Felix said 2008-09 was its most profitable year by far, with NPAT of $267.6 million achieved during a period of extreme market volatility.
Reflecting the 2008 boom prices for coal, revenue increased 67.2% year-on-year to $755.6 million while the Australian producer’s share of coal sales from its portfolio of mines was up 3% year-on-year to a record 4.7 million tonnes.
Updating the prospective 13Mt per annum Moolarben project in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Felix said construction was on schedule with bulk earthworks nearing completion.
With the foundations for the coal handling and preparation plant at a well-advanced stage, steel erection will start in September.
More than 200 personnel are onsite and mining equipment is being assembled and commissioned to start overburden removal in early October.
The mine management team has been recruited and interviewing for mine plant operators has started.
The company estimated that 1000 contractors were working offsite on the design and fabrication of the CHPP.
First coal is still expected to be loaded for export in March next year with the completion of Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group’s new coal terminal at Newcastle.
Felix said the contracted export tonnage for Moolarben was now 3.43Mtpa but it expected some take-up for additional tonnage on spot markets for north Asian, Chinese and Indian power stations.
Stage 2 development approvals are being sought, which will give the operation an extra longwall mine and an open cut, taking the total to two longwall mines and four open cuts.
“It is expected to receive development consent and mining leases for stage 2 within this year,” Felix said.
“This will allow Moolarben to be taken up to 13 million tonnes per annum of product coal for export and domestic markets. At this level, approximately 8.8 million tonnes per annum will come from open cut mining and 4-4.2 million tonnes per annum from underground mining.”
Felix owns 80% of Moolarben.
In the financial year, Felix’s 60%-owned Ashton open cut and longwall operation achieved 3.14Mt of coal sales.
The steel market slump reduced shipments of metallurgical coal from both Ashton and Felix’s wholly owned Yarrabee mine in Queensland, but demand returned to normal by May, with deals made to customers in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China and India.
Felix said most customers agreed to carry over the tonnage not taken last year at the higher contract price.
Felix also made its first sales of Ashton coking coal into China and India in recent months.
At Yarrabee, Felix made 1.6Mt of coal sales while exploration yielded “significant coal intersections” south and east of the mine.
Improving pulverised coal injection coal sales, if maintained, have Felix expecting to keep its current expansion plans for the mine.
Felix aims to lift the JORC resources of the mine, while planning is underway to target 2.8Mtpa of production for a life of 20 to 30 years.
The company’s 51%-owned Minerva open cut mine in Queensland had 2.5Mt of coal sales for the recent financial year.
Felix said exploration at Minerva had uncovered a number of coal-bearing areas surrounding the mine, including a large underground resource at Athena to the north.
Drawing from current cash at bank of around $320 million, Felix’s board has declared a fully franked dividend of 50c per share payable on October 30 with the record date being October 15.
Another dividend of the same amount will be paid if Yanzhou Coal Mining’s $16.95 per share takeover of Felix is completed.
Felix’s board has approved the multi-billion dollar takeover but the transaction depends on a variety of approvals, with Felix expecting the deal to be complete by late December.
Shares in Felix are up 2c to $17.37 this morning.
