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EX-31.1 - CERTIFICATION - James River Coal COjrcc_10q-ex3101.htm



UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q
(Mark One)
 
[X]
QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2011
OR

[_]
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from __________________ to __________________

Commission File Number  000-51129                          
 
 
JAMES RIVER COAL COMPANY
 
Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Virginia
 
54-1602012
(State or other jurisdiction
 
(I.R.S. Employer
of incorporation or organization)
 
Identification No.)
    
   
901 E. Byrd Street, Suite 1600
   
Richmond, Virginia
 
23219
(Address of principal executive offices)
 
(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:  (804) 780-3000

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Yes    ý             No    o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

Yes    ý             No    o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer o
Accelerated filer  ý
Non-accelerated filer (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)  o
Smaller reporting company  o
   
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes    o             No    ý
The number of shares of the registrant’s Common Stock, par value $.01 per share, outstanding as of July 22, 2011 was 35,598,065.
 



 
 
 

 

FORM 10-Q INDEX

   
Page
PART I      FINANCIAL INFORMATION
3
     
Item 1.
Financial Statements.
3
     
 
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010
3
     
 
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010
4
     
 
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010
5
     
 
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity and Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the six months ended June 30, 2011 and the year ended December 31, 2010
6
     
 
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010
7
     
 
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
8
     
Item 2.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
18 
     
Item 3.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk.
34 
     
Item 4.
Controls and Procedures.
34
     
PART II     OTHER INFORMATION
 
     
Item 1.
Legal Proceedings.
35
     
Item 1A.
Risk Factors.
35
     
Item 2.
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds.
48
     
Item 3.
Defaults Upon Senior Securities.
48
     
Item 5.
Other Information.
48
     
Item 6.
Exhibits.
52
     
 
SIGNATURES
52


 
2

 


PART I                                      FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1.  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JAMES RIVER COAL COMPANY
AND SUBSIDIARIES

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands)
 
 
   
June 30, 2011
   
December 31, 2010
 
Assets
 
(unaudited)
       
Current assets:
           
Cash and cash equivalents
  $ 204,683       180,376  
Trade receivables
    138,032       59,970  
Inventories:
               
Coal
    48,600       23,305  
Materials and supplies
    17,754       13,690  
Total inventories
    66,354       36,995  
Prepaid royalties
    6,387       6,039  
Other current assets
    14,313       5,991  
Total current assets
    429,769       289,371  
Property, plant, and equipment, net
    889,982       385,652  
Goodwill
    26,492       26,492  
Restricted cash and short term investments (note 1)
    29,510       23,500  
Other assets
    52,370       59,554  
Total assets
  $ 1,428,123       784,569  
                 
Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity
               
Current liabilities:
               
Accounts payable
  $ 126,214       57,300  
Accrued salaries, wages, and employee benefits
    13,473       7,744  
Workers' compensation benefits
    9,000       9,000  
Black lung benefits
    2,282       2,282  
Accrued taxes
    8,401       4,924  
Other current liabilities
    22,476       16,496  
Total current liabilities
    181,846       97,746  
Long-term debt, less current maturities
    575,205       284,022  
Other liabilities:
               
Noncurrent portion of workers' compensation benefits
    57,881       55,944  
Noncurrent portion of black lung benefits
    45,040       43,443  
Pension obligations
    10,602       11,968  
Asset retirement obligations
    96,776       43,398  
Other
    7,298       665  
Total other liabilities
    217,597       155,418  
Total liabilities
    974,648       537,186  
Commitments and contingencies (note 6)
               
Shareholders' equity:
               
Preferred stock, $1.00 par value.  Authorized 10,000,000 shares
    -       -  
Common stock, $.01 par value.  Authorized 100,000,000 shares; issued and outstanding 35,598,065 and 27,779,351 shares as of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010
    356       278  
Paid-in-capital
    537,211       324,705  
Accumulated deficit
    (65,408 )     (58,593 )
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
    (18,684 )     (19,007 )
Total shareholders' equity
    453,475       247,383  
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity
  $ 1,428,123       784,569  
 
See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.
 
 
3

 

JAMES RIVER COAL COMPANY
AND SUBSIDIARIES

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except per share data)
(unaudited)
 
   
Three Months
   
Three Months
 
   
Ended
   
Ended
 
   
June 30, 2011
   
June 30, 2010
 
Revenues
           
Coal sales revenue
  $ 328,182       182,550  
Freight and handling revenue
    23,855       495  
Total revenue
    352,037       183,045  
Cost of sales:
               
Cost of coal sold
    264,108       128,243  
Freight and handling costs
    23,855       495  
Depreciation, depletion and amortization
    28,210       16,209  
Total cost of sales
    316,173       144,947  
Gross profit
    35,864       38,098  
Selling, general and administrative expenses
    14,811       9,823  
Acquisition costs (note 2)
    3,859       -  
Total operating income
    17,194       28,275  
Interest expense
    15,607       7,455  
Interest income
    (128 )     (12 )
Charges associated with repayment of debt
    740       -  
Miscellaneous (income) expense, net
    (181 )     238  
Total other expense, net
    16,038       7,681  
Income before income taxes
    1,156       20,594  
Income tax expense
    367       744  
Net income
  $ 789       19,850  
Earnings per common share (note 7)
               
Basic earnings per common share
  $ 0.02       0.72  
Diluted earnings per common share
  $ 0.02       0.71  
                 
 
See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.


 
4

 

JAMES RIVER COAL COMPANY
AND SUBSIDIARIES

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except per share data)
(unaudited)
 
   
Six Months
   
Six Months
 
   
Ended
   
Ended
 
   
June 30, 2011
   
June 30, 2010
 
Revenues
           
Coal sales revenue
  $ 492,037       366,569  
Freight and handling revenue
    24,582       1,077  
Total revenue
    516,619       367,646  
Cost of sales:
               
Cost of coal sold
    396,927       256,978  
Freight and handling costs
    24,582       1,077  
Depreciation, depletion and amortization
    44,245       32,567  
Total cost of sales
    465,754       290,622  
Gross profit
    50,865       77,024  
Selling, general and administrative expenses
    24,181       19,142  
Acquisition costs (note 2)
    8,504       -  
Total operating income
    18,180       57,882  
Interest expense
    23,458       14,836  
Interest income
    (183 )     (16 )
Charges associated with repayment of debt
    740       -  
Miscellaneous (income) expense, net
    (302 )     196  
Total other expense, net
    23,713       15,016  
Income (loss) before income taxes
    (5,533 )     42,866  
Income tax (benefit) expense
    1,282       (229 )
Net income (loss)
  $ (6,815 )     43,095  
Earnings (loss) per common share (note 7)
               
Basic earnings (loss) per common share
  $ (0.22 )     1.56  
Diluted earnings (loss) per common share
  $ (0.22 )     1.56  
                 
 
See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.


 
5

 

JAMES RIVER COAL COMPANY
AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Changes in Shareholders’
Equity and Comprehensive Income (Loss)
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
 
   
Common
stock
 shares
   
Common
stock par
value
   
Paid-in-
capital
   
Retained
earnings (accumulated deficit)
   
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)
   
Total
 
Balances, December 31, 2009
    27,545     $ 275       320,079       (136,758 )     (13,254 )     170,342  
Net income
    -       -       -       78,165       -       78,165  
Amortization of pension actuarial amount
    -       -       -       -       783       783  
Amortization of black lung actuarial amount
    -       -       -       -       412       412  
Black lung obligation adjustment
    -       -       -       -       (10,320 )     (10,320 )
Pension liability adjustment
    -       -       -       -       (168 )     (168 )
Tax impact of adjustments to accumulated other comprehensive loss
    -       -       -       -       3,540       3,540  
Comprehensive income
                                            72,412  
Issuance of restricted stock awards, net of forfeitures
    284       3       (3 )     -       -       -  
Repurchase of shares for tax withholding
    (55 )     -       (844 )     -       -       (844 )
Exercise of stock options
    5       -       73       -       -       73  
Stock based compensation
    -       -       5,400       -       -       5,400  
Balances, December 31, 2010
    27,779       278       324,705       (58,593 )     (19,007 )     247,383  
Net loss
    -       -       -       (6,815 )     -       (6,815 )
Amortization of pension actuarial amount
    -       -       -       -       395       395  
Amortization of black lung actuarial amount
    -       -       -       -       284       284  
Tax impact of adjustments to accumulated other comprehensive loss
    -       -       -       -       (356 )     (356 )
Comprehensive loss
                                            (6,492 )
Issuance of common stock, net of offering costs of $9,171
    7,648       76       170,469       -       -       170,545  
Equity component of convertible debt offering, net of offering costs of $2,117 and deferred taxes of $25,974
    -       -       40,627       -       -       40,627  
Issuance of restricted stock awards, net of forfeitures
    230       2       (2 )     -       -       -  
Repurchase of shares for tax withholding
    (59 )     -       (1,236 )     -       -       (1,236 )
Stock based compensation
    -       -       2,648       -       -       2,648  
Balances, June 30, 2011
    35,598     $ 356       537,211       (65,408 )     (18,684 )     453,475  
 
 
See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 
6

 

JAMES RIVER COAL COMPANY
AND SUBSIDIARIES

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
 
   
Six Months
   
Six Months
 
   
Ended
   
Ended
 
   
June 30,
   
June 30,
 
   
2011
   
2010
 
Cash flows from operating activities:
           
Net income  (loss)
  $ (6,815 )     43,095  
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities
               
Depreciation, depletion, and amortization
    44,245       32,567  
Accretion of asset retirement obligations
    1,975       1,642  
Amortization of debt discount and issue costs
    6,383       3,935  
Stock-based compensation
    2,648       2,870  
Deferred income tax expense
    2,236       -  
Loss on sale or disposal of property, plant and equipment
    -       318  
Write-off of deferred financing costs
    740       -  
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
               
Receivables
    38,568       (15,588 )
Inventories
    (10,156 )     4,538  
Prepaid royalties and other current assets
    (878 )     991  
Restricted cash
    (6,010 )     47,042  
Other assets
    (4,991 )     (830 )
Accounts payable
    12,512       (7,061 )
Accrued salaries, wages, and employee benefits
    1,369       3,507  
Accrued taxes
    (21 )     1,004  
Other current liabilities
    4,339       (1,126 )
Workers' compensation benefits
    1,937       1,505  
Black lung benefits
    1,881       1,823  
Pension obligations
    (971 )     (1,949 )
Asset retirement obligations
    (2,123 )     (461 )
Other liabilities
    (70 )     11  
Net cash provided by operating activities
    86,798       117,833  
Cash flows from investing activities:
               
Additions to property, plant, and equipment
    (58,306 )     (34,113 )
Payment for acquisition, net of cash acquired
    (515,962 )     -  
Net cash used in investing activities
    (574,268 )     (34,113 )
Cash flows from financing activities:
               
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt
    505,000       -  
Repayment of long-term debt
    (150,000 )        
Net proceeds from issuance of common stock
    170,545       -  
Debt issuance costs
    (13,768 )     (1,346 )
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
    511,777       (1,346 )
Increase in cash
    24,307       82,374  
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period
    180,376       107,931  
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period
  $ 204,683       190,305  

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.


 
7

 


JAMES RIVER COAL COMPANY
AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

(Unaudited)

 
(1)
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Other Information
 
Description of Business and Principles of Consolidation
 
James River Coal Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively the Company) mine, process and sell thermal and metallurgical coal through eight active mining complexes located throughout eastern Kentucky, southern West Virginia and southern Indiana.  Substantially all coal sales and account receivables relate to the utility industry, steel industry and industrial markets.
 
The interim condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company presented in this report are unaudited. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The results of operations for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2010. The balances presented as of or for the year ended December 31, 2010 are derived from the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements.
 
Management of the Company has made a number of estimates and assumptions relating to the reporting of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in order to prepare these consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP). Significant estimates made by management include the allocation of the purchase price in the IRP Acquisition (note 2) to acquired assets and liabilities, the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets, asset retirement obligations and amounts accrued related to the Company’s workers’ compensation, black lung, pension and health claim obligations. Actual results could differ from these estimates.  In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring accruals, which are necessary to present fairly the consolidated financial position of the Company and the consolidated results of its operations and cash flows for all periods presented.

Cash and Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash and Short Term Investments
 
Cash and cash equivalents are stated at cost. Cash equivalents consist of highly-liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased.
 
Restricted cash is stated at cost.  Restricted cash and short term investments consists of cash, cash equivalents and investments in bonds and certificate of deposits.  The Company intends to hold all investments held as restricted cash until maturity.  The restricted cash and short term investments are maintained in collateral accounts which provide the Company additional capacity under the Revolver to support it outstanding letters of credit (note 4) and to support the issuance of surety bonds.

Revenue Recognition
 
Revenues include sales to customers of Company-produced coal and coal purchased from third parties. The Company recognizes revenue from the sale of Company-produced coal and coal purchased from third parties at the time delivery occurs and risk of loss passes to the customer, which is either upon shipment or upon customer receipt of coal based on contractual terms. Also, the sales price must be determinable and collection reasonably assured.

Freight and handling revenue consists of shipping and handling costs invoiced to coal customers and paid to third-party carriers. These revenues are directly offset by Freight and handling costs.


(2) 
International Resource Partners Acquisition

On April 18, 2011, the Company completed the acquisition of International Resource Partners LP and its subsidiary companies (collectively IRP) for $516.0 million in an all-cash transaction (the IRP Acquisition).  The base purchase price of $475.0 million was increased by the cash acquired and any working capital (as defined in the agreement) that exceeded $18.5 million.  IRP did not have any debt at the time of the closing of the IRP Acquisition.   The IRP Acquisition will be treated as a purchase of assets for tax purposes.

 
8

 


Prior to the acquisition, IRP was a privately held fully integrated coal company focused on producing and marketing high quality metallurgical and steam coal in Central Appalachia. IRP produced and sold various grades of metallurgical and steam coal from underground and surface mining operations in southern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky. IRP’s customer base consisted of domestic steel and coke producers, international steel producers and domestic electric utilities. At the acquisition date, IRP operated nine mines, including five underground mines and four surface mines.

For the year ended December 31, 2010, IRP had revenues of $490.3 million and income before taxes at the partnership level of $51.3 million. IRP’s coal reserves and resources are located in West Virginia and Kentucky. As of the date of the IRP Acquisition, IRP controlled approximately 136 million tons of coal reserves and resources, consisting of approximately 61 million tons of metallurgical coal and an estimated 75 million tons of steam coal.  The coal reserves and resources acquired from IRP include 85.5 million of proven and probable reserves.  IRP leases a substantial portion of its coal reserves and resources from various third-party landowners.

The purchase price was allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on estimated fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed.  The purchase price allocation (net of cash acquired) was as follows (in thousands):

Trade and other accounts receivable
  $ 116,630  
Inventories
    17,373  
Other current assets
    2,830  
Property, Plant and Equipment
    487,359  
Other Noncurrent Assets
    14,352  
    Total assets
    638,544  
         
Accounts payable, principally trade
    56,402  
Other current liabilities
    8,619  
Asset retirement obligations
    50,858  
Other noncurrent liabilities
    6,703  
    Total liabilities
    122,582  
    Net assets acquired, excluding cash
  $ 515,962  

 
The fair value of the assets and liabilities acquired including property, plant and equipment (including mineral rights) and identifiable intangible assets are preliminary pending completion of the final valuations of those assets and liabilities.

The following unaudited pro forma information has been prepared for illustrative purposes only.  The pro forma information assumes the IRP Acquisition and the financing transactions that were completed to affect the IRP Acquisition occurred on January 1, 2010.  The financing transactions include the issuance of the 2019 Senior Notes, the redemption of the 2012 Senior Notes, the issuance of the 2018 Convertible Notes and the amendments to the Revolving Credit Agreement (all as described in Note 4), as well as the equity issuance described in Note 5.  The unaudited pro forma results have been prepared based on estimates and assumptions that we believe are reasonable; however, they are not necessarily indicative of the consolidated results of operations had the IRP Acquisition and the related financing transaction occurred at the beginning of each of the periods presented or of future results of operations.

 
9

 


   
Three months ended
 
   
June 30,
2011
   
June 30,
2010
 
   
(in thousands)
 
Total revenues
           
     As reported
  $ 352,037       183,045  
     Pro forma
    406,681       333,468  
                 
Net income
               
     As reported
    789       19,850  
     Pro forma
    11,678       30,671  

   
Six months ended
 
   
June 30,
2011
   
June 30,
2010
 
   
(in thousands)
 
Total revenues
           
     As reported
  $ 516,619       367,646  
     Pro forma
    740,799       630,796  
                 
Net income (loss)
               
     As reported
    (6,815 )     43,095  
     Pro forma
    17,758       59,479  

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, costs of $3.9 million and $8.5 million, respectively, were incurred related to the IRP Acquisition.  The acquisition costs include $3.8 million of commitment fees associated with $375.0 million of committed bridge financing (Bridge Commitment) that the Company secured to provide adequate liquidity to complete the IRP Acquisition in the event alternative financing could not be raised.  The Bridge Commitment expired, without any amounts being drawn, upon closing of the 2019 Senior Notes, the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes and the equity offerings (notes 4 and 5).

