700 million, a $299 million increase, or 75% over fourth quarter 2010 revenues of $401 million. EBITDA was $207 million in the fourth quarter 2011, an increase of $36 million, or 21% over fourth quarter 2010 EBITDA of $171 million.

Operating income for the fourth quarter 2011 was $137 million and net income was $84 million, or $1.34 per diluted share. The average number of shares outstanding for the quarter was 62.7 million.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company had available liquidity of approximately $422 million, consisting of cash and cash equivalents of $128 million plus $294 million available under the Company–s $375 million credit revolver. Capital expenditures for the fourth quarter 2011 were $121 million and for the year 2011 were $415 million.

The Company currently anticipates full-year 2012 met coal production will be between 11.5 MMTs and 13.0 MMTs of which approximately 75% will be HCC and 25% will be low-vol PCI.

In May 2011, Walter Energy completed the execution of mineral leases for approximately 75 million tons of recoverable Blue Creek coking coal reserves. The transaction captured an integral portion of the last remaining block of Blue Creek coal and paves the way for a strategic opportunity to assemble 170 million tons of high quality coking coal and the development of a new underground mine.

The Company reduced its total reportable injury rate by 15% as compared with Walter Energy and Western Coal pro forma 2011 and 2010 rates. This reduction is the result of our commitment to improve employee health and safety and a workforce dedicated to a safety culture. Our aggressive commitment to safety continues in our 2012 goal to further reduce accidents and citations by 20%.

In May 2011, Walter Energy contributed $1 million to aid the victims of the April 27 tornadoes in central and west central Alabama of which $750,000 went to the American Red Cross and an additional $250,000 went to Alabama Governor Robert Bentley–s Emergency Relief Fund.

The Company is also pleased to announce that it recently received the Surface Mine Reclamation Award 2011 at the 39th Annual West Virginia Coal Association Mining Symposium for its Lower Muddlety Nos. 1 and 2 Surface Mines in Nicholas County, West Virginia, for excellence in design, operation and reclamation of a surface mining operation.

This release contains the use of certain U.S. non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) measures such as “adjusted earnings per diluted share” and “adjusted net income” as well as EBITDA. These non-GAAP measures are provided as supplemental to, and not as replacement of, nor equal to, financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Management feels that these non-GAAP measures provide additional insights into the performance of the Company that they believe are helpful to investors and they reflect how management analyzes Company performance and compares that performance against other companies. A reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP measures is provided in the financial section of this release.

The Company will hold a conference call webcast to discuss fourth quarter and full-year 2011 results on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012, at 11 a.m. ET. To listen to the live event, visit .

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 and industrial coal, anthracite, metallurgical coke and coal bed methane gas. Walter Energy employs approximately 4,400 employees and contractors with operations in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom. For more information about Walter Energy, please visit .

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: the market demand for coal, coke and natural gas as well as changes in pricing and costs; the availability of raw material, labor, equipment and transportation; changes in weather and geologic conditions; changes in extraction costs, pricing and assumptions and projections concerning reserves in our mining operations; changes in customer orders; pricing actions by our competitors, customers, suppliers and contractors; changes in governmental policies and laws, including with respect to safety enhancements and environmental initiatives; availability and costs of credit, surety bonds and letters of credit; and changes in general economic conditions. Forward-looking statements made by us in this release, or elsewhere, speak only as of the date on which the statements were made. See also the “Risk Factors” in our 2010 Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the SEC, which are currently available on our website at . 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.

Paul Blalock
Vice President, Investor Relations
205.745.2627