Walter Energy Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2012 Results

BIRMINGHAM, AL — (Marketwire) — 02/20/13 — Walter Energy Inc. (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 fourth quarter ended December 31, 2012 that reflect cost control initiatives, aggressive production management and disciplined capital spending, in light of significantly lower global pricing levels.

Revenues were $479 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, down from $703 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 primarily due to reduced demand and pricing for met coal. The realized price of met coal declined 39% compared with the fourth quarter of 2011. The Company reported a net loss for the quarter of $71 million or $1.13 loss per diluted share. This loss includes impairment and restructuring charges of $6.8 million primarily in connection with a reduction in spending at the Aberpergwm mine in the United Kingdom. Excluding these charges, adjusted net loss and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (adjusted EBITDA) for the quarter were $66 million and $7 million, respectively. Results for the quarter also included a $71 million tax benefit.

For the year, the Company recorded revenues of $2.4 billion and a net loss of $1.1 billion including impairment and restructuring charges of $1.1 billion. Excluding these charges, the Company–s adjusted net income was $31 million and adjusted EBITDA was $412 million.

During 2012, the Company

Achieved record metallurgical coal production of 11.7* million metric tons (MMTs)

Improved cash cost per ton of production of met coal by 6%

Enhanced liquidity and extended its debt maturities by issuing $500 million of senior notes due 2020

Improved the total reportable injury rate by 26% as compared with 2011

“Walter Energy made solid operational progress during 2012, in the face of challenging market conditions. We safely increased our production of met coal to a record 11.7* MMTs, strengthened our senior management team and put in place a highly competitive operating platform that reduced our cost of production,” said Walter Scheller, Chief Executive Officer. “In the fourth quarter, we responded to the lower pricing and demand environment by executing the strategy announced last quarter to reconfigure our Canadian operations in order to lower production and reduce costs. Further, we reduced spending at the Aberpergwm mine in the United Kingdom.”

Mr. Scheller continued, “Although there are clear signs of improving trends in global demand and pricing for met coal, our current outlook for 2013 remains cautious and we are focused on driving further efficiency in our business. We currently expect sales and production of met coal in 2013 to be in line with 2012. However, we are extremely well positioned to increase sales and production to capitalize on anticipated improvements in pricing and demand when market conditions warrant.”

In the fourth quarter of 2012, Walter Energy produced 2.5 MMTs of met coal, down from a record third quarter 2012 production of 3.3 MMTs but an increase from the 2.3 MMTs produced in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Hard coking coal production decreased to 2.0 MMTs in the fourth quarter 2012 as compared with 2.4 MMTs in the third quarter 2012 and 1.8 MMTs in the fourth quarter 2011. Fourth quarter pulverized coal injection (PCI) production of 476,000 metric tons (MTs) decreased 51%, as compared to the 963,000 MTs produced in the third quarter of 2012 and 3% from the 489,000 MTs produced in the fourth quarter 2011.

In 2012, Walter Energy sold 10.4 MMTs of met coal, up 19% from 8.7 MMTs of met coal sales in 2011. Fourth quarter 2012 met coal sales volume totaled 2.5 MMTs as compared with 2.6 MMTs sold in the third quarter 2012 and 2.4 MMTs sold in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Met coal prices averaged $149 per MT in the quarter, a decrease of 22% from the average of $191 per MT in the third quarter of 2012 and a 39% decrease as compared with the $242 per MT of the fourth quarter 2011.

The consolidated cash cost of sales for met coal was $135 per MT in the fourth quarter of 2012, as compared with $132 per MT in the third quarter of 2012 and $139 per MT in the fourth quarter of 2011.

In the U.S. operations, the cash cost of sales for met coal was $118 per MT in the fourth quarter of 2012 as compared with $119 per MT in the third quarter of 2012 and the fourth quarter of 2011.