The amount of revenues and earnings attributable to IRP in the statements of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 are not readily determinable, due to the consolidation of IRP’s operations into the Company’s existing operations, fulfillment of historical sales contracts between operations and various intercompany transactions.


 (3) 
Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment are as follows (in thousands):
 
   
June 30,
2011
   
December 31,
2010
 
Property, plant, and equipment, at cost:
           
Land
  $ 9,905       7,751  
Mineral rights
    617,262       231,681  
Buildings, machinery and equipment
    573,413       423,617  
Mine development costs
    51,100       48,301  
Total property, plant, and equipment
    1,251,680       711,350  
Less accumulated depreciation, depletion, and amortization     361,698       325,698  
Property, plant and equipment, net
  $ 889,982       385,652  

 
 
10

 


(4)         Long Term Debt and Interest Expense
 
Long-term debt is as follows (in thousands):
 
   
June 30,
2011
   
December 31,
2010
 
2019 Senior Notes
  $ 275,000     $ -  
2012 Senior Notes
    -       150,000  
2018 Convertible Senior Notes, net of discount
    163,088       -  
2015 Convertible Senior Notes, net of discount
    137,117       134,022  
Revolver
    -       -  
     Total long-term debt
  $ 575,205     $ 284,022  

2019 Senior Notes
 
In the first quarter of 2011, the Company issued $275.0 million of senior notes due on April 1, 2019 (the 2019 Senior Notes).  The 2019 Senior Notes are unsecured and accrue interest at 7.875% per annum.  Interest payments on the 2019 Senior Notes are required semi-annually.   The Company may redeem the 2019 Senior Notes, in whole or in part, at any time on or after April 1, 2015 at redemption prices ranging from 103.938% beginning April 1, 2015 to 100% beginning on April 1, 2017.  In addition, at any time prior to April 1, 2014, the Company may redeem up to 35% of the principal amount of the 2019 Senior Notes with the net cash proceeds of a public equity offering at a redemption price of 107.875%, plus accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date.
 
The 2019 Senior Notes limit the Company’s ability, among other things, to pay cash dividends.  In addition, if a change of control occurs (as defined in the Indenture), each holder of the 2019 Senior Notes will have the right to require the Company to repurchase all or a part of the 2019 Senior Notes at a price equal to 101% of their principal amount, plus any accrued interest to the date of repurchase.

The Company incurred approximately $6.7 million of costs in connection with the issuance of the 2019 Senior Notes.  The costs, net of amortization, are included in other assets on the accompanying balance sheets.
 
2012 Senior Notes and Redemption of 2012 Senior Notes
 
In the second quarter of 2011, the Company redeemed all $150.0 million of its senior notes that were due on June 1, 2012 (the 2012 Senior Notes) at a redemption price of 100% of their face value.  The 2012 Senior Notes accrued interest at 9.375% per annum.  In connection with the redemption of the 2012 Senior Notes, the Company expensed $0.7 million of unamortized financing costs which are included in charges associated with repayment of debt on the accompanying statements of operations.

2015 Convertible Senior Notes
 
In 2009, the Company issued $172.5 million of 4.5% convertible senior notes due on December 1, 2015 (the 2015 Convertible Senior Notes).   The 2015 Convertible Senior Notes are shown net of a $35.4 million and a $38.5 million discount as of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively.  The discount on the 2015 Convertible Senior Notes relates to the $44.8 million of the proceeds that were allocated to the equity component of the 2015 Convertible Senior Notes at issuance, resulting in an effective interest rate of 10.2%.  The 2015 Convertible Senior Notes are unsecured and are convertible under certain circumstances and during certain periods at an initial conversion rate of 38.7913 shares of the Company’s common stock per $1,000 principal amount of the 2015 Convertible Senior Notes, representing an initial conversion price of approximately $25.78 per share of the Company’s stock.  Interest on the 2015 Convertible Senior Notes is paid semi-annually.  

None of the 2015 Convertible Senior Notes are currently eligible for conversion.  The 2015 Convertible Senior Notes are convertible at the option of the holders (with the length of time the 2015 Convertible Senior Notes are convertible being dependent upon the conversion trigger) upon the occurrence of any of the following events:

 
·
At any time from September 1, 2015 until December 1, 2015;
 
·
If the closing sale price of the Company’s common stock for each of 20 or more trading days in a period of 30 consecutive trading days ending on the last trading day of the immediately preceding calendar quarter exceeds 130% of the conversion price of the 2015 Convertible Senior Notes in effect on the last trading day of the immediately preceding calendar quarter;

 
11

 

 
·
If the trading price of the 2015 Convertible Senior Notes for each trading day during any five consecutive business day period, as determined following a request of a holder of Notes, was equal to or less than 97% of the “Conversion Value” of the 2015 Convertible Senior Notes on such trading day; or
 
·
If the Company elects to make certain distributions to the holders of its common stock or engage in certain corporate transactions.

2018 Convertible Senior Notes

In the first quarter of 2011, the Company issued $230.0 million of 3.125% convertible senior notes due on March 15, 2018 (the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes).   The 2018 Convertible Senior Notes are shown net of a $66.9 million discount as of June 30, 2011.  The discount on the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes relates to the $68.7 million of the proceeds that were allocated to the equity component of the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes at issuance, resulting in an effective interest rate of 8.9%.  The equity component was recorded as an increase to shareholders’ equity, net of allocated issuance costs and deferred income taxes of $2.1 million and $26.0 million, respectively.  The 2018 Convertible Senior Notes are unsecured and are convertible under certain circumstances and during certain periods at an initial conversion rate of 32.7332 shares of the Company’s common stock per $1,000 principal amount of 2018 Convertible Senior Notes, representing an initial conversion price of approximately $30.55 per share of the Company’s stock.  Interest payments on the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes are required semi-annually.  

None of the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes are currently eligible for conversion.  The 2018 Convertible Senior Notes are convertible at the option of the holders (with the length of time the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes are convertible being dependent upon the conversion trigger) upon the occurrence of any of the following events:

 
·
At any time from December 15, 2017 until March 15, 2018;
 
·
If the closing sale price of the Company’s common stock for each of 20 or more trading days in a period of 30 consecutive trading days ending on the last trading day of the immediately preceding calendar quarter exceeds 130% of the conversion price of the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes in effect on the last trading day of the immediately preceding calendar quarter;
 
·
If the trading price of the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes for each trading day during any five consecutive business day period, as determined following a request of a holder of 2018 Convertible Senior Notes, was equal to or less than 97% of the “Conversion Value” of the Notes on such trading day; or
 
·
If the Company elects to make certain distributions to the holders of its common stock or engage in certain corporate transactions.

The Company incurred approximately $7.1 million of costs in connection with the issuance of the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes issuance, including $2.1 million which was allocated to the equity portion of the transaction.   The costs allocated to the debt portion of the transaction, net of amortization, are included in other assets on the accompanying balance sheets.

Revolving Credit Agreement
 
In 2011, the Company entered into two agreements each of which amended and restated its existing Revolving Credit Agreement and resulted in an increase to the maximum availability under the Revolver to $100.0 million (as amended and restated the Revolving Credit Agreement is referred to as the Revolver).  The following is a summary of the significant terms of the Revolver.
 
Maturity
June 30, 2015
Interest Rate
Company’s option of Base Rate (a) plus 2.25% or LIBOR plus 3.25% per annum.
Maximum Availability
Lesser of $100.0 million or the borrowing base(b)
Periodic Principal Payments
None 

 
(a)
Base rate is the higher of (1) the Federal Fund Rate plus 0.5%, (2) the prime rate and (3) a three month LIBOR rate plus a percentage as defined in the agreement.
 
(b)
The Revolver’s borrowing base is based on the sum of 90% of the Company’s eligible accounts receivable plus 65% of the eligible inventory (not to exceed $40.0 million) less reserves from time to time set by the administrative agent.  The eligible accounts receivable and inventories are further adjusted as specified in the Revolver and the eligible inventory currently excludes certain inventories of our subsidiaries in West Virginia.  The Company’s borrowing base can also be increased by 95% of any cash collateral that the Company maintains in a cash collateral account.


 
12

 


The Revolver provides that the Company can use the Revolver availability to issue letters of credit. The Revolver provides for a 3.5% fee on any outstanding letters of credit issued under the Revolver and a 0.5% fee on the unused portion of the Revolver. The Revolver requires certain mandatory prepayments from certain asset sales, incurrence of indebtedness and excess cash flow. The Revolver includes financial covenants that require the Company to maintain a minimum Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio and limit capital expenditures, each as defined by the agreement. The minimum Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio is only applicable if the sum of the Company’s unrestricted cash plus the availability under the Revolver falls below $35.0 million and would remain in effect until the sum of the Company’s unrestricted cash plus the availability under the Revolver exceeds $35.0 million for 90 consecutive days. The limit on capital expenditures is only applicable if the Company’s unrestricted cash plus the availability under the Revolver falls below $50.0 million for a period of 5 consecutive days and would remain in effect until the Company’s unrestricted cash plus the availability under the Revolver exceeds $50.0 million for 90 consecutive days.
 
As of June 30, 2011, the Company had used $63.6 million of the $88.6 million then available under the Revolver to secure outstanding letters of credits.   As of June 30, 2011, the Company had $21.0 million of cash in a restricted cash collateral account to ensure that the Company has adequate capacity under the Revolver to support its outstanding letters of credit.

The Company incurred approximately $1.8 million of costs in connection with the amendments and restatements to the Revolver in 2011.   The costs, net of amortization, are included in other assets on the accompanying balance sheets.
 
Interest Expense and Other

During the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, the Company paid approximately $10.9 million of interest.  The Company paid $11.1 million of interest during the three and six months ended June 30, 2010.  

The Company was in compliance with all of the financial covenants under its outstanding debt instruments as of June 30, 2011. 

The proceeds from the equity offering (note 5), the issuance of the 2019 Senior Notes and the issuance of the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes were used to fund the IRP Acquisition (note 2), repay the outstanding 2012 Senior Notes, and the remainder is available for general working capital purposes.   

(5) 
Equity
 
Equity Issuance
 
In the first quarter of 2011, the Company received proceeds of approximately $170.5 million, net of offering costs, through the issuance of approximately 7.6 million shares of common stock.
 
Equity Based Compensation
 
The following table highlights the expense related to share-based payment for the periods ended June 30 (in thousands):
 
   
Three months ended
   
Six months ended
 
   
June 30,
   
June 30,
 
   
2011
   
2010
   
2011
   
2010
 
Restricted stock
  $ 1,394     $ 1,376     $ 2,492       2,724  
Stock options
    76       74       156       146  
Stock based compensation
  $ 1,470     $ 1,450     $ 2,648       2,870  

 
13

 

The following is a summary of activity related to restricted stock and stock option awards for the six months ended June 30, 2011:
 
   
Restricted Stock
   
Stock Options
 
         
Weighted
       
Weighted
 
         
Average
         
Average
 
   
Number of
 
Fair Value
 
Number of
 
Exercise
 
   
Shares
   
at Issue
   
Shares
   
Price
 
December 31, 2010
    842,886     $ 19.30       291,000     $ 16.42  
Granted
    229,636       22.31       20,000       22.31  
Exercised/Vested
    (174,496 )     24.75       -       -  
Canceled
    -       -       -       -  
June 30, 2011
    898,026       19.01       311,000       16.80  
 
(6) 
Commitments and Contingencies
 
The Company has established irrevocable letters of credit totaling $63.6 million as of June 30, 2011 to guarantee performance under certain contractual arrangements.  The letters of credit have been issued under the Revolver (note 4).
 
The Company is involved in various claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business. In the opinion of management, the ultimate disposition of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

 (7) 
Earnings (Loss) per Share
 
Basic earnings (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) available to common shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings (loss) per share is calculated based on the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period and, when dilutive, potential common shares from the exercise of stock options and restricted common stock subject to continuing vesting requirements, pursuant to the treasury stock method.


 
14

 

The following table provides a reconciliation of the number of shares used to calculate basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share (in thousands):
 
   
Three Months Ended
   
Six Months Ended
 
   
June 30,
   
June 30,
 
   
2011
   
2010
   
2011
   
2010
 
                         
Basic earnings (loss) per common share:
                       
Net income  (loss)
  $ 789     $ 19,850     $ (6,815 )   $ 43,095  
Income allocated to participating securities
    (21 )     (632 )     -       (1,249 )
Net income (loss) available to common shareholders
  $ 768     $ 19,218     $ (6,815 )     41,846  
                                 
                                 
Weighted average number of common and common equivalent shares outstanding:
                               
Basic number of common shares outstanding
    34,630       26,862       30,931       26,845  
Dilutive effect of unvested restricted stock (participating securities)
    966       883       -       801  
Dilutive effect of stock options
    74       49       -       49  
Diluted number of common shares and common equivalent shares outstanding
    35,670       27,794       30,931       27,695  
                                 
Basic earnings (loss) per common share
  $ 0.02     $ 0.72     $ (0.22 )   $ 1.56  
                                 
                                 
Diluted net income (loss) per common share:
                               
Net income (loss)
  $ 789     $ 19,850     $ (6,815 )   $ 43,095  
Income (loss) allocated to participating securities
    -       -       -       -  
Net income (loss) available to potential common  shareholders
  $ 789     $ 19,850     $ (6,815 )   $ 43,095  
                                 
Diluted earnings (loss) per common share
  $ 0.02     $ 0.71     $ (0.22 )   $ 1.56  
 
For periods in which there was a loss, the Company excludes from its diluted loss per common share calculation options to purchase shares and the unvested portion of time vested restricted shares, as inclusion of these securities would have reduced the net loss per common share.  The excluded instruments would have increased the diluted weighted average number of common and common equivalent shares outstanding by approximately 1.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2011.  In addition, in periods of net losses, the Company has not allocated any portion of such losses to participating securities holders for its basic loss per common share calculation as such participating securities holders are not contractually obligated to fund such losses.
 
The Company’s 2015 and 2018 Convertible Senior Notes are convertible at the option of the holders upon the occurrence of certain events (note 4).  As of June 30, 2011, none of the convertible senior notes had reached the specified thresholds for conversion.
 

 
15

 


(8) 
Pension Expense
 
The Company has in place a defined benefit pension plan under which all benefits were frozen in 2007.  The components of net periodic benefit cost are as follows (amounts in thousands):

   
Three Months Ended
   
Six Months Ended
 
   
June 30,
   
June 30,
 
   
2011
   
2010
   
2011
   
2010
 
Interest cost
  $ 911       940        1,821        1,880   
Expected return on plan assets
    (1,070 )     (922 )     (2,139 )     (1,844 )
Recognized net actuarial loss
    197       196       395       392  
Net periodic cost
  $ 38       214       77        428  

 
(9)
Pneumoconiosis (Black Lung) Benefits
 
The components of net periodic benefit costs for black lung benefits are as follows (amounts in thousands):

   
June 30,
   
June 30,
 
   
2011
   
2010
   
2011
   
2010
 
                         
Service Cost
  $ 456       471        912        814   
Interest cost
    597        593        1,195        1,051   
Amortization of actuarial losses
    142        137        284        137   
Net periodic benefit cost
  $ 1,195       1,201        2,391        2,002  
 

(10) 
Financial Instruments

The estimated fair value of financial instruments has been determined by the Company using available market information. As of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, except for long-term debt obligations, the carrying amounts of all financial instruments approximate their fair values due to their short maturities.

The carrying values and fair values of our long-term debt are as follows (in thousands)

   
June 30, 2011
   
December 31, 2010
 
   
Carrying Value
   
Fair Value
   
Carrying Value
   
Fair Value
 
2019 Senior Notes
  $ 275,000     $ 272,250       -       -  
2012 Senior Notes
    -       -       150,000       153,000  
2015 Convertible Senior Notes, (excludes discount )
    172,500       190,871       172,500       210,880  
2018 Convertible Senior Notes, (excludes discount)
    230,000       222,364       -       -  

The fair value of our senior notes and convertible senior notes are based on available market data at the date presented.  The carrying value of the convertible senior notes reflected in long-term debt in the table above reflects the full face amount and have been adjusted in the Consolidated Balance Sheets for a discount related to the convertible feature (note 4).
 
(11) 
Segment Information

The Company extracts, processes and markets steam and metallurgical coal from surface and deep mines for sale to electric utilities, steel and coke producers, and industrial customers. The Company has two segments based on the coal basins in which the Company operates. These basins are located in Central Appalachia (CAPP) and in the Midwest (Midwest). The Company’s CAPP operations, which include the assets acquired in the IRP Acquisition, are located in eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia.  The Company’s Midwest operations are located in southern Indiana.  The Company manages its coal sales by coal basin, not by individual mine complex.  Mine operations are evaluated based on their per-ton operating costs. Operating segment results are shown below (in thousands).

