Walter Energy Announces Second Quarter 2011 Results

BIRMINGHAM, AL — (Marketwire) — 08/03/11 — (NYSE: WLT) (TSX: WLT), the world–s leading, publicly traded “pure play” producer of for the global steel industry, today announced net income of $107.4 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 compared to $116.2 million in the second quarter 2010. Diluted earnings per share of $1.71 in the second quarter 2011 compares to earnings of $2.16 in the same period last year. Results for the prior-year period exclude results from the Company–s Western Coal Corp. (“Western”) and North River Mine operations, as these were not acquired until the second quarter 2011. Western had operations in Canada, the United Kingdom and West Virginia. The North River Mine is located in Alabama.

The acquisitions completed in this quarter of Western and the North River Mine resulted in the allocations of cost to acquired property, mineral interests and inventories in amounts in excess of the historical cost value of these assets. Depreciation and depletion of these costs, and the costs included in acquired inventories sold during the quarter, net of tax, totaled $44.2 million, partially offset by a $15.0 million, net of tax, gain on the initial investment in Western in the first quarter 2011. Non-recurring costs associated with the acquisitions incurred during the quarter amounted to $11.8 million, net of tax. Adjusted net income was $148.4 million, or $2.36 per diluted share after excluding the above-described costs.

“Walter Energy continues to execute on its long-term strategic plan to grow its met coal production base, highlighted by the acquisition of Western in April and our execution of lease agreements on 68 million metric tons of Blue Creek coal reserves in May,” said Joe Leonard, interim chief executive officer. “Those initiatives are beginning to show positive results as we increased met coal sales to a record 2.7 million metric tons in the quarter, and we expect to grow total met coal sales volumes by an additional 50 percent by the end of 2013. In addition, we have further organic and bolt-on growth opportunities in our pipeline to continue increasing and diversifying our metallurgical coal production footprint over the course of this decade to carry on our outstanding track record of creating value for our shareholders.”

“During the quarter, we experienced difficult geology in Alabama and weather-related challenges at both our Alabama and Northeast British Columbia operations, which adversely affected production and sales results. We are putting these production issues behind us and expect to finish 2011 with second half met coal sales of approximately 5.9 million metric tons.”

Segment Presentation

The Company is reporting results in three segments. The U.S. Operations segment includes Walter Energy–s historical Underground Mining, Surface Mining and Walter Coke operating segments as well as the West Virginia mining operations acquired through the acquisition of Western on April 1, 2011 and, since May 7, 2011, the North River Mine. The Canadian and U.K. Operations segment includes mining operations in northeast British Columbia (Canada) and in South Wales (United Kingdom). These operations were also acquired through the acquisition of Western. The Other segment primarily includes corporate expenses.

Consolidated revenues for the second quarter 2011 totaled $773.0 million, an 88.3 percent increase over the prior-year period. Revenue improvements were generated primarily by the addition of the Canada, West Virginia, U.K. and North River operations, and higher average metallurgical coal pricing at the U.S. operations.

Operating income totaled $153.6 million for the quarter compared to $170.2 million in the prior-year period. Operating income was lower than in the prior year, primarily as a result of the one-time charges mentioned above and higher per ton production costs, partially offset by operating income from the Canada, West Virginia and U.K. operations.

EBITDA for the second quarter 2011 was $267.6 million, compared to $194.1 million in the second quarter 2010. EBITDA improved in the current period primarily as a result of higher earnings acquired through the acquisition of Western and a gain in the value of the initial stock investment in Western acquired by the Company on January 20, 2011.

Walter Energy sold a record 2.7 million metric tons of metallurgical coal compared to 1.5 million metric tons of metallurgical coal sold in the previous year. Total metallurgical coal production volumes improved 58.7 percent to 2.5 million metric tons compared to the second quarter 2010. The increases in sales and production were primarily the result of tons from the Canada, West Virginia and Wales operations.