In Canada, the cash costs of sales for met coal was $161 per MT in the fourth quarter of 2012, as compared with $166 per MT in the third quarter and $168 per MT in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The consolidated cash cost of production for met coal in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $95 per MT, a 20% improvement as compared with $119 per MT in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The cash cost of production for low-volatility hard coking coal improved to $74 per MT in the fourth quarter of 2012 from $77 per MT in the third quarter 2012 and $78 per MT in the fourth quarter of 2011. The cash cost of production for mid-volatility hard coking coal was $102 per MT in the fourth quarter of 2012 as compared with $95 per MT in the third quarter of 2012 and $113 per MT in the fourth quarter of 2011. The cash cost of production for low-volatility PCI was $125 per MT in the fourth quarter of 2012 as compared with $96 per MT in the third quarter of 2012 and $204 per MT in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The Company–s capital expenditures were $60 million for the fourth quarter 2012 and $392 million for the year, compared with $121 million and $415 million, respectively in the prior year periods. For 2013, the Company continues to expect capital expenditures of approximately $220 million.

At the end of 2012, available liquidity was $445 million, consisting of cash and cash equivalents of $117 million plus $328 million of availability under the Company–s $375 million revolving credit facility. During the quarter, the Company issued $500 million in senior notes due in 2020 to enhance liquidity and improve our debt maturity profile.

Walter Energy–s emphasis on safety continues to show results as the majority of locations are achieving lower total reportable injury rates. On a consolidated basis, Walter–s total reportable injury rate decreased by 26% in 2012 as compared with 2011.

During 2012, Walter Energy earned safety awards in Canada, West Virginia and in our Alabama operations including the Sentinels of Safety Award sponsored by the National Mining Association, the Edward Prior Safety Award from the Office of the Chief Inspector of Mines from the Ministry of Natural Resource Operations in British Columbia, Canada and a Surface Mine Reclamation Award co-sponsored by the West Virginia Coal Association and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

This release contains the use of certain U.S. non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) measures. These non-GAAP measures are provided as supplemental information for financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Management believes that these non-GAAP measures provide additional insights into the performance of the Company, and they reflect how management analyzes Company performance and compares that performance against other companies. These non GAAP measures may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other entities. A reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP measures is provided in the financial section of this release.

The Company will hold a webcast to discuss fourth quarter and full year 2012 results on Thursday, February 21, 2013, at 9 a.m. EST. 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, anthracite, metallurgical coke and coal bed methane gas. Walter Energy employs approximately 4,100 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: unfavorable economic, financial and business conditions; the global economic crisis; market conditions beyond our control; prolonged decline in the price of coal; decline in global coal or steel demand; prolonged or dramatic shortages or difficulties in coal production; our customer–s refusal to honor or renew contracts; our ability to collect payments from our customers; inherent risks in coal mining such as weather patterns and conditions affecting production, geological conditions, equipment failure and other operational risks associated with mining; title defects preventing us from (or resulting in additional costs for) mining our mineral interests; concentration of our mining operations in limited number of areas; a significant reduction of, or loss of purchases by, our largest customers; unavailability of cost-effective transportation for our coal; significant increase in competitive pressures and foreign currency fluctuations; significant cost increases and delays in the delivery of raw materials, mining equipment and purchased components; availability of adequate skilled employees and other labor relations matters; inaccuracies in our estimates of our coal reserves; greater than anticipated costs incurred for compliance with environmental liabilities or limitations on our abilities to produce or sell coal; our ability to attract and retain key personnel; future regulations that increase our costs or limit our ability to produce coal; new laws and regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that impact the demand for our coal reserves; adverse rulings in current or future litigation; inability to access needed capital; availability of licenses, permits, and other authorizations may be subject to challenges; risks associated with our reclamation and mine closure obligations; failure to meet project development and expansion targets; risks associated with operating in foreign jurisdictions; risks related to our indebtedness and our ability to generate cash for our financial obligations; downgrade in our credit rating; our ability to identify suitable acquisition candidates to promote growth; our ability to successfully integrate acquisitions; volatility in the price of our common stock; our ability to pay regular dividends to stockholders; costs related to our post-retirement benefit obligations and workers– compensation obligations; our exposure to litigation; and other risks and uncertainties including those described in our filings with the SEC. Forward-looking statements made by us in this release, or elsewhere, speak only as of the date on which the statements were made. You are advised to read the risk factors in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the SEC, which are available on our website at and on the SEC–s 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.

* Inclusive of an approximate 200,000 favorable impact from the re-alignment of methodology for accounting for production between the US and Canada performed in the second quarter 2012.”

Contact:
Paul Blalock
Vice President, Investor Relations
205.745.2627