 
16

 

   
Three Months Ended
   
Six Months Ended
 
   
June 30,
   
June 30,
 
   
2011
   
2010
   
2011
   
2010
 
Total revenues
                       
CAPP
  $ 323,792     $ 153,560     $ 461,377     $ 309,124  
Midwest
    28,245       29,485       55,242       58,522  
Corporate
    -       -       -       -  
   Total
  $ 352,037     $ 183,045     $ 516,619     $ 367,646  
                                 
Depreciation, depletion and amortization
                               
CAPP
  $ 25,199     $ 13,467     $ 38,251       26,955  
Midwest
    2,998       2,727       5,967       5,582  
Corporate
    13       15       27       30  
   Total
  $ 28,210     $ 16,209     $ 44,245     $ 32,567  
                                 
Total operating income (loss)
                               
CAPP
  $ 27,082     $ 31,758     $ 38,725     $ 63,400  
Midwest
    467       1,619       (898 )     4,656  
Corporate
    (10,355 )     (5,102 )     (19,647 )     (10,174 )
   Total
  $ 17,194     $ 28,275     $ 18,180     $ 57,882  
                                 
Net earnings (loss) (1)
                               
CAPP
  $ 27,082     $ 31,758     $ 38,725     $ 63,400  
Midwest
    467       1,619       (898 )     4,656  
Corporate
    (26,760 )     (13,527 )     (44,642 )     (24,961 )
   Total
  $ 789     $ 19,850     $ (6,815 )   $ 43,095  

(1)  Income and expense items that are not included in operating income (loss) are not allocated to the segments.
 

 
   
June 30,
   
December 31,
 
   
2011
   
2010
 
Total Assets
           
CAPP
  $ 1,251,589     $ 551,762  
Midwest
    117,231       114,939  
Corporate
    59,303       117,868  
Total
  $ 1,428,123     $ 784,569  
                 
Goodwill
               
CAPP
  $ -       -  
Midwest
    26,492       26,492  
Corporate
    -       -  
Total
  $ 26,492       26,492  

 

 
17

 


ITEM 2.   MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis is provided to increase the understanding of, and should be read in conjunction with, the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes contained herein and the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.

Overview

We mine, process and sell thermal and metallurgical coal through eight active mining complexes located throughout eastern Kentucky, southern West Virginia and southern Indiana. The majority of our metallurgical coal was obtained in the April 18, 2011 acquisition (the IRP Acquisition) of International Resource Partners LP and its subsidiary companies (collectively IRP).  We have two reportable business segments based on the coal basins in which we operate (Central Appalachia (CAPP) and the Midwest (Midwest)).  IRP is included in our CAPP segment.  We derived 59% of our total revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2011 from coal sales to electric utility customers and the remaining 41% from coal sales (including metallurgical coal) to industrial and other customers. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, our mines produced 4.8 million tons of coal (including 0.3 million tons of contract coal) and we purchased another 0.6 million tons for resale. Of the 4.8 million tons produced from Company mines, approximately 62% came from underground mines, while the remaining 38% came from surface mines. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, we generated total revenues of $516.6 million and net loss of $6.8 million.

The IRP Acquisition will be treated as a purchase of assets for tax purposes.  The IRP Acquisition was completed on April 18, 2011 for $516.0 million in an all-cash transaction.  The base purchase price of $475.0 million was increased by the cash acquired and any working capital (as defined in the agreement) that exceeded $18.5 million.  IRP did not have any debt at the time of the closing.   The IRP Acquisition will increase our offerings of metallurgical coal, provide us with greater access to the international seaborne coal market and expand our brokering and trading operations.  IRP is a fully integrated coal company focused on producing and marketing high quality metallurgical and steam coal in Central Appalachia. IRP produces and sells various grades of metallurgical and steam coal from underground and surface mining operations in southern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky. IRP’s customer base consists of domestic steel and coke producers, international steel producers and domestic electric utilities. At the time of the IRP Acquisition, IRP operated nine mines, including five underground mines and four surface mines.

For the year ended December 31, 2010, IRP produced approximately 1.9 million tons of coal, including 1.2 million tons of metallurgical coal and 0.7 million tons of steam coal. Total 2010 shipments, including coal purchased for blending purposes, were 3.7 million tons. These tons included 2.6 million tons of metallurgical coal and 1.1 million tons of steam coal. IRP generated revenues of $490.3 million and income before taxes at the partnership level of $51.3 million in 2010.  IRP’s coal reserves and resources are located in West Virginia and Kentucky. As of December 31, 2010, IRP controlled approximately 136 million tons of coal reserves and resources, consisting of approximately 61 million tons of metallurgical coal and an estimated 75 million tons of steam coal. The coal reserves and resources acquired from IRP include 85.5 million of proven and probable reserves. IRP leases a substantial portion of its coal reserves and resources from various third-party landowners.

CAPP Segment

In Central Appalachia, our sales of thermal coal is primarily sold to customers in the southern portion of the South Atlantic region of the United States.  The South Atlantic Region includes the states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Our metallurgical coal is sold primarily to steel companies in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Approximately 31% of our total revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2010 were derived from sales made outside the United States, including Canada, Brazil, United Kingdom, Germany, France, India and Egypt.  For the six months ended June 30, 2011, our CAPP segment produced 4.0 million tons of coal (including contract coal and purchased coal). Of the CAPP tons produced, 64% came from Company operated underground mines. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, we shipped 4.0 million tons of coal and generated coal sale revenues of $438.1 million from our CAPP segment. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, South Carolina Public Service Authority and Georgia Power Company were our largest customers, representing approximately 23% and 13% of our total revenues, respectively.  No other CAPP customer accounted for more than 10% of our total revenues.

Midwest Segment

In the Midwest, the majority of our coal is sold in the East North Central Region, which includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, our Midwest mines produced approximately 1.3 million tons of coal. Of the Midwest tons produced, 80% came from Company operated surface mines. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, we shipped 1.3 million tons of coal and generated coal sale revenues of $54.0 million from our Midwest segment. No Midwest customer accounted for more than 10% of our total revenues.

 
18

 


Results of Operations

Three Months Ended June 30, 2011 Compared with the Three Months Ended June 30, 2010

Revenues

The following tables show volume and revenue information by segment (in thousands, except per ton amounts).

   
Three Months Ended June 30,
       
   
2011
   
2010
   
Change
Volume shipped (tons)
                 
CAPP tons
                 
Steam
    1,893       1,585       19 %
Metallurgical
    727       -    
NA
 
Total CAPP tons
    2,620       1,585       65 %
Midwest  steam tons
    641       698       -8 %
Total volume shipped
    3,261       2,283       43 %
                         
 
   
Three Months Ended June 30,
       
   
2011
   
2010
   
Change
Revenues
 
Total
   
Per Ton
   
Total
   
Per Ton
   
Total
Coal sales revenue
                             
CAPP steam
  $ 169,977       89.79       153,560       96.88       11 %
CAPP metallurgical
    130,499       179.50       -    
NA
   
NA
 
Total CAPP coal sales revenue
    300,476       114.69       153,560       96.88       96 %
Midwest steam
    27,706       43.22       28,990       41.53       -4 %
Total coal sales revenue
    328,182       100.64       182,550       79.96       80 %
Freight and handling revenue
                                       
CAPP
    23,316               -            
NA
 
Midwest steam
    539               495               9 %
Total freight and handling revenue
    23,855               495               4719 %
Total revenues
    352,037               183,045               92 %

Total tons shipped during the three months ended June 30, increased by 43% in 2011 as compared to 2010.   Coal sales revenue for the three months ended June 30, increased 80% in 2011 as compared to 2010.  The increase in tons shipped and coal sales revenue (including the change in mix to include metallurgical coal) was primarily related to contracts acquired in the IRP Acquisition and additional tons produced from the properties acquired in the IRP Acquisition.

Freight and handling revenue consists of shipping and handling costs invoiced to coal customers and paid to third-party carriers. These revenues are directly offset by freight and handling costs.

Operating and Other Costs

The following tables show selected costs in total and by segment (in thousands, except per ton amounts).

 
19

 


   
Three Months Ended June 30,
       
   
2011
   
2010
   
Change
   
Total
   
Per Ton
   
Total
   
Per Ton
   
Total
Volume shipped (tons)
    3,261             2,283              
                                   
Cost of coal sold
  $ 264,108       80.99       128,243       56.17       106 %
Freight and handling costs
    23,855       7.32       495       0.22       4719 %
Depreciation, depletion and amortization
    28,210       8.65       16,209       7.10       74 %
Selling, general and administrative
    14,811       4.54       9,823       4.30       51 %
Acquisition costs
    3,859       1.18       -       -    
NA
Interest expense
    15,607       4.79       7,455       3.27       109 %
 
   
Three months ended June 30,
 
   
2011
   
2010
 
   
CAPP
   
Midwest
   
Corporate
   
CAPP
   
Midwest
   
Corporate
 
                                     
Cost of coal sold
  $ 240,794       23,314       -       104,455       23,788       -  
Per ton
    91.91       36.37       -       65.90       34.08       -  
                                                 
Freight and handling costs
    23,316       539       -       -       495       -  
Per ton
    8.90       0.84       -       -       0.71       -  
                                                 
Depreciation, depletion and amortization
    25,199       2,998       13       13,467       2,727       15  
Per ton
    9.62       4.68       -       8.50       3.91       -  
 
Cost of Coal Sold
 
For the three months ended June 30, the cost of coal sold, excluding depreciation, depletion and amortization, increased from $128.2 million in 2010 to $264.1 million in 2011, including a $0.84 per ton increase due to the write-up of the inventory acquired from IRP to fair market value.  Our cost per ton of coal sold in the CAPP region increased from $65.90 per ton in 2010 to $91.91 per ton in the 2011.  Our costs in the CAPP region are impacted by increased costs as a result of the IRP Acquisition.  Generally, the mines acquired from IRP have more metallurgical coal than our legacy operations.  Our metallurgical coal mines produce higher coal sales revenue but are more costly to mine.  Our costs were also impacted by an increase in metallurgical coal purchased that is used to blend with our metallurgical coal production to meet quality requirements under our sales contracts.  The impact of the change in mix to additional metallurgical coal production is approximately $14.70 per ton.  The remaining increase of $11.31 per ton over prior year is primarily due to an increase in our labor and benefit costs of $2.50 per ton and variable costs and trucking costs of $6.20 per ton at our mines that do not produce metallurgical coal.   Our costs continue to be impacted by lower productivity due to increased federal and state regulatory scrutiny, a decrease in tons produced in response to market conditions and an increase in commodity prices.   For more detail regarding the increased regulatory activity see “Part II – Item 1A – Risk Factors – Underground mining is subject to increased regulation, and may require us to incur additional cost.”

Our cost per ton of coal sold in the Midwest increased $2.29 to $36.37 per ton in the 2011 period as compared to the 2010 period.  

Freight and handling costs

Freight and handling costs increased due to the metallurgical shipments in the three months ended June 30, 2011.

Depreciation, depletion and amortization
 
For the three months ended June 30, depreciation, depletion and amortization increased from $16.2 million in the 2010 period to $28.2 million in the 2011 period.  In the CAPP region, depreciation, depletion and amortization increased $11.7 million to $25.2 million or $9.62 per ton, which is due to the increase in the asset base as a result of IRP acquisition and $2.4 million of amortization on contracts acquired from IRP.  In the Midwest, depreciation, depletion and amortization increased $0.3 million to $3.0 million or $4.68 per ton.
 

 
20

 

 
Selling, general and administrative
 
For the three months ended June 30, selling, general and administrative expenses increased from $9.9 million in the 2010 period to $14.8 million in the 2011 period, which is primarily due to increased selling, general and administrative expenses as a result of IRP acquisition.
 
Acquisition costs
 
For the three months ended June 30, 2011, costs of $3.9 million were incurred related to the IRP Acquisition.
 
Interest Expense
 
For the three months ended June 30, interest expense increased from $7.5 million in 2010 to $15.6 million in 2011.  The increase was the result of the issuance of our 2018 Convertible Senior Notes and 2019 Senior Notes in March 2011, offset by the redemption in full of our 2012 Senior Notes in June 2011.  These debt transactions are described below in Liquidity and Capital Resources.  Interest expense for the three months ended June 30 2011 and 2010 includes $4.3 million and $2.1 million, respectively, related to the amortization of debt discounts and debt issuance costs.
 
Income Taxes
 
Our effective tax rate for the three months ended June 30, 2011 was 31.7% and our effective tax rate for the three months ended June 30, 2010 was 3.6%.  For the three months ended June 30, 2011, our effective income tax rate was impacted primarily by a change in state tax rates as a result of the IRP Acquisition and the effects of percentage depletion. Our effective tax rate for the three months ended June 30, 2010, was primarily impacted by the amount of the valuation allowance recorded and the effects of percentage depletion.   The criteria for recording a valuation allowance are described in “Critical Accounting Estimates – Income Taxes.”  As of June 30, 2011, we did not have a valuation allowance against gross deferred tax assets.    Percentage depletion is an income tax deduction that is limited to a percentage of taxable income from each of our mining properties.  Because percentage depletion can be deducted in excess of cost basis in the properties, it creates a permanent difference and directly impacts the effective tax rate.  Fluctuations in the effective tax rate may occur due to the varying levels of profitability (and thus, taxable income and percentage depletion) at each of our mine locations.

Six Months Ended June 30, 2011 Compared with the Six Months Ended June 30, 2010

Revenues

The following tables show revenue and volume information by segment (in thousands, except per ton amounts).

 
21

 


   
Six Months Ended June 30,
       
   
2011
   
2010
   
Change
Volume shipped (tons)
                 
CAPP tons
                 
Steam
    3,274       3,247       1 %
Metallurgical
    761       -    
NA
Total CAPP segment tons
    4,035       3,247       24 %
Midwest steam tons
    1,299       1,436       -10 %
Total volume shipped
    5,334       4,683       14 %

   
Six Months Ended June 30,
       
   
2011
   
2010
   
Change
Revenues
 
Total
   
Per Ton
   
Total
   
Per Ton
   
Total
Coal sales revenue
                             
CAPP steam
  $ 303,417       92.67       309,124       95.20       -2 %
CAPP metallurgical
    134,644       176.93       -    
NA
   
NA
Total CAPP coal sales revenue
    438,061       108.57       309,124       95.20       42 %
Midwest steam
    53,976       41.55       57,445       40.00       -6 %
Total coal sales revenue
    492,037       92.25       366,569       78.28       34 %
Freight and handling revenue
                                       
CAPP
    23,316               -            
NA
Midwest
    1,266               1,077               18 %
Total freight and handling revenue
    24,582               1,077               2182 %
Total revenues
    516,619               367,646               41 %
 
Total tons shipped during the six months ended June 30 increased by 14% in 2011 as compared to 2010.   Coal sales revenue for the six months ended June 30 increased 34% in 2011 as compared to 2010.  The increase in tons shipped and coal sales revenue (including the change in mix to include metallurgical coal) was primarily related to contracts acquired in the IRP Acquisition and additional tons produced from the properties acquired in the IRP Acquisition.  The increase in tons shipped on the contracts acquired in the IRP acquisition was partially offset by a decrease in tons shipped on our legacy contracts in the CAPP and Midwest Regions in 2011 as compared to 2010.

Freight and handling revenue consists of shipping and handling costs invoiced to coal customers and paid to third-party carriers. These revenues are directly offset by freight and handling costs.

Operating and Other Costs

The following tables show selected costs in total and by segment (in thousands, except per ton amounts).
 
   
Six Months Ended June 30,
       
   
2011
   
2010
   
Total
   
Total
   
Per Ton
   
Total
   
Per Ton
   
Change
Volume shipped (tons)
    5,334             4,683              
                                   
Cost of coal sold
  $ 396,927       74.41       256,978       54.87       54 %
Freight and handling costs
    24,582       4.61       1,077       0.23       2182 %
Depreciation, depletion and amortization
    44,245       8.29       32,567       6.95       36 %
Selling, general and administrative
    24,181       4.53       19,142       4.09       26 %
Acquisition costs
    8,504       1.59       -       -    
NA
Interest expense
    23,458       4.40       14,836       3.17       58 %
 
 
22

 


 
   
Six months ended June 30,
 
   
2011
   
2010
 
   
CAPP
   
Midwest
   
Corporate
   
CAPP
   
Midwest
   
Corporate
 
                                     
Cost of coal sold
  $ 349,493       47,434       -       211,195       45,783       -  
Per ton
    86.62       36.52       -       65.04       31.88       -  
                                                 
Freight and handling costs
    23,316       1,266       -       -       1,077       -  
Per ton
    5.78       0.97       -       -       0.75       -  
                                                 
Depreciation, depletion and amortization
    38,251       5,967       27       26,955       5,582       30  
Per ton
    9.48       4.59       -       8.30       3.89       -  
 
Cost of Coal Sold
 
For the six months ended June 30, the cost of coal sold, excluding depreciation, depletion and amortization, increased from $257.0 million in 2010 to $396.9 million in 2011.  Our cost per ton of coal sold in the CAPP region increased from $65.04 per ton in 2010 to $86.62 per ton in the 2011.  Our costs in the CAPP region are impacted by increased costs as a result of the IRP Acquisition.  Generally, the mines acquired from IRP have more metallurgical coal than our legacy operations.  Our metallurgical coal mines produce higher coal sales revenue but are more costly to mine.  Our costs were also impacted by an increase in metallurgical coal purchased that is used to blend with our metallurgical coal production to meet quality requirements under our sales contracts.  The impact of the change in our mix to additional metallurgical coal production is approximately $9.58 per ton.  The remaining increase of $12.00 over prior year is primarily due to an increase in our labor and benefit costs of $3.95 per ton and variable costs of $5.94 per ton at our mines that do not produce metallurgical coal.   Our costs continue to be impacted by lower productivity due to increased federal and state regulatory scrutiny, a decrease in tons produced in response to market conditions and an increase in commodity prices.   For more detail regarding the increased regulatory activity see “Part II – Item 1A – Risk Factors – Underground mining is subject to increased regulation, and may require us to incur additional cost.”

Our cost per ton of coal sold in the Midwest increased $4.64 per ton to $36.52 per ton in the 2011 period as compared to the 2010 period.  The major components of this increase include an increase in the variable costs of $0.94 per ton, labor and benefit costs of $0.91 per ton and trucking and preparation costs of $1.22 per ton.  

Freight and handling costs

Freight and handling costs increased due to the metallurgical shipments in the six months ended June 30, 2011.

Depreciation, depletion and amortization
 
For the six months ended June 30, depreciation, depletion and amortization increased from $32.6 million in the 2010 period to $44.2 million in the 2011 period.  In the CAPP region, depreciation, depletion and amortization increased $11.3 million to $38.3 million or $9.48 per ton, which is due to the increase in the asset base as a result of IRP acquisition and $2.4 million of amortization on contracts acquired from IRP.  In the Midwest, depreciation, depletion and amortization increased $0.4 million to $6.0 million or $4.59 per ton.  
 
Selling, general and administrative
 
For the six months ended June 30, selling, general and administrative expenses increased from $19.1 million in the 2010 period to $24.2 million in the 2011 period, which is primarily due to increased selling, general and administrative expenses as a result of IRP Acquisition.
 
Acquisition costs
 
For the six months ended June 30, 2011, costs of $8.5 million were incurred related to the IRP Acquisition.
 
Interest Expense
 
For the six months ended June 30, interest expense increased from $14.8 million in 2010 to $23.5 million in 2011.  The increase in our interest expense was the result of the issuance of our 2018 Convertible Senior Notes and 2019 Senior Notes in March 2011, offset by the redemption in full of our 2012 Senior Notes in June 2011.  These debt transactions are described below in Liquidity and Capital Resources. Interest expense for the six months ended June 30 2011 and 2010 includes $6.4 million and $3.9 million, respectively, related to the amortization of debt discounts and debt issuance costs.

 
23

 


Income Taxes

Our effective tax rate for the six months ended June 30, 2011 was (23.2%) and our effective tax rate for the six months ended June 30, 2010 was a (0.5%).  For the six months ended June 30, 2011, our effective income tax rate was impacted primarily by a change in estimated book to tax differences, a change in state tax rates as a result of the IRP Acquisition and the effects of percentage depletion. Our effective tax rate for the six months ended June 30, 2010, was primarily impacted by the amount of the valuation allowance recorded and the effects of percentage depletion.   The criteria for recording a valuation allowance are described in “Critical Accounting Estimates – Income Taxes.”  As of June 30, 2011, we did not have a valuation allowance against gross deferred tax assets.    Percentage depletion is an income tax deduction that is limited to a percentage of taxable income from each of our mining properties.  Because percentage depletion can be deducted in excess of cost basis in the properties, it creates a permanent difference and directly impacts the effective tax rate.  Fluctuations in the effective tax rate may occur due to the varying levels of profitability (and thus, taxable income and percentage depletion) at each of our mine locations.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

During the first quarter of 2011, we issued $275 million of senior notes due in 2019 (the 2019 Senior Notes), issued $230 million of convertible senior notes due in 2018 (the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes) and received net proceeds of $170.5 million through the issuance of approximately 7.6 million shares of common stock.  The proceeds from these offerings were used to fund the IRP Acquisition, to redeem in full $150.0 million of our outstanding senior notes in the second quarter of 2011 (the 2012 Senior Notes), and the remainder is available for general working capital purposes.   

The following chart reflects the components of our debt:

   
June 30,
2011
   
December 31,
2010
 
2019 Senior Notes
  $ 275,000     $ -  
2012 Senior Notes
    -       150,000  
2018 Convertible Senior Notes, net of discount
    163,088       -  
2015 Convertible Senior Notes, net of discount
    137,117       134,022  
Revolver
    -       -  
     Total long-term debt
  $ 575,205     $ 284,022  

2019 Senior Notes
 
In the first quarter of 2011, we issued $275 million of 2019 Senior Notes due on April 1, 2019.  The 2019 Senior Notes are unsecured and accrue interest at 7.875% per annum.  Interest payments on the 2019 Senior Notes are required semi-annually.   We may redeem the 2019 Senior Notes, in whole or in part, at any time on or after April 1, 2015 at redemption prices ranging from 103.938% beginning April 1, 2015 to 100% beginning on April 1, 2017.  In addition, at any time prior to April 1, 2014, we may redeem up to 35% of the principal amount of the 2019 Senior Notes with the net cash proceeds of a public equity offering at a redemption price of 107.875%, plus accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date.
 
The 2019 Senior Notes limit our ability, among other things, to pay cash dividends.  In addition, if a change of control occurs (as defined in the Indenture), each holder of the 2019 Senior Notes will have the right to require us to repurchase all or a part of the 2019 Senior Notes at a price equal to 101% of their principal amount, plus any accrued interest to the date of repurchase.

We incurred approximately $6.7 million of costs in connection with the issuance of the 2019 Senior Notes.  

2012 Senior Notes and Redemption of 2012 Senior Notes
 
In the second quarter of 2011, we redeemed all $150.0 million our senior notes that were due on June 1, 2012 (the 2012 Senior Notes) at a redemption price of 100% of their face value.  The 2012 Senior Notes accrued interest at 9.375% per annum.  In connection with the redemption of the 2012 Senior Notes, we expensed $0.7 million of unamortized financing costs.

 
24

 


2015 Convertible Senior Notes

There have been no changes to the terms of our outstanding 4.5% convertible senior notes due on December 1, 2015 (the 2015 Convertible Senior Notes) during 2011.  See Item 1 of Part I, “Financial Statements — Note 4 — Long Term Debt and Interest Expense” for a description of our 2015 Convertible Senior Notes.

2018 Convertible Senior Notes

In the first quarter of 2011, we issued $230.0 million of 3.125% convertible senior notes due on March 15, 2018 (the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes).   The 2018 Convertible Senior Notes are shown net of a $66.9 million discount as of June 30, 2011.  The discount on the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes relates to the $68.7 million of the proceeds that were allocated to the equity component of the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes at issuance, resulting in an effective interest rate of 8.9%.  The 2018 Convertible Senior Notes are unsecured and are convertible under certain circumstances and during certain periods at an initial conversion rate of 32.7332 shares of our common stock per $1,000 principal amount of 2018 Convertible Senior Notes, representing an initial conversion price of approximately $30.55 per share of the Company’s stock.  Interest payments on the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes are required semi-annually. 

None of the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes are currently eligible for conversion.  The 2018 Convertible Senior Notes are convertible at the option of the holders (with the length of time the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes are convertible being dependent upon the conversion trigger) upon the occurrence of any of the following events:

 
·
At any time from December 15, 2017 until March 15, 2018;
 
·
If the closing sale price of our common stock for each of 20 or more trading days in a period of 30 consecutive trading days ending on the last trading day of the immediately preceding calendar quarter exceeds 130% of the conversion price of the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes in effect on the last trading day of the immediately preceding calendar quarter;
 
·
If the trading price of the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes for each trading day during any five consecutive business day period, as determined following a request of a holder of 2018 Convertible Senior Notes, was equal to or less than 97% of the “Conversion Value” of the Notes on such trading day; or
 
·
If we elect to make certain distributions to the holders of our common stock or engage in certain corporate transactions.

We incurred approximately $7.1 million of costs in connection with the issuance of the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes issuance, including $2.1 million which was allocated to the equity portion of the transaction.   

Revolving Credit Agreement

In 2011, we entered into two agreements each of which amended and restated our existing Revolving Credit Agreement and resulted in an increase to the maximum availability under the Revolver to $100.0 million (as amended and restated the Revolving Credit Agreement is referred to as the Revolver).  The following is a summary of the significant terms of the Revolver.
 
Maturity
June 30, 2015
Interest Rate
Our option of Base Rate(a) plus 2.25% or LIBOR plus 3.25% per annum.
Maximum Availability
Lesser of $100.0 million or the borrowing base(b)
Periodic Principal Payments
None 

 
(a)
Base rate is the higher of (1) the Federal Fund Rate plus 0.5%, (2) the prime rate and (3) a three month LIBOR rate plus a percentage as defined in the agreement..
 
(b)
The Revolver’s borrowing base is based on the sum of 90% of our eligible accounts receivable plus 65% of the eligible inventory (not to exceed $40.0 million) less reserves from time to time set by the administrative agent.  The eligible accounts receivable and inventories are further adjusted as specified in the Revolver and the eligible inventory currently excludes certain inventories of our subsidiaries in West Virginia.  Our borrowing base can also be increased by 95% of any cash collateral that we maintain in a cash collateral account.

The Revolver provides that we can use the Revolver availability to issue letters of credit. The Revolver provides for a 3.5% fee on any outstanding letters of credit issued under the Revolver and a 0.5% fee on the unused portion of the Revolver. The Revolver requires certain mandatory prepayments from certain asset sales, incurrence of indebtedness and excess cash flow. The Revolver includes financial covenants that require us to maintain a minimum Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio and limit capital expenditures, each as defined by the agreement. The minimum Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio is only applicable if the sum of our unrestricted cash plus the availability under the Revolver falls below $35.0 million and would remain in effect until the sum of our unrestricted cash plus the availability under the Revolver exceeds $35.0 million for 90 consecutive days. The limit on capital expenditures is only applicable if our unrestricted cash plus the availability under the Revolver falls below $50.0 million for a period of 5 consecutive days and would remain in effect until the our unrestricted cash plus the availability under the Revolver exceeds $50.0 million for 90 consecutive days.
 

 
25

 


As of June 30, 2011, we had used $63.6 million of the $88.6 million then available under the Revolver to secure outstanding letters of credits.

We incurred approximately $1.8 million of costs in connection with the amendments and restatements to the Revolver in 2011.  The costs, net of amortization, are included in other assets on the accompanying balance sheets.

We were in compliance with all of the financial covenants under our outstanding debt instruments as of June 30, 2011.  We cannot assure you that we will remain in compliance in subsequent periods.  If necessary, we will consider seeking a waiver or other alternatives to remain in compliance with the covenants.  For more detail regarding the covenants under the Facilities, see Part II - Item 1A - Risk Factors - “We may be unable to comply with restrictions imposed by the terms of our indebtedness, which could result in a default under these instruments.”  

Liquidity

As of June 30, 2011, we had total liquidity of approximately $229.7 million, consisting of $25.0 million of unused borrowing capacity under the Revolver and $204.7 million of cash and cash equivalents (excluding restricted cash and short term investments).  As of June 30, 2011, we had used $63.6 million of the existing revolving credit facility’s availability to secure outstanding letters of credits.

Our primary source of cash is expected to be sales of coal to our utility and industrial customers. The price of coal can change dramatically based on market factors and will directly affect this source of cash. Our primary uses of cash include the payment of ordinary mining expenses to mine coal, capital expenditures and benefit payments. Ordinary mining expenses are driven by the cost of supplies, including steel prices and diesel fuel. Benefit payments include payments for workers’ compensation and black lung benefits paid over the lives of our employees as the claims are submitted. We are required to pay these when due, and are not required to set aside cash for these payments. We have posted surety bonds secured by letters of credit or issued letters of credit with state regulatory departments to guarantee these payments. We believe that our Revolver provides us with the ability to meet the necessary bonding requirements.

We believe that cash generated from operations, borrowings under our Revolver and future debt and equity offerings, if any, will be sufficient to meet working capital requirements, anticipated capital expenditures, and scheduled debt payments throughout 2011 and for the next several years. Nevertheless, our ability to satisfy our working capital requirements and debt service obligations, or fund planned capital expenditures, will substantially depend upon our future operating performance (which will be affected by prevailing economic conditions in the coal industry), debt covenants, and financial, business and other factors, some of which are beyond our control.

In the event that the sources of cash described above are not sufficient to meet our future cash requirements, we will need to reduce certain planned expenditures, seek additional financing, or both. We may seek to raise funds through additional debt financing or the issuance of additional equity securities. If such actions are not sufficient, we may need to limit our growth, sell assets or reduce or curtail some of our operations to levels consistent with the constraints imposed by our available cash flow, or any combination of these options. Our ability to seek additional debt or equity financing may be limited by our existing and any future financing arrangements, economic and financial conditions, or all three. In particular, our existing 2019 Senior Notes, 2015 Convertible Senior Notes, 2018 Convertible Senior Notes and our Revolver restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness. We cannot provide assurance that any reductions in our planned expenditures or in our expansion would be sufficient to cover shortfalls in available cash or that additional debt or equity financing would be available on terms acceptable to us, if at all.

We currently project that our capital expenditures for 2011, including incremental capital expenditures as a result of the IRP Acquisition, will be approximately $140 million. These projected capital expenditures primarily consist of capital expenditures for normal mining activities including new and replacement mine equipment. Our projected capital expenditures for 2011 also include approximately $31 million for safety mandates and new mine and infrastructure development. We expect that such expenditures will be funded through cash on hand and cash generated by operations.

Net cash from operating activities reflects net income (loss) adjusted for non-cash charges and changes in net working capital (including non-current operating assets and liabilities). Net cash provided by operating activities was $86.8 million and $117.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively.  We had a net loss of $6.8 million in the six months ended June 30, 2011 as compared to net income of $43.1 million in the six months ended June 30, 2010.  In reconciling our net loss to cash provided by operating activities, $58.2 million was added for non cash charges during 2011, as compared to $41.3 million added during 2010.  During 2011, our net loss, as adjusted for non cash charges, was increased by $35.4 million as a result of changes in cash from our operating assets and liabilities.  The change in our operating assets and liabilities for 2011 included a $38.6 million decrease in receivables and a $10.2 million increase in inventories. During 2010, our net income, as adjusted for non cash charges, was increased by $33.4 million as a result of changes in cash from our operating assets and liabilities.  The change in our operating assets and liabilities for 2010 included a $47.0 million decrease in restricted cash, a $7.1 million decrease in accounts payables and a $15.6 million increase in accounts receivable.  The change for 2010 in our restricted cash is the result of replacing letters of credit that were secured by cash with letters of credit issued against our Revolver.  

 
26

 


Net cash used in investing activities increased by $540.2 million to $574.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2011 as compared to the same period in 2010, which includes a payment for the IRP Acquisition, net of cash acquired of $516.0 million.  Capital expenditures for property, plant and equipment increased $24.2 million to $58.3 million in the 2011 period as compared to the 2010 period.  Capital expenditures primarily consisted of new and replacement mine equipment and various projects to improve the production and efficiency of our mining operations.  Additionally, during the 2011 period our capital expenditures also included approximately $9.9 million for safety mandates and new mine and infrastructure development.

Net cash provided by financing activities was $511.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2011 and consists of $491.2 million of net proceeds from the issuance of the 2019 Senior Notes and the 2018 Convertible Senior Notes net of debt issuance costs, and $170.5 million of net proceeds from the issuance of common stock which were offset by $150.0 million used to repay the 2012 Senior Notes.  Net cash used by financing activities was $1.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2010 and consisted of debt issuance costs related to the amendments of the Revolver.  
 
Reserves
 
Marshall Miller & Associates, Inc. (MM&A) prepared a detailed study of our CAPP reserves that we controlled as of March 31, 2004 based on all of our geologic information, including our updated drilling and mining data. MM&A completed their report on our CAPP reserves in June 2004.  For the Triad properties, MM&A prepared a detailed study of Triad’s reserves as of February 1, 2005 for the reserves obtained in the acquisition of Triad and as of April 11, 2006 for certain additional reserves acquired in the second quarter of 2006 in the Midwest.   MM&A also prepared a detailed study of the reserves as of December 31, 2010 for the reserves obtained in the IRP Acquisition.  The MM&A studies were planned and performed to obtain reasonable assurance of the subject demonstrated reserves.  In connection with the studies, MM&A prepared reserve maps and had certified professional geologists develop estimates based on data supplied by us and Triad using standards accepted by government and industry.  We have used MM&A’s March 31, 2004 study of the CAPP reserves and the December 31, 2010 study of the reserves acquired from IRP as the basis for our current internal estimate of our Central Appalachia reserves and MM&A’s February 1, 2005 and April 11, 2006 studies as the basis for our current internal estimate of our Midwest reserves.
 
Reserves for these purposes are defined by SEC Industry Guide 7 as that part of a mineral deposit which could be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time of the reserve determination.  The reserve estimates were prepared using industry-standard methodology to provide reasonable assurance that the reserves are recoverable, considering technical, economic and legal limitations.  Although MM&A has reviewed our reserves and found them to be reasonable (notwithstanding unforeseen geological, market, labor or regulatory issues that may affect the operations), MM&A’s engagement did not include performing an economic feasibility study for our reserves.  In accordance with standard industry practice, we have performed our own economic feasibility analysis for our reserves.  It is not generally considered to be practical, however, nor is it standard industry practice, to perform a feasibility study for a company’s entire reserve portfolio.  In addition, MM&A did not independently verify our control of our properties, and has relied solely on property information supplied by us.  Reserve acreage, average seam thickness, average seam density and average mine and wash recovery percentages were verified by MM&A to prepare a reserve tonnage estimate for each reserve.  There are numerous uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities and values of economically recoverable coal reserves as discussed in “Critical Accounting Estimates – Coal Reserves”.
 