U.S. Operations

The U.S. Operations segment reported revenues of $506.9 million in the second quarter 2011, compared to $410.0 million in the prior-year period. Operating income was $168.7 million, down $13.4 million from the prior-year period. Revenues were higher primarily due to the addition of the West Virginia and North River mining operations and higher average metallurgical coal selling prices, partially offset by lower sales volumes from the underground Alabama operations. Operating income was lower primarily due to higher cost per ton associated with lower metallurgical production volumes in Alabama and increased freight expense, partially offset by higher average metallurgical coal pricing.

Metallurgical coal sales volumes from the U.S. operations totaled 1.5 million metric tons in the second quarter 2011, essentially even with the prior-year period. Sales volumes in the current period were constrained by metallurgical coal availability resulting from production impacts related to a geological –squeeze– at Mine No. 7 and issues related to the April 27 Alabama tornadoes. Second quarter 2011 metallurgical coal sales prices at the U.S. operations averaged $236.37 per metric ton, up from $213.13 per metric ton in the prior-year period. Average pricing improvements were primarily the result of higher average second quarter contract pricing, partially offset by sales of 706,000 carryover tons with lower first quarter pricing in the current period. U.S. Operations produced 1.6 million metric tons of metallurgical coal in the quarter, up 4.7 percent from the second quarter 2010, as the addition of metallurgical coal production from West Virginia more than offset the impacts of production issues in Alabama. U.S. production costs were $75.16 per metric ton, up 13.2 percent from the second quarter 2010, primarily as a result of lower production volumes from the Alabama underground operations.

Canadian and U.K. Operations

The Company–s Canadian and U.K. Operations segment reported operating income of $12.4 million for the second quarter 2011 on revenues of $265.6 million. Operating income was adversely impacted by the purchase accounting adjustments described previously.

This segment sold 1.1 million metric tons of metallurgical coal in the second quarter 2011 at an average sales price of $231.54 per metric ton. The Canadian and U.K. Operations segment produced 0.9 million metric tons of metallurgical coal in the quarter at an average cost of $137.35 per metric ton. Challenging weather conditions and permit delays in Northeast British Columbia impacted sales and production volumes, as well as production costs, in the quarter. The permits have subsequently been received.

Other

The Other segment reported $15.6 million in higher operating losses from the prior-year period, primarily due to Western and North River acquisition costs.

Liquidity and Capital Expenditures

At June 30, 2011, the Company had available liquidity of approximately $424.0 million, consisting of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $134.2 million, plus $289.7 million available under the Company–s $375 million revolver.

Capital expenditures for the quarter were $92.1 million, compared to $30.7 million for the second quarter last year. The increase in capital spending in the second quarter was primarily related to the expansion of the Canadian operations, with $51.7 million in spending at the Canadian and U.K. operations and $13.9 million in additional spending at the U.S. operations compared to the prior year.

Business Outlook

The Company anticipates second half 2011 metallurgical coal sales of approximately 5.9 million metric tons. Going forward, the Company expects annual metallurgical coal sales volume to grow by approximately 50 percent by the end of 2013.

This release contains the use of certain non-GAAP (U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) measures such as “adjusted earnings per diluted share” and “adjusted net income” as well as EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization). 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.

Interim Chief Executive Officer Joe Leonard, President – U.S. Operations Walt Scheller, President – Canadian and U.K. Operations Neil Winkelmann, Chief Accounting Officer Robert Kerley and other members of the Company–s leadership team will discuss Walter Energy–s second quarter results, its outlook and other general business matters during a conference call and live Web cast to be held Thursday, August 4, 2011, at 9 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. To listen to the event live or in archive, visit the Company Web site at .

is the world–s leading, publicly traded “pure play” producer for the global steel industry. The Company also produces and , , and . The Company has strategic access to high-growth steel markets in Asia, South America and Europe. 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 the company website at .

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.

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