Based on the MM&A reserve studies and the foregoing assumptions and qualifications, and after giving effect to our operations from the respective dates of the studies through June 30, 2011, we estimate that, as of June 30, 2011, we controlled approximately 315.6 million tons of proven and probable coal reserves in the CAPP region and 39.7 million tons in the Midwest region.  The following table provides additional information regarding changes to our reserves for the six months ended June 30, 2011 (in millions of tons):

 
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CAPP
   
Midwest
   
Total
 
                   
Proven and Probable Reserves, as of December 31, 2010 (1)
    230.4       40.9       271.3  
Coal Extracted
    (3.5 )     (1.3 )     (4.8 )
IRP Acquisition (2)
    85.5       -       85.5  
Acquisitions (3)
    1.7       -       1.7  
Adjustments (4)
    1.5       0.1       1.6  
Divesture (5)
    -       -       -  
Proven and Probable Reserves, as of June 30, 2011 (1)
    315.6       39.7       355.3  

 
 
1)
Calculated in the same manner, and based on the same assumptions and qualifications, as used in the MM&A studies described above, but these estimates have not been reviewed by MM&A.  Proven reserves have the highest degree of geologic assurance and are reserves for which (a) quantity is computed from dimensions revealed in outcrops, trenches, workings, or drill holes; grade and/or quality are computed from the results of detailed sampling and (b) the sites for inspections, sampling and measurement are spaced so closely and the geologic character is so well defined that size, shape, depth and mineral content of reserves are well-established.  Probable reserves have a moderate degree of geologic assurance and are reserves for which quantity and grade and/or quality are computed from information similar to that used for proven reserves, but the sites for inspection, sampling and measurement are farther apart or are otherwise less adequately spaced.  The degree of assurance, although lower than that for proven reserves, is high enough to assume continuity between points of observation.  This reserve information reflects recoverable tonnage on an as-received basis with 5.5% moisture.

 
2)
Based on a detailed study of the reserves as of December 31, 2010 for the reserves obtained in the IRP Acquisition by MM&A.

 
3)
Represents estimated reserves on leases entered into or properties acquired during the relevant period.  We calculated the reserves in the same manner, and based on the same assumptions and qualifications, as used in the MM&A studies described above, but these estimates have not been reviewed by MM&A.

 
4)
Represents changes in reserves due to additional information obtained from exploration activities, production activities or discovery of new geologic information. We calculated the adjustments to the reserves in the same manner, and based on the same assumptions and qualifications, as used in the MM&A studies described above, but these estimates have not been reviewed by MM&A.

 
5)
Represents changes in reserves due to expired or transferred leases.

Key Performance Indicators

We manage our business through several key performance metrics that provide a summary of information in the areas of sales, operations, and general and administrative costs.

In the sales area, our long-term metrics are the volume-weighted average remaining term of our contracts and our open contract position for the next several years. During periods of high prices, we may seek to lengthen the average remaining term of our contracts and reduce the open tonnage for future periods. In the short-term, we closely monitor the Average Selling Price per Ton (ASP).

In the operations area, we monitor the volume of coal that is produced by each of our principal sources, including company mines, contract mines, and purchased coal sources. For our company mines, we focus on both operating costs and operating productivity. We closely monitor the cost per ton of our mines against our budgeted costs and against our other mines.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are also measures used by management to measure operating performance. We define EBITDA as net income (loss) plus interest expense (net), income tax expense (benefit) and depreciation, depletion and amortization. We regularly use EBITDA to evaluate our performance as compared to other companies in our industry that have different financing and capital structures and/or tax rates. In addition, we use EBITDA in evaluating acquisition targets. EBITDA is not a recognized term under U.S generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP) and is not an alternative to net income, operating income or any other performance measures derived in accordance with US GAAP or an alternative to cash flow from operating activities as a measure of operating liquidity.  Adjusted EBITDA is used in calculating compliance with our debt covenants and adjusts EBITDA for certain items as defined in our debt agreements, including stock compensation, acquisition costs and certain bank fees.

 
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Trends In Our Business

Near-term in the steam coal market, the slow global economic recovery has lowered demand for coal which has resulted in a decline in steam coal prices.  The price of steam coal has also been impacted by a decrease in the price of competing fuel sources including oil and natural gas.  The coal industry has made cutbacks in supply in response to decrease in demand for steam coal.  In the metallurgical coal markets prices continue to be strong worldwide.  Due to the uncertainties in the global market place, we are unable to forecast the price or demand for coal over the next few years.  Long-term, we believe that the demand for coal worldwide will continue to be strong as supply challenges will continue in the regions that we mine coal.  We also believe that in the United States coal will continue to be one of the most economical energy sources.   A number of factors beyond our control impact coal prices, including:

 
·
the supply of domestic and foreign coal;
 
·
the demand for electricity;
 
·
the demand for steel and the continued financial viability of the domestic and foreign steel industries;
 
·
the cost of transporting coal to the customer;
 
·
domestic and foreign governmental regulations and taxes;
 
·
world economic conditions;
 
·
air emission standards for coal-fired power plants; and
 
·
the price and availability of alternative fuels for electricity generation.

As discussed previously, our costs of production have increased in recent years.  We expect the higher costs to continue for the next several years, due to a number of factors, including increased governmental regulations, high prices in worldwide commodity markets, and a highly competitive market for a limited supply of skilled mining personnel.
 
Our business is very sensitive to changes in supply and demand for coal and we carefully manage our mines to maximize operating results.  As our current long term contracts are fulfilled, our profitability in the future will be impacted by the price levels that we achieve on future long term contracts.  Events beyond our control could impact our profit margins.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

In the normal course of business, we are a party to certain off-balance sheet arrangements, including guarantees, operating leases, indemnifications, and financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk, such as bank letters of credit and performance or surety bonds.  Liabilities related to these arrangements are not reflected in our consolidated balance sheets, and, except for the operating leases, we do not expect any material impact on our cash flow, results of operations or financial condition from these off-balance sheet arrangements.

We use surety bonds to secure reclamation, workers’ compensation and other miscellaneous obligations. At June 30, 2011, we had $152.8 million of outstanding surety bonds with third parties. These bonds were in place to secure obligations as follows: post-mining reclamation bonds of $108.0 million, workers’ compensation bonds of $40.3 million, wage payment, collection bonds, and other miscellaneous obligation bonds of $4.5 million. Surety bond costs have increased over time and the market terms of surety bonds have generally become less favorable. To the extent that surety bonds become unavailable, we would seek to secure obligations with letters of credit, cash deposits, or other suitable forms of collateral.

We also use cash collateral accounts and bank letters of credit to secure our obligations for post-mining reclamation, workers’ compensation programs, various insurance contracts and other obligations. As of June 30, 2011, we had $63.6 million of letters of credit outstanding.  The letters of credit are issued under our Revolver.

Critical Accounting Estimates

Overview

Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and capital resources are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP).  US GAAP require estimates and judgments that affect reported amounts for assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses.  The estimates and judgments we make in connection with our consolidated financial statements are based on historical experience and various other factors we believe are reasonable under the circumstances.  Note 1 of the notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements and to our annual consolidated financial statements filed on Form 10-K describes our significant accounting policies.  The following critical accounting policies have a material effect on amounts reported in our consolidated financial statements.


 
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Business Combinations

We account for our business combinations under the acquisition method of accounting.  The total cost of acquisitions is allocated to the underlying identifiable net tangible and intangible assets based on their respective estimated fair values.  Determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed requires management’s judgment, with assistance of third party valuation services, and often involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions with respect to the timing and amounts of future cash inflows and outflows, discount rates, market prices and asset lives, among other items.  Until the purchase price allocation is finalized there is a potential for changes to the values assigned to the assets and liabilities acquired which could impact previously reported amounts.

Workers' Compensation

We are liable under various state statutes for providing workers’ compensation benefits.  Except as indicated, we are self insured for workers’ compensation at our Kentucky operations, with specific excess insurance purchased from independent insurance carriers to cover individual traumatic claims in excess of the self-insured limits.  For the period June 2002 to June 2005, workers compensation coverage was insured through a third party insurance company using a large risk rating plan.  Our operations in Indiana are insured through a third party insurance company using a large risk rating plan.  Our operations in West Virginia are fully insured with a guaranteed cost policy through a third party insurance company for both Workers’ Compensation and Employers Liability coverage. 

We accrue for the present value of certain workers’ compensation obligations as calculated annually by an independent actuary based upon assumptions for work-related injury and illness rates, discount rates and future trends for medical care costs.  The discount rate is based on interest rates on bonds with maturities similar to the estimated future cash flows.  The discount rate used to calculate the present value of these future obligations was 4.5% at December 31, 2010.  Significant changes to interest rates result in substantial volatility to our consolidated financial statements. If we were to decrease our estimate of the discount rate from 4.5% to 4.0%, all other things being equal, the present value of our workers’ compensation obligation would increase by approximately $2.2 million. A change in the law, through either legislation or judicial action, could cause these assumptions to change. If the estimates do not materialize as anticipated, our actual costs and cash expenditures could differ materially from that currently estimated. Our estimated workers’ compensation liability as of June 30, 2011 was $66.9 million.

Coal Miners' Pneumoconiosis

We are required under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, as amended, as well as various state statutes, to provide pneumoconiosis (black lung) benefits to eligible current and former employees and their dependents. We provide for federal and state black lung claims through a self-insurance program for our Central Appalachia operations.   For the period between June 2002 and June 2005, all black lung liabilities were insured through a third party insurance company using a large risk rating plan.  Our operations in Indiana are insured through a third party insurance company using a large risk rating plan.  Our operations in West Virginia are fully insured with a guaranteed cost policy through a third party insurance company.

An independent actuary calculates the estimated pneumoconiosis liability annually based on assumptions regarding disability incidence, medical costs, mortality, death benefits, dependents and interest rates. The discount rate is based on interest rates on high quality corporate bonds with maturities similar to the estimated future cash flows. The discount rate used to calculate the present value of these future obligations was 5.4% at December 31, 2010. Significant changes to interest rates result in substantial volatility to our consolidated financial statements. If we were to decrease our estimate of the discount rate by 0.5% to 4.9%, all other things being equal, the present value of our black lung obligation would increase by approximately $3.3 million. A change in the law, through either legislation or judicial action, could cause these assumptions to change. If these estimates prove inaccurate, the actual costs and cash expenditures could vary materially from the amount currently estimated. Our estimated pneumoconiosis liability as of June 30, 2011 was $47.3 million.

Defined Benefit Pension

We have in place a non-contributory defined benefit pension plan under which all benefits were frozen in 2007.  The estimated cost and benefits of our non-contributory defined benefit pension plans are determined annually by independent actuaries, who, with our review and approval, use various actuarial assumptions, including discount rate and expected long-term rate of return on pension plan assets. In estimating the discount rate, we look to rates of return on high-quality, fixed-income investments with comparable maturities. At December 31, 2010, the discount rate used to determine the obligation was 5.4%. Significant changes to interest rates result in substantial volatility to our consolidated financial statements. If we were to decrease our estimate of the discount rate from 5.4% to 4.9%, all other things being equal, the present value of our projected benefit obligation would increase by approximately $4.8 million.  The expected long-term rate of return on pension plan assets is based on long-term historical return information and future estimates of long-term investment returns for the target asset allocation of investments that comprise plan assets. The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets used to determine expense was 7.5% for the period ended December 31, 2010. Significant changes to these rates would introduce volatility to our pension expense.  Our accrued pension obligation as of June 30, 2011 was $10.6 million.

 
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Reclamation and Mine Closure Obligation

The Surface Mining Control Reclamation Act of 1977 establishes operational, reclamation and closure standards for all aspects of surface mining as well as many aspects of underground mining. Our asset retirement obligation liabilities consist of spending estimates related to reclaiming surface land and support facilities at both surface and underground mines in accordance with federal and state reclamation laws. Our total reclamation and mine-closing liabilities are based upon permit requirements and our engineering estimates related to these requirements. US GAAP requires that asset retirement obligations be initially recorded as a liability based on fair value, which is calculated as the present value of the estimated future cash flows. Our management and engineers periodically review the estimate of ultimate reclamation liability and the expected period in which reclamation work will be performed. In estimating future cash flows, we considered the estimated current cost of reclamation and applied inflation rates and a third party profit. The third party profit is an estimate of the approximate markup that would be charged by contractors for work performed on our behalf. The discount rate is our estimate of our credit adjusted risk free rate. The estimated liability can change significantly if actual costs vary from assumptions or if governmental regulations change significantly. The actual costs could be different due to several reasons, including the possibility that our estimates could be incorrect, in which case our liabilities would differ. If we perform the reclamation work using our personnel rather than hiring a third party, as assumed under US GAAP, then the costs should be lower. If governmental regulations change, then the costs of reclamation will be impacted. US GAAP recognizes that the recorded liability could be different than the final cost of the reclamation and addresses the settlement of the liability. When the obligation is settled, and there is a difference between the recorded liability and the amount paid to settle the obligation, a gain or loss upon settlement is included in earnings. Our asset retirement obligation as of June 30, 2011 was $101.4 million, which includes an additional $50.9 million increase in the asset retirement obligation as a result of the IRP acquisition.

Contingencies

We are the subject of, or a party to, various suits and pending or threatened litigation involving governmental agencies or private interests. We have accrued the probable and reasonably estimable costs for the resolution of these claims based upon management’s best estimate of potential results, assuming a combination of litigation and settlement strategies. Management does not believe that the outcome or timing of current legal or environmental matters will have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.  See the notes to the consolidated financial statements for further discussion on our contingencies.

Income Taxes

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are required to be recognized using enacted tax rates for the effect of temporary differences between the book and tax bases of recorded assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets are also required to be reduced by a valuation allowance if it is more likely than not that some portion of the deferred tax asset will not be realized. In evaluating the need for a valuation allowance, we take into account various factors, including the expected level of future taxable income. We have also considered tax planning strategies in determining the deferred tax asset that will ultimately be realized. If actual results differ from the assumptions made in the evaluation of the amount of our valuation allowance, we record a change in valuation allowance through income tax expense in the period such determination is made.

We have no valuation allowance against our gross deferred tax assets as of June 30, 2011.  

Coal Reserves

There are numerous uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities and values of economically recoverable coal reserves. Many of these uncertainties are beyond our control. As a result, estimates of economically recoverable coal reserves are by their nature uncertain. Information about our reserves consists of estimates based on engineering, economic and geological data initially assembled by our staff and analyzed by Marshall Miller & Associates, Inc. (MM&A). The reserve information has subsequently been updated by our staff. The updates to the reserves have been calculated in the same manner, and based on similar assumptions and qualifications, as used in the MM&A studies described above, but these updates to the reserve estimates have not been reviewed by MM&A.  A number of sources of information were used to determine accurate recoverable reserves estimates, including:

 
·
all currently available data;

 
·
our own operational experience and that of our consultants;
 
 
·
historical production from similar areas with similar conditions;
 
 
·
previously completed geological and reserve studies;
 
 
·
the assumed effects of regulations and taxes by governmental agencies; and
 
 
·
assumptions governing future prices and future operating costs.
 

 
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Reserve estimates will change from time to time to reflect, among other factors:
 
·      mining activities;
 
·      new engineering and geological data;
 
·      acquisition or divestiture of reserve holdings; and
 
·      modification of mining plans or mining methods.
 
Each of these factors may in fact vary considerably from the assumptions used in estimating reserves. For these reasons, estimates of the economically recoverable quantities of coal attributable to a particular group of properties, and classifications of these reserves based on risk of recovery and estimates of future net cash flows may vary substantially. Actual production, revenue and expenditures with respect to reserves will likely vary from estimates, and these variances could be material. In particular, a variance in reserve estimates could have a material adverse impact on our annual expense for depreciation, depletion and amortization and on our annual calculation for potential impairment. For a further discussion of our coal reserves, see “Reserves.”

Evaluation of Goodwill and Long-Lived Assets for Impairment

Goodwill is not amortized, but is subject to periodic assessments of impairment.  Impairment testing is performed at the reporting unit level. We test goodwill for impairment annually during the fourth quarter, or when changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable.  Long-lived asset groups are tested for recoverability when changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable.  Events that trigger a test for recoverability include material adverse changes in projected revenues and expenses, significant underperformance relative to historical or projected future operating results and significant negative industry or economic trends.

The estimates used to determine whether impairment has occurred to goodwill and long-lived assets are subject to a number of management assumptions.  We estimate the fair value of a reporting unit or asset group based on market prices (i.e., the amount for which the asset could be bought by or sold to a third party), when available.  When market prices are not available, we estimate the fair value of the reporting unit or asset group using the income approach and/or the market approach, which are subject to a number of management assumptions.  The income approach uses cash flow projections.  Inherent in our development of cash flow projections are assumptions and estimates derived from a review of our operating results, approved operating budgets, expected growth rates and cost of capital.  We also make certain assumptions about future economic conditions, interest rates, and other market data.  Many of the factors used in assessing fair value are outside the control of management, and these assumptions and estimates can change in future periods.

Changes in assumptions or estimates could materially affect the determination of fair value of an asset group, and therefore could affect the amount of potential impairment of the asset.  The following assumptions are key to our income approach:
 
 
·
We make assumptions about coal production, sales price for unpriced coal, cost to mine the coal and estimated residual value of property, plant and equipment.  These assumptions are key inputs for developing our cash flow projections.  These projections are derived using our internal operating budget and are developed on a mine by mine basis.  These projections are updated annually and reviewed by the Board of Directors.  Historically, the Company’s primary variances between its projections and actual results have been with regard to assumptions for future coal production, sales prices of coal and costs to mine the coal.  These factors are based on our best knowledge at the time we prepare our budgets but can vary significantly due to regulatory issues, unforeseen mining conditions, change in commodity prices, availability and costs of labor and changes in supply and demand.  While we make our best estimates at the time we prepare our budgets it is reasonably likely that these estimates will change in future budgets, due to the changing nature of the coal environment;
 
·
Economic Projections –  Assumptions regarding general economic conditions are included in and affect the assumptions used in our impairment tests.  These assumptions include, but are not limited to, supply and demand for coal, inflation, interest rates, and prices of raw materials (commodities); and
 
·
Discount Rates – When measuring a possible impairment, future cash flows are discounted at a rate that we believe represents our cost of capital.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements
 
In the six months ended June 30, 2011, there were no accounting pronouncements that became effective that impacted our financial statements.

 
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FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
 
From time to time, we make certain comments and disclosures in reports and statements, including this report, or statements made by our officers, which may be forward-looking in nature. Examples include statements related to our future outlook, anticipated capital expenditures, future cash flows and borrowings, and sources of funding. These forward-looking statements could also involve, among other things, statements regarding our intent, belief or expectation with respect to:

 
·
our cash flows, results of operation or financial condition;

 
·
the consummation of acquisitions, dispositions or financing transactions and the effect thereof on our business;

 
·
governmental policies and regulatory actions;

 
·
legal and administrative proceedings, settlements, investigations and claims;

 
·
weather conditions or catastrophic weather-related damage;

 
·
our production capabilities;

 
·
availability of transportation;

 
·
market demand for coal, electricity and steel;

 
·
competition;

 
·
our relationships with, and other conditions affecting, our customers;

 
·
employee workforce factors;

 
·
our assumptions concerning economically recoverable coal reserve estimates;

 
·
future economic or capital market conditions; and

 
·
our plans and objectives for future operations and expansion or consolidation.

Any forward-looking statements are subject to the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual cash flows, results of operations, financial condition, cost reductions, acquisitions, dispositions, financing transactions, operations, expansion, consolidation and other events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements are also subject to a number of assumptions regarding, among other things, future economic, competitive and market conditions generally. These assumptions would be based on facts and conditions as they exist at the time such statements are made as well as predictions as to future facts and conditions, the accurate prediction of which may be difficult and involve the assessment of events beyond our control.

We wish to caution readers that forward-looking statements, including disclosures which use words such as “believe,” “intend,” “expect,” “may,” “should,” “anticipate,” “could,” “estimate,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” or their negatives, and similar statements, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: a change in the demand for coal by electric utility customers; the loss of one or more of our largest customers; inability to secure new coal supply agreements or to extend existing coal supply agreements at market prices; our dependency on one railroad for transportation of a large percentage of our products; failure to exploit additional coal reserves; the risk that reserve estimates are inadequate; failure to diversify our operations; increased capital expenditures; encountering difficult mining conditions; increased costs of complying with mine health and safety regulations; bottlenecks or other difficulties in transporting coal to our customers; delays in the development of new mining projects; increased cost of raw materials; the effects of litigation, regulation and competition; lack of availability of financing sources; our compliance with debt covenants; the risk that we are unable to successfully integrate acquired assets into the business; our cash flows, results of operation or financial condition; the consummation of acquisition, disposition or financing transactions and the effect thereof on our business; governmental policies and regulatory actions; legal and administrative proceedings, settlements, investigations and claims; weather conditions or catastrophic weather-related damage; our production capabilities; availability of transportation; market demand for coal, electricity and steel; competition; our relationships with, and other conditions affecting, our customers; employee workforce factors; our assumptions concerning economically recoverable coal reserve estimates; future economic or capital market conditions; our plans and objectives for future operations and expansion or consolidation; our ability to integrate successfully operations that we have or may acquire or develop in the future, including those of IRP, or the risk that any such integration could be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected; the consummation of financing transactions, acquisitions or dispositions and the related effects on our business; uncertainty of our expected financial performance following the completion of the IRP Acquisition; disruption from the IRP Acquisition making it more difficult to maintain relationships with customers, employees or suppliers; and the risk factors set forth in this Form 10-Q under Part II - Item 1A “Risk Factors.” Those are representative of factors that could affect the outcome of the forward-looking statements. These and the other factors discussed elsewhere in this document are not necessarily all of the important factors that could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and we undertake no obligation to update them.

 
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ITEM 3.  QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

At June 30, 2011, all $575.2 million of our outstanding debt has a fixed interest rate and is not sensitive to changes in the general level of interest rates.  Our Revolver has floating interest rates based on our option of either the base rate or LIBOR rate.  As of June 30, 2011, we had no borrowings outstanding under the Revolver.  We currently do not use interest rate swaps to manage this risk.  A 100 basis point (1.0%) increase in the average interest rate for our floating rate borrowings would increase our annual interest expense by approximately $0.1 million for each $10 million of borrowings under the Revolver.

We manage our commodity price risk through the use of long-term coal supply agreements, which we define as contracts with a term of one year or more, rather than through the use of derivative instruments.  The percentage of our sales pursuant to long-term contracts was approximately 68% for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

All of our transactions are denominated in U.S. dollars, and, as a result, we do not have material exposure to currency exchange-rate risks.

We are not engaged in any foreign currency exchange rate or commodity price-hedging transactions and we have no trading market risk.

ITEM 4.  CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
 
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
 
Pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”), the Company carried out an evaluation, with the participation of the Company’s management, including the Company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Accounting Officer (CAO) (the Company’s principal financial and accounting officer), of the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined under Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based upon that evaluation, the Company’s CEO and CAO concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that the Company files or submits under the Exchange Act, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including the Company’s CEO and CAO, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

The Company’s management, including the Company’s CEO and CAO, does not expect that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures or the Company’s internal controls will prevent all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of the controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the Company have been detected.

Except as set forth below, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the three months ended June 30, 2011 that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

On April 18, 2011 the Company completed the acquisition of IRP.  The Company is currently in the process of integrating the internal controls and procedures of IRP, which may materially affect the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.  Management expects to exclude IRP from its December 31, 2011 assessment of and report on internal control over financial reporting, but expects to perform an assessment of and report on internal control over financial reporting of the combined company as of December 31, 2012.
 
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PART II
OTHER INFORMATION



ITEM 1.  LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We are party to a number of legal proceedings incidental to our normal business activities, including a large number of workers’ compensation claims.  While we cannot predict the outcome of these proceedings, in our opinion, any liability arising from these matters individually and in the aggregate should not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, cash flows or results of operations.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Certain Risks

For a discussion of certain risk factors that may impact our business, refer to “Critical Accounting Estimates” within this Form 10-Q.  The following are additional risks and uncertainties that we believe are material to our business.  It is possible that there are additional risks and uncertainties that affect our business that will arise or become material in the future.

Risks Related to the Coal Industry

Because the demand and pricing for coal is greatly influenced by consumption patterns of the domestic electricity generation industry and the worldwide steel industry, a reduction in the demand for coal by these industries would likely cause our revenues and profitability to decline significantly.

We derived 59% of our total revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 88% of our total revenues in 2010, from our electric utility customers.  In connection with the IRP Acquisition, we also began to provide metallurgical coal to the steel industry and as a result 41% of our total revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2011 was from industrial customers, including those in the steel industry.

We compete with coal producers in the United States and overseas for domestic and international sales. Demand for our coal and the prices that we will be able to obtain primarily will depend upon coal consumption patterns of the electric utility industry and the worldwide steel industry. Consumption by the utility industry is affected by the demand for electricity, environmental and other governmental regulations, technological developments and the price of competing coal and alternative fuel supplies including nuclear, natural gas, oil and renewable energy sources, including hydroelectric power.  Demand by the utility industry is impacted by weather patterns, overall economic activity and the associated demand for power by industrial users. Consumption by the steel industry is primarily affected by economic growth and the demand for steel used in construction as well as appliances and automobiles.

Portions of our coal reserves possess quality characteristics that enable us to mine, process and market them as either metallurgical coal or high quality steam coal, depending on the prevailing conditions in the markets for metallurgical and steam coal. A decline in the metallurgical market relative to the steam market could cause us to shift coal from the metallurgical market to the steam market, potentially reducing the price we could obtain for this coal and adversely impacting our cash flows, results of operations or financial condition

Any downward pressure on coal prices would likely cause our profitability to decline.

Changes in the export and import markets for coal products could affect the demand for our coal, our pricing and our profitability.
 
We compete in a worldwide market. The pricing and demand for our products is affected by a number of factors beyond our control. These factors include:
 
 
currency exchange rates;
 
growth of economic development;
 
price of alternative sources of electricity or steel;
 
world wide demand; and
 
ocean freight rates
 

 
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Any decrease in the amount of coal exported from the United States, or any increase in the amount of coal imported into the United States, could have a material adverse impact on the demand for our coal, our pricing and our profitability.

Increased consolidation and competition in the U.S. coal industry may adversely affect our revenues and profitability.
 
During the last several years, the U.S. coal industry has experienced increased consolidation, which has contributed to the industry becoming more competitive.  Consequently, many of our competitors in the domestic coal industry are major coal producers who have significantly greater financial resources than us.  The intense competition among coal producers may impact our ability to retain or attract customers and may therefore adversely affect our future revenues and profitability.

Fluctuations in transportation costs and the availability and dependability of transportation could affect the demand for our coal and our ability to deliver coal to our customers.
 
Increases in transportation costs could have an adverse effect on demand for our coal.  Customers choose coal supplies based, primarily, on the total delivered cost of coal.  Any increase in transportation costs would cause an increase in the total delivered cost of coal.  That could cause some of our customers to seek less expensive sources of coal or alternative fuels to satisfy their energy needs.  In addition, significant decreases in transportation costs from other coal-producing regions, both domestic and international, could result in increased competition from coal producers in those regions.  For instance, coal mines in the western United States could become more attractive as a source of coal to consumers in the eastern United States, if the costs of transporting coal from the West were significantly reduced.

Our Central Appalachia mines generally ship coal via rail systems, ocean vessels and barges.  During 2010, we shipped in excess of 90% of our coal from our Central Appalachia mines via CSX.  In the Midwest, we shipped in excess of 65% of our produced coal by truck and the remainder via the rail system or by barge.  We believe that our 2011 transportation modes will continue to be comparable to those used in 2010, except that the shipments from the newly acquired IRP mines will also use ocean vessels and barges.  Our dependence upon railroads, third party trucking companies, ocean vessels and barges impacts our ability to deliver coal to our customers.  Disruption of service due to weather-related problems, mechanical difficulties, strikes, lockouts, bottlenecks and other events could temporarily impair our ability to supply coal to our customers, resulting in decreased shipments.  Decreased performance levels over longer periods of time could cause our customers to look elsewhere for their fuel needs, negatively affecting our revenues and profitability.
 
In past years, the major eastern railroads (CSX and Norfolk Southern) have experienced periods of increased overall rail traffic due to an expanding economy and shortages of both equipment and personnel.  This increase in traffic could impact our ability to obtain the necessary rail cars to deliver coal to our customers and have an adverse impact on our financial results.

Shortages or increased costs of skilled labor in the coal regions that we operate may hamper our ability to achieve high labor productivity and competitive costs.
 
Coal mining continues to be a labor-intensive industry.  In times of increased demand, many producers attempt to increase coal production, which historically has resulted in a competitive market for the limited supply of trained coal miners.  In some cases, this market situation has caused compensation levels to increase, particularly for “skilled” positions such as electricians and mine foremen.  To maintain current production levels, we may be forced to respond to increases in wages and other forms of compensation, and related recruiting efforts by our competitors.  Any future shortage of skilled miners, or increases in our labor costs, could have an adverse impact on our labor productivity and costs and on our ability to expand production.

Government laws, regulations and other requirements relating to the protection of the environment, health and safety and other matters impose significant costs on us, and future requirements could limit our ability to produce coal.
 
We are subject to extensive federal, state and local regulations with respect to matters such as:
 
 
·
employee health and safety;
 
·
permitting and licensing requirements;
 
·
air quality standards;
 
·
water quality standards;
 
·
plant, wildlife and wetland protection;
 
·
blasting operations;
 
·
the management and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous materials generated by mining operations;
 
·
the storage of petroleum products and other hazardous substances;
 
·
reclamation and restoration of properties after mining operations are completed;
 
·
discharge of materials into the environment, including air emissions and wastewater discharge;
 
·
surface subsidence from underground mining; and
 
·
the effects of mining operations on groundwater quality and availability.


 
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Complying with these requirements, including the terms of our permits, has had, and will continue to have, a significant effect on our costs of operations.  We could incur substantial costs, including clean up costs, fines, civil or criminal sanctions and third party claims for personal injury or property damage as a result of violations of or liabilities under these laws and regulations.
 
The coal industry is also affected by significant legislation mandating specified benefits for retired miners.  In addition, the utility industry, which is the most significant end user of coal, is subject to extensive regulation regarding the environmental impact of its power generating activities.  Coal contains impurities, including sulfur, mercury, chlorine and other elements or compounds, many of which are released into the air when coal is burned.  Stricter environmental regulations of emissions from coal-fired electric generating plants could increase the costs of using coal, thereby reducing demand for coal as a fuel source or the volume and price of our coal sales, or making coal a less attractive fuel alternative in the planning and building of utility power plants in the future.

New legislation, regulations and orders adopted or implemented in the future (or changes in interpretations of existing laws and regulations) may materially adversely affect our mining operations, our cost structure and our customers’ operations or ability to use coal.
 
The majority of our coal supply agreements contain provisions that allow the purchaser to terminate its contract if legislation is passed that either restricts the use or type of coal permissible at the purchaser’s plant or results in too great an increase in the cost of coal.  These factors and legislation, if enacted, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

The passage of legislation responsive to the Framework Convention on Global Climate Change or similar governmental initiatives could result in restrictions on coal use.
 
The United States and more than 160 other nations are signatories to the 1992 Framework Convention on Global Climate Change, commonly known as the Kyoto Protocol, which is intended to limit or capture emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide.  In December 1997, the signatories to the convention established a potentially binding set of emissions targets for developed nations.  Although the specific emissions targets vary from country to country, the United States would be required to reduce emissions to 93% of 1990 levels over a five-year budget period from 2008 through 2012.  The U.S. Senate has not ratified the treaty commitments.  The current administration could support the effort to ratify the treaty.  With Russia’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in 2004, it became binding on all ratifying countries.  The implementation of the Kyoto Protocol in the United States and other countries, and other emissions limits, such as those adopted by the European Union, could affect demand for coal inside and outside the United States.  If the Kyoto Protocol or other comprehensive legislation or regulations focusing on greenhouse gas emissions is enacted by the United States, it could have the effect of restricting the use of coal.  Other efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and federal initiatives to encourage the use of natural gas also may affect the use of coal as an energy source.

In December 2009, approximately 190 countries participated in the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. The participants “took note” of a non-binding accord under which participating nations would report, by January 31, 2010, their commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Under this non-binding framework, the U.S. has committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 17% below 2005 levels by 2020, 42% below 2005 levels by 2030, and 83% below 2005 levels by 2050.

We are subject to the federal Clean Water Act and similar state laws which impose treatment, monitoring and reporting obligations.
 
The federal Clean Water Act and corresponding state laws affect coal mining operations by imposing restrictions on discharges into regulated waters.  Permits requiring regular monitoring and compliance with effluent limitations and reporting requirements govern the discharge of pollutants into regulated waters.  New requirements under the Clean Water Act (such as the proposal discussed below in the risk factor “We must obtain governmental permits and approvals for mining operations, which can be a costly and time consuming process and result in restrictions on our operations”) and corresponding state laws could cause us to incur significant additional costs that adversely affect our operating results. 
 
Regulations have expanded the definition of black lung disease and generally made it easier for claimants to assert and prosecute claims, which could increase our exposure to black lung benefit liabilities.
 
In January 2001, the United States Department of Labor amended the regulations implementing the federal black lung laws to give greater weight to the opinion of a claimant’s treating physician, expand the definition of black lung disease and limit the amount of medical evidence that can be submitted by claimants and respondents. The amendments also alter administrative procedures for the adjudication of claims, which, according to the Department of Labor, results in streamlined procedures that are less formal, less adversarial and easier for participants to understand. These and other changes to the federal black lung regulations could significantly increase our exposure to black lung benefits liabilities.

 
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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Act) was enacted into law on March 23, 2010 and included a black-lung provision that creates a rebuttable presumption that a miner with at least 15 years of service, with totally disabling pulmonary or respiratory lung impairment and negative radiographic chest x-ray evidence would be disabled due to pneumoconiosis and be eligible for black lung benefits. The new Act also makes it easier for widows of miners to become eligible for benefits. The enactment of this new legislation could significantly impact the Company’s future payments for black lung benefits.

In recent years, legislation on black lung reform has been introduced but not enacted in Congress and in the Kentucky legislature. It is possible that additional legislation will be reintroduced for consideration by Congress. If any of the proposals included in this or similar legislation is passed, the number of claimants who are awarded benefits could significantly increase. Any such changes in black lung legislation, if approved, may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
 
Extensive environmental laws and regulations affect the end-users of coal and could reduce the demand for coal as a fuel source and cause the volume of our sales to decline.
 
The Clean Air Act and similar state and local laws extensively regulate the amount of sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, mercury and other compounds emitted into the air from electric power plants, which are the largest end-users of our coal. Compliance with such laws and regulations, which can take a variety of forms, may reduce demand for coal as a fuel source because they can require significant emissions control expenditures for coal-fired power plants to attain applicable ambient air quality standards, which may lead these generators to switch to other fuels that generate less of these emissions and may also reduce future demand for the construction of coal-fired power plants.

The EPA has adopted more stringent National Ambient Air Quality Standards for nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide, both of which are emitted from coal-fired combustion units. The EPA is considering whether to adopt a more stringent standard for ground-level ozone, to which emissions from coal combustion units can contribute. The demand for coal could be affected at electric generating facilities located in geographic areas that exceed the modified standards.

The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the EPA, has filed lawsuits against several investor-owned electric utilities and brought an administrative action against one government-owned utility for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act. We supply coal to some of the currently-affected utilities, and it is possible that other of our customers will be sued. These lawsuits could require the utilities to pay penalties, install pollution control equipment or undertake other emission reduction measures, any of which could adversely impact their demand for our coal.

A regional haze program initiated by the EPA to protect and to improve visibility at and around national parks, national wilderness areas and international parks restricts the construction of new coal-fired power plants whose operation may impair visibility at and around federally protected areas and may require some existing coal-fired power plants to install additional control measures designed to limit haze-causing emissions.

The Clean Air Act also imposes standards on sources of hazardous air pollutants. For example, on May 3, 2011, the EPA issued a proposed rule to regulate emissions of mercury and other inorganic pollutants from electric power plants.  The proposal also includes standards for nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter.  These standards and future standards could have the effect of decreasing demand for coal. So-called multi-pollutant bills, which could regulate additional air pollutants, have been proposed by various members of Congress. If such initiatives are enacted into law, power plant operators could choose other fuel sources to meet their requirements, reducing the demand for coal.
 
On July 6, 2011, the EPA issued its Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) which regulates power plant emissions in 22 states.  Effective January 2012, the rule requires significant reductions in emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, with the applicable requirement being determined on a state-by-state basis.  Further reductions are required after 2014.  The CSAPR also includes a cap-and-trade mechanism that allows intrastate and limited interstate trading of emissions allowances. The EPA also issued a supplemental proposal to require an additional six states to make summertime nitrogen oxide reductions, bringing the total number of covered states to 28.
 

 
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As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on April 2, 2007 in Massachusetts, et al. v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497 (2007), finding that greenhouse gases fall within the Clean Air Act definition of “air pollutant,” the EPA was required to determine whether emissions of greenhouse gases “endanger” public health or welfare. In December 2009, the EPA published its finding that current and projected concentrations of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere threaten the public’s health and welfare. This finding enables the EPA to proceed with a broad regulatory program for the control of greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide emissions. The EPA has recently completed several rulemaking actions indicating its intent to do so, including, among others, a final greenhouse gas reporting rule for certain major stationary source permitting programs, final regulations to control greenhouse gas emissions from light duty vehicles, and a final “tailoring” rule explaining how it would implement the Clean Air Act’s Title V and prevention of significant deterioration permitting programs with respect to greenhouse gas emissions from major stationary sources In recent legislative sessions, both houses of Congress have considered, but failed to enact, new legislation that could establish a national cap on, or other regulation of, carbon emissions and other greenhouse gases. Recent proposals include a cap and trade system that would require the purchase of emission permits, which could be traded on the open market. These and other proposals would make it more costly to operate coal-fired plants and could make coal a less attractive fuel for future power plants. Any new or proposed requirements adversely affecting the use of coal could adversely affect our operations and results.

The permitting of new coal-fired power plants has also recently been contested by state regulators and environmental organizations based on concerns relating to greenhouse gas emissions. In several litigation cases, plaintiffs are seeking various remedies, including injunctive relief, against power plant owners. However, the risk of an adverse outcome has been mitigated by the June 20, 2011 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Connecticut v. AEP.  The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit which had allowed plaintiffs’ claims that public utilities’ greenhouse gas emissions created a “public nuisance” to go to trial.  The Supreme Court held that the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act displaces federal common law claims.  The effect of these recent cases may also be mitigated in the event Congress adopts greenhouse gas legislation and because the EPA has finalized the adoption of greenhouse gas emission standards. Nevertheless, increased efforts to control greenhouse gas emissions by state, federal, judicial or international authorities could result in reduced demand for coal.

The EPA has issued a proposed rule to regulate the management of coal ash that results from the combustion of coal.  The proposed rule would classify coal ash produced at electric power plants as a waste, thereby making it subject to significant restrictions on storage and disposal.  In conjunction with the rulemaking, EPA has conducted assessments of the integrity of dams, impoundments, and other structures where coal ash from electric power plants is deposited.  Although the rulemaking has been delayed, further scrutiny of coal ash management practices could result in reduced demand for coal.

We must obtain governmental permits and approvals for mining operations, which can be a costly and time consuming process and result in restrictions on our operations.

Numerous governmental permits and approvals are required for mining operations. Our operations are principally regulated under permits issued by state regulatory and enforcement agencies pursuant to the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). Regulatory authorities exercise considerable discretion in the timing and scope of permit issuance. Requirements imposed by these authorities may be costly and time consuming and may result in delays in the commencement or continuation of exploration or production operations. In addition, we often are required to prepare and present to federal, state and local authorities data pertaining to the effect or impact that proposed exploration for or production of coal might have on the environment. Further, the public may comment on and otherwise engage in the permitting process, including through intervention in the courts. Accordingly, the permits we need may not be issued, or, if issued, may not be issued in a timely fashion, or may involve requirements that restrict our ability to conduct our mining operations or to do so profitably.

Prior to placing excess fill material in valleys in connection with surface mining operations, coal mining companies are required to obtain a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (404 Permit). Previously, this permit could be either a simplified Nationwide Permit #21 (NWP 21) or a more complicated individual permit. Litigation respecting the validity of the NWP 21 permit program has been ongoing for several years. Recently, the Corps announced its decision to suspend the use of NWP 21 in a six state Appalachian region, including Kentucky and West Virginia, where we operate. Litigation respecting the issuance of certain Section 404 permits has also been ongoing for several years, focusing primarily on whether the Corps’ decision to issue such permits conformed to the requirements of the Clean Water Act and/or the National Environmental Policy Act. The matters at issue in such litigation are such that a ruling for the plaintiffs could have an adverse impact on our planned surface mining operations.

In 2009, the EPA announced publicly that it will exercise its statutory right to more actively review Section 404 permitting actions by the Corps. In the third quarter of 2009, the EPA announced that it would further review 79 surface mining permit applications, including four of our permits. These 79 permits were identified as likely to impact water quality and therefore requiring additional review under the Clean Water Act. EPA oversight could further delay and/or restrict the issuance of such permits, either of which events could have an adverse impact on our planned mining operations. More recently, the EPA announced acceptable levels for the conductivity of water in streams receiving discharge from permitted coal mining sites in a six-state area of Central Appalachia, including Kentucky and West Virginia. If such levels of conductivity are enforced as numerical limits, they could have a significant impact on our ability to secure Section 404 permits and have a material impact on our operations. The National Mining Association (NMA), on behalf of its member companies including coal producers such as ourselves, has filed suit against the EPA and the Corps contesting the legality of the enhanced review process and the imposition of such conductivity standard. Recently, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, before which this suit was brought, issued its opinion denying the EPA’s motion to dismiss the case on grounds that there was no final agency action, that the case was not ripe for adjudication and that the NMA lacked standing. The court also denied the NMA’s motion for a preliminary injunction of EPA’s exercise of such oversight and the imposition of such standard. The states of West Virginia and Kentucky, and the coal associations in those states, have also filed suits contesting these actions by the EPA.

 
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We have significant reclamation and mine closure obligations. If the assumptions underlying our accruals are materially inaccurate, we could be required to expend greater amounts than anticipated.

The SMCRA establishes operational, reclamation and closure standards for all aspects of surface mining as well as many aspects of underground mining. We accrue for the costs of current mine disturbance and of final mine closure, including the cost of treating mine water discharge where necessary. Under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles we are required to account for the costs related to the closure of mines and the reclamation of the land upon exhaustion of coal reserves. The fair value of an asset retirement obligation is recognized in the period in which it is incurred if a reasonable estimate of fair value can be made. The present value of the estimated asset retirement costs is capitalized as part of the carrying amount of the long-lived asset. At June 30, 2011, we had accrued $101.4 million related to estimated mine reclamation costs. The amounts recorded are dependent upon a number of variables, including the estimated future retirement costs, estimated proven reserves, assumptions involving profit margins, inflation rates, and the assumed credit-adjusted interest rates. Furthermore, these obligations are unfunded. If these accruals are insufficient or our liability in a particular year is greater than currently anticipated, our future operating results could be adversely affected

Foreign currency fluctuations could adversely affect the competitiveness of our coal abroad.

We rely on customers in other countries for a portion of our sales, with shipments to countries in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. We compete in these international markets against coal produced in other countries. Coal is sold internationally in United States dollars. As a result, mining costs in competing producing countries may be reduced in United States dollar terms based on currency exchange rates, providing an advantage to foreign coal producers. Currency fluctuations among countries purchasing and selling coal could adversely affect the competitiveness of our coal in international markets.

Terrorist attacks and threats, escalation of military activity in response to such attacks or acts of war may negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Terrorist attacks and threats, escalation of military activity in response to such attacks or acts of war may negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our business is affected by general economic conditions, fluctuations in consumer confidence and spending, and market liquidity, which can decline as a result of numerous factors outside of our control, such as terrorist attacks and acts of war. Future terrorist attacks against U.S. targets, rumors or threats of war, actual conflicts involving the United States or its allies, or military or trade disruptions affecting our customers could cause delays or losses in transportation and deliveries of coal to our customers, decreased sales of our coal and extension of time for payment of accounts receivable from our customers. Strategic targets such as energy-related assets may be at greater risk of future terrorist attacks than other targets in the United States. In addition, disruption or significant increases in energy prices could result in government-imposed price controls. It is possible that any, or a combination, of these occurrences could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.


Risks Related to Our Operations

We have experienced operating losses and net losses in recent years and may experience losses in the future. 
 
We experienced operating losses and net losses in each of the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007. While we were profitable in the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, we must continue to carefully manage our business, including the management of our contracts and our production costs. Although we seek to balance the open portion of contracts to achieve optimal revenues over the long term, the market price of coal is affected by many factors that are outside of our control. Our production costs have increased in recent years, and we expect higher costs to continue for the next several years. Additionally, certain of our long term contracts for sales of coal are priced substantially above current spot prices for coal. Our profitability in the future will be impacted by the price levels that we achieve on future long term contracts. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that we will be able to achieve profitability in the future.

We may fail to realize the growth prospects and cost savings anticipated as a result of the IRP Acquisition.

The success of the IRP Acquisition will depend, in part, on our ability to realize the anticipated business opportunities and growth prospects from combining our businesses with those of IRP. We may never realize these business opportunities and growth prospects. Integrating operations will be complex and will require significant efforts and expenditures. Our management might have its attention diverted while trying to integrate operations and corporate and administrative infrastructures. We might experience increased competition that limits our ability to expand our business, and we might not be able to capitalize on expected business opportunities, including retaining current customers. If any of these factors limit our ability to integrate the operations successfully or on a timely basis, the expectations of future results of operations expected to result from the IRP Acquisition might not be met.

 
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It is possible that the integration process could result in the loss of key employees, the disruption of each company’s ongoing businesses, tax costs or inefficiencies, or inconsistencies in standards, controls, information technology systems, procedures and policies, any of which could adversely affect our ability to maintain relationships with clients, employees or other third parties or our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits of the IRP Acquisition and could harm our financial performance.

We will incur significant transaction and acquisition-related integration costs in connection with the IRP Acquisition.

We are currently implementing our plan to integrate the operations of IRP. In connection with that plan, we anticipate that we will incur certain non-recurring charges, such as system conversion costs, in connection with this integration. We cannot identify the timing, nature and amount of all such charges at this time.  The acquisition-related integration costs could materially affect our results of operations in the period in which such charges are recorded. Although we believe that the realization of efficiencies related to the integration of the businesses, will offset acquisition-related costs over time, this net benefit may not be achieved in the near term, or at all.

The loss of, or significant reduction in, purchases by our largest customers could adversely affect our revenues.

For the six months ended June 30, 2011, we generated approximately 23% of our total revenue from South Carolina Public Service Authority and 13% of our total revenue from Georgia Power Company. At June 30, 2011, we had coal supply agreements with these customers that expire in 2011 to 2012. The execution of a substantial coal supply agreement is frequently the basis on which we undertake the development of coal reserves required to be supplied under the contract.

Many of our coal supply agreements contain provisions that permit adjustment of the contract price upward or downward at specified times. Failure of the parties to agree on a price under those provisions may allow either party to either terminate the contract or reduce the coal to be delivered under the contract. Coal supply agreements also typically contain force majeure provisions allowing temporary suspension of performance by the customer or us for the duration of specified events beyond the control of the affected party. Most coal supply agreements contain provisions requiring us to deliver coal meeting quality thresholds for certain characteristics such as:
 
 
·
British thermal units (Btu’s);
 
·
sulfur content;
 
·
ash content;
 
·
grindability; and
 
·
ash fusion temperature.

In some cases, failure to meet these specifications could result in economic penalties, including price adjustments, the rejection of deliveries or termination of the contracts. In addition, all of our contracts allow our customers to renegotiate or terminate their contracts in the event of changes in regulations or other governmental impositions affecting our industry that increase the cost of coal beyond specified limits. Further, we have been required in the past to purchase sulfur credits or make other pricing adjustments to comply with contractual requirements relating to the sulfur content of coal sold to our customers, and may be required to do so in the future.

The operating profits we realize from coal sold under supply agreements depend on a variety of factors. In addition, price adjustment and other provisions may increase our exposure to short term coal price volatility provided by those contracts. If a substantial portion of our coal supply agreements expire or are modified or terminated, we could be materially adversely affected to the extent that we are unable to find alternate buyers for our coal at the same level of profitability. As a result, we might not be able to replace existing long term coal supply agreements at the same prices or with similar profit margins when they expire or are modified or terminated

Certain of our contracts are fixed in quantity but are priced on a quarterly basis.  Our operating results are impacted by these quarterly changes in prices.  A reduction in prices will result in a decrease to our profit margins.

In addition, our ability to receive payment for coal sold and delivered under these contracts depends on the continued creditworthiness of our customers. The bankruptcy of any of our customers could materially and adversely affect our financial position.

Our operating results will be negatively impacted if we are unable to balance our mix of contract and spot sales.
 
We have implemented a sales plan that includes long term contracts (one year or greater) and spot sales/ short term contracts (less than one year). We have structured our sales plan based on the assumptions that demand will remain adequate to maintain current shipping levels and that any disruptions in the market will be relatively short-lived. If we are unable to maintain our planned balance of contract sales with spot sales, or our markets become depressed for an extended period of time, our volumes and margins could decrease, negatively affecting our operating results.

 
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Our ability to operate our company effectively could be impaired if we lose senior executives or fail to employ needed additional personnel.
 
The loss of senior executives could have a material adverse effect on our business. There may be a limited number of persons with the requisite experience and skills to serve in our senior management positions. We may not be able to locate or employ qualified executives on acceptable terms. In addition, as our business develops and expands, we believe that our future success will depend greatly on our continued ability to attract and retain highly skilled and qualified personnel. We might not continue to be able to employ key personnel, or to attract and retain qualified personnel in the future. Failure to retain senior executives or attract key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our operations and financial results.

Underground mining is subject to increased regulation, and may require us to incur additional cost.

Underground coal mining is subject to ever increasing federal and state regulatory control relating to mine safety and health and to ever increasing enforcement activities intended to compel compliance with such laws and regulations. Within the last few years the industry has seen enactment of the federal MINER Act and subsequent additional legislation and regulation imposing significant new safety initiatives and the Dodd-Frank Act imposing new mine safety information reporting requirements. Various states also have enacted their own new laws and regulations imposing additional requirements related to mine safety. These new laws and regulations have and will continue to cause us to incur substantial additional costs, which will adversely impact our operating performance.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), periodically notifies certain coal mines that a potential pattern of violations may exist based upon an initial statistical screening of violation history and pattern criteria review by MSHA. In the past, certain of our mines have received notices that a potential pattern of violations might exist. Upon receipt of such a notification, we conduct a comprehensive review of the operation that received the notification and prepare and submit to MSHA a plan designed to enhance employee safety at the mine through better education, training, mining practices, and safety management. Following implementation of the plan, MSHA conducts a complete inspection of the mine and further evaluates the situation and then advises the operator whether a pattern of violation exists and whether further action will be taken. The failure to remediate the situation resulting in a finding that a pattern of violation does exist at a mine could have a significant impact on our operations, including the permanent or temporary closure of our mines.

On April 12, 2011, MSHA notified our subsidiary, Bledsoe Coal Corporation, that a Pattern of Violation (POV) exists at its Abner Branch Rider Mine.  As a result, within 90 days of the POV notice, if MSHA finds any violation of a mandatory health or safety standard that could significantly and substantially contribute to the cause and effect of a coal or other mine safety or health hazard, MSHA shall require all persons in the areas affected by such violation to be withdrawn from, and to be prohibited from entering such area until MSHA determines the violation has been abated.  The POV notice will terminate if, upon inspection of the entire mine, MSHA finds no S&S violations of mandatory safety and health standards. The Abner Branch Rider Mine produced approximately 220,000 tons in 2010.  The POV could have a significant impact on the operations of that mine.

In 2010, a U.S. House of Representatives committee approved a mine safety bill which would give MSHA additional powers to temporarily close mines, mandate additional safety training and impose larger penalties on companies and their executives. A comparable bill introduced in the US Senate failed to receive the necessary votes for passage. If reintroduced and subsequently enacted, this or a similar bill could further increase our costs and impact operating performance.

The Dodd-Frank Act includes new requirements for reporting certain mine safety information on a Form 8-K, and for including additional mine safety disclosures in our periodic reports filed with the SEC. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC is authorized to issue rules and regulations regarding mine safety disclosures, and the SEC has issued proposed rules as of the date of this filing. While the new rules are not yet in effect, such rulemaking by the SEC may cause us to incur additional costs in complying with the new reporting and disclosure requirements.

Unexpected increases in raw material costs could significantly impair our operating results.
 
Our coal mining operations use significant amounts of steel, petroleum products and other raw materials in various pieces of mining equipment, supplies and materials, including the roof bolts required by the room and pillar method of mining. Recently and historically, petroleum prices and other commodity prices have been volatile. If the price of steel or other of these materials increase, our operational expenses will increase, which could have a significant negative impact on our cash flow and operating results.

 
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Coal mining is subject to conditions or events beyond our control, which could cause our quarterly or annual results to deteriorate.
 
Our coal mining operations are conducted, in large part, in underground mines and, to a lesser extent, at surface mines. These mines are subject to conditions or events beyond our control that could disrupt operations, affect production and the cost of mining at particular mines for varying lengths of time and have a significant impact on our operating results. These conditions or events have included:

 
variations in thickness of the layer, or seam, of coal;
 
variations in geological conditions;
 
amounts of rock and other natural materials intruding into the coal seam;
 
equipment failures and unexpected major repairs;
 
unexpected maintenance problems;
 
unexpected departures of one or more of our contract miners;
 
fires and explosions from methane and other sources;
 
accidental mine water discharges or other environmental accidents;
 
other accidents or natural disasters; and
 
weather conditions.

Mining in Central Appalachia is complex due to geological characteristics of the region.

The geological characteristics of coal reserves in Central Appalachia, such as depth of overburden and coal seam thickness, make them complex and costly to mine. As mines become depleted, replacement reserves may not be available when required or, if available, may not be capable of being mined at costs comparable to those characteristic of the depleting mines. In addition, as compared to mines in other regions permitting, licensing and other environmental and regulatory requirements are more costly and time consuming to satisfy. These factors could materially adversely affect the mining operations and cost structures of, and customers’ ability to use coal produced by, operators in Central Appalachia, including us.
 
Our future success depends upon our ability to acquire or develop additional coal reserves that are economically recoverable.
 
Our recoverable reserves decline as we produce coal. Since we attempt, where practical, to mine our lowest-cost reserves first, we may not be able to mine all of our reserves at a similar cost as we do at our current operations. Our planned development and exploration projects might not result in significant additional reserves, and we might not have continuing success developing additional mines. For example, our construction of additional mining facilities necessary to exploit our reserves could be delayed or terminated due to various factors, including unforeseen geological conditions, weather delays or unanticipated development costs. Our ability to acquire additional coal reserves in the future also could be limited by restrictions under our existing or future debt facilities, competition from other coal companies for attractive properties or the lack of suitable acquisition candidates.

In order to develop our reserves, we must receive various governmental permits. We have not yet applied for the permits required or developed the mines necessary to mine all of our reserves. In addition, we might not continue to receive the permits necessary for us to operate profitably in the future. We may not be able to negotiate new leases from the government or from private parties or obtain mining contracts for properties containing additional reserves or maintain our leasehold interests in properties on which mining operations are not commenced during the term of the lease.

Factors beyond our control could impact the amount and pricing of coal supplied by our independent contractors and other third parties.
 
In addition to coal we produce from our Company-operated mines, we have mines that typically are operated by independent contract mine operators, and we purchase coal from third parties for resale. For the remainder of 2011, we anticipate approximately 20% of our total production will come from mines operated by independent contract mine operators and from third party purchased coal sources.  Operational difficulties, changes in demand for contract mine operators from our competitors and other factors beyond our control could affect the availability, pricing and quality of coal produced for us by independent contract mine operators. Disruptions in supply, increases in prices paid for coal produced by independent contract mine operators or purchased from third parties, or the availability of more lucrative direct sales opportunities for our purchased coal sources could increase our costs or lower our volumes, either of which could negatively affect our profitability.

 
43

 
 
We face significant uncertainty in estimating our recoverable coal reserves, and variations from those estimates could lead to decreased revenues and profitability.

Forecasts of our future performance are based on estimates of our recoverable coal reserves. Estimates of those reserves were initially based on studies conducted by Marshall Miller & Associates, Inc. in 2004 for our CAPP reserves and 2005 and 2006 for our Midwest reserves in accordance with industry-accepted standards which we have updated for current activity using similar methodologies. A number of sources of information were used to determine recoverable reserves estimates, including:


 
currently available geological, mining and property control data and maps;
 
our own operational experience and that of our consultants;
 
historical production from similar areas with similar conditions;
 
previously completed geological and reserve studies;
 
the assumed effects of regulations and taxes by governmental agencies; and
 
assumptions governing future prices and future operating costs.

Reserve estimates will change from time to time to reflect, among other factors:

 
mining activities;
 
new engineering and geological data;
 
acquisition or divestiture of reserve holdings; and
 
modification of mining plans or mining methods.

Therefore, actual coal tonnage recovered from identified reserve areas or properties, and costs associated with our mining operations, may vary from estimates. These variations could be material, and therefore could result in decreased profitability.

Our operations could be adversely affected if we are unable to obtain required surety bonds.
 
Federal and state laws require bonds to secure our obligations to reclaim lands used for mining, to pay federal and state workers’ compensation and to satisfy other miscellaneous obligations. As of June 30, 2011, we had outstanding surety bonds with third parties for post-mining reclamation totaling $108.0 million. Furthermore, we have surety bonds for an additional $44.8 million in place for our federal and state workers’ compensation obligations and other miscellaneous obligations. Insurance companies have informed us, along with other participants in the coal industry, that they no longer will provide surety bonds for workers’ compensation and other post-employment benefits without collateral. We have satisfied our obligations under these statutes and regulations by providing letters of credit, cash collateral or other assurances of payment. However, letters of credit can be significantly more costly to us than surety bonds. The issuance of letters of credit under our Revolver also reduces amounts that we can borrow under our Revolver. If we are unable to secure surety bonds for these obligations in the future, and are forced to secure letters of credit indefinitely, our profitability may be negatively affected.

Our work force could become unionized in the future, which could adversely affect the stability of our production and reduce our profitability.
          
Our company owned mines are currently operated by union-free employees. However, our subsidiaries’ employees have the right at any time under the National Labor Relations Act to form or affiliate with a union. Any unionization of our subsidiaries’ employees, or the employees of third-party contractors who mine coal for us, could adversely affect the stability of our production and reduce our profitability.

The current administration has indicated that it will support legislation that may make it easier for employees to unionize. Legislation has been proposed to the United States Congress to enact a law allowing our workers to choose union representation solely by signing election cards (“Card Check”), which would eliminate the use of secret ballots to elect union representation. While the impact is uncertain, if Card Check legislation is enacted into law, it will be administratively easier to unionize coal mines and may lead to more coal mines becoming unionized.

We have significant unfunded obligations for long-term employee benefits for which we accrue based upon assumptions, which, if incorrect, could result in us being required to expend greater amounts than anticipated.
 
We are required by law to provide various long term employee benefits. We accrue amounts for these obligations based on the present value of expected future costs. We employed an independent actuary to complete estimates for our workers’ compensation and black lung (both state and federal) obligations. At June 30, 2011, the current and non-current portions of these obligations included $66.9 million for workers’ compensation benefits and $47.3 million for coal workers’ black lung benefits.

 
44

 


We use a valuation method under which the total present and future liabilities are booked based on actuarial studies. Our independent actuary updates these liability estimates annually. However, if our assumptions are incorrect, we could be required to expend greater amounts than anticipated. All of these obligations are unfunded. In addition, the federal government and the governments of the states in which we operate consider changes in workers’ compensation laws from time to time. Such changes, if enacted, could increase our benefit expenses and payments.

We may be unable to adequately provide funding for our pension plan obligations based on our current estimates of those obligations.
 
We provide benefits under a defined benefit pension plan that was frozen in 2007. As of June 30, 2011, we estimated that our obligation under the pension plan was underfunded by approximately $10.6 million. If future payments are insufficient to fund the pension plan adequately to cover our future pension obligations, we could incur cash expenditures and costs materially higher than anticipated. The pension obligation is calculated annually and is based on several assumptions, including then prevailing conditions, which may change from year to year. In any year, if our assumptions are inaccurate, we could be required to expend greater amounts than anticipated.
 
Substantially all of our assets are subject to security interests.
 
Substantially all of our cash, receivables, inventory and other assets are subject to various liens and security interests under our debt instruments. If one of these security interest holders becomes entitled to exercise its rights as a secured party, it would have the right to foreclose upon and sell, or otherwise transfer, the collateral subject to its security interest, and the collateral accordingly would be unavailable to us and our other creditors, except to the extent, if any, that other creditors have a superior or equal security interest in the affected collateral or the value of the affected collateral exceeds the amount of indebtedness in respect of which these foreclosure rights are exercised.

Our current leverage amount may harm our financial condition and results of operations.
 
Our total consolidated long-term debt as of June 30, 2011 was $575.2 million (net of discounts on our convertible notes of $102.3 million).  Our level of indebtedness could result in the following:
 
 
·
it could effect our ability to satisfy our outstanding obligations;
 
·
a substantial portion of our cash flows from operations will have to be dedicated to interest and principal payments and may not be available for operations, working capital, capital expenditures, expansion, acquisitions or general corporate or other purposes;
 
·
it may impair our ability to obtain additional financing in the future;
 
·
it may limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and industry; and
 
·
it may make us more vulnerable to downturns in our business, our industry or the economy in general.
 
Our operations may not generate sufficient cash to enable us to service our debt. If we fail to make a payment on our debt, this could cause us to be in default on our outstanding indebtedness. In addition, we may incur additional indebtedness in the future, and, as a result, the related risks that we now face, including those described above, could intensify.

We may be unable to comply with restrictions imposed by the terms of our indebtedness, which could result in a default under these instruments.
 
Our debt instruments impose a number of restrictions on us. A failure to comply with these restrictions could adversely affect our ability to borrow under our Revolver or result in an event of default under our debt instruments. Our Revolver contains a Consolidated Fixed Charge Ratio covenant and a limit on our capital expenditure.  The Consolidated Fixed Charge Ratio covenant under our Revolver is only applicable if the sum of our unrestricted cash plus our availability under our Revolver falls below $35 million and remains in effect until the sum of our unrestricted cash and availability under our Revolver exceeds $35 million for 90 consecutive days. Our Revolver limits the capital expenditures that we may make or agree to make in any fiscal year, but such limitation only will apply if the sum of our unrestricted cash plus our availability under our Revolver falls below $50 million for a period of 5 consecutive days and remains in effect until the sum of our unrestricted cash and availability under our Revolver exceeds $50 million for 90 consecutive days.  As of June 30, 2011, our unrestricted cash was $204.7 million and the availability under our Revolver was $25.0 million. 

Additional detail regarding the terms of our Revolver, including these covenants and the related definitions, can be found in our debt agreements, as amended, that have been filed as exhibits to our SEC filings.
 
In the event of a default, our lenders could terminate their commitments to us and declare all amounts borrowed, together with accrued interest and fees, immediately due and payable. If this were to occur, we might not be able to pay these amounts or we might be forced to seek amendments to our debt agreements which could make the terms of these agreements more onerous for us and require the payment of amendment or waiver fees. Failure to comply with these restrictions, even if waived by our lenders, also could adversely affect our credit ratings, which could increase our costs of debt financings and impair our ability to obtain additional debt financing. While the lenders have, to date, waived any covenant violations and amended the covenants, there is no guarantee they will continue to do so if future violations occur.

 
45

 


Changes in our credit ratings could adversely affect our costs and expenses.
 
Any downgrade in our credit ratings could adversely affect our ability to borrow and result in more restrictive borrowing terms, including increased borrowing costs, more restrictive covenants and the extension of less open credit. This, in turn, could affect our internal cost of capital estimates and therefore impact operational decisions.

Defects in title or loss of any leasehold interests in our properties could limit our ability to mine these properties or result in significant unanticipated costs.
 
We conduct substantially all of our mining operations on properties that we lease. The loss of any lease could adversely affect our ability to mine the associated reserves. Because we generally do not obtain title insurance or otherwise verify title to our leased properties, our right to mine some of our reserves has been in the past, and may again in the future be, adversely affected if defects in title or boundaries exist. In order to obtain leases or rights to conduct our mining operations on property where these defects exist, we have had to, and may in the future have to, incur unanticipated costs. In addition, we may not be able to successfully negotiate new leases for properties containing additional reserves. Some leases have minimum production requirements. Failure to meet those requirements could result in losses of prepaid royalties and, in some rare cases, could result in a loss of the lease itself.

Inability to satisfy contractual obligations may adversely affect our profitability.

From time to time, we have disputes with our customers over the provisions of long term contracts relating to, among other things, coal quality, pricing, quantity and delays in delivery. In addition, we may not be able to produce sufficient amounts of coal to meet our commitments to our customers. Our inability to satisfy our contractual obligations could result in our need to purchase coal from third party sources to satisfy those obligations or may result in customers initiating claims against us. We may not be able to resolve all of these disputes in a satisfactory manner, which could result in substantial damages or otherwise harm our relationships with customers.

We may be unable to exploit opportunities to diversify our operations.
 
Our future business plan may consider opportunities other than underground and surface mining in eastern Kentucky, southern West Virginia and southern Indiana. We will consider opportunities to further increase the percentage of coal that comes from surface mines. We may also consider opportunities to expand both surface and underground mining activities in areas that are outside of eastern Kentucky, southern West Virginia and southern Indiana. We may also consider opportunities in other energy-related areas that are not prohibited by our debt instruments. If we undertake these diversification strategies and fail to execute them successfully, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

There are risks associated with our acquisition strategy, including our inability to successfully complete acquisitions, our assumption of liabilities, dilution of your investment, significant costs and additional financing required.
 
We may explore opportunities to expand our operations through strategic acquisitions of other coal mining companies. Risks associated with our current and potential acquisitions, including the recent acquisition of IRP, include the disruption of our ongoing business, problems retaining the employees of the acquired business, assets acquired proving to be less valuable than expected, the potential assumption of unknown or unexpected liabilities, costs and problems, the inability of management to maintain uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies, the difficulty of managing a larger company, the risk of becoming involved in labor, commercial or regulatory disputes or litigation related to the new enterprises and the difficulty of integrating the acquired operations and personnel into our existing business.

We may choose to use shares of our common stock or other securities to finance a portion of the consideration for future acquisitions, either by issuing them to pay a portion of the purchase price or selling additional shares to investors to raise cash to pay a portion of the purchase price. If shares of our common stock do not maintain sufficient market value or potential acquisition candidates are unwilling to accept shares of our common stock as part of the consideration for the sale of their businesses, we will be required to raise capital through additional sales of debt or equity securities, which might not be possible, or forego the acquisition opportunity, and our growth could be limited. In addition, securities issued in such acquisitions may dilute the holdings of our current or future shareholders.

Our currently available cash may not be sufficient to finance any additional acquisitions.
 
We believe that our cash on hand, the availability under our Revolver and cash generated from our operations will provide us with adequate liquidity through 2011. However, such funds may not provide sufficient cash to fund any future acquisitions. Accordingly, we may need to conduct additional debt or equity financings in order to fund any such additional acquisitions, unless we issue shares of our common stock as consideration for those acquisitions. If we are unable to obtain any such financings, we may be required to forego future acquisition opportunities.

 
46

 

Our current reserve base in southern Indiana is limited.
 
Our southern Indiana mining complex currently has rights to proven and probable reserves that we believe will be exhausted in approximately 14 years at 2010 levels of production, compared to our current Central Appalachia mining complexes, which have reserves that we believe will last in excess of 35 years at 2010 levels of production. We intend to increase our reserves in southern Indiana by acquiring rights to additional exploitable reserves that are either adjacent to or nearby our current reserves. If we are unable to successfully acquire such rights on acceptable terms, or if our exploration or acquisition activities indicate that such coal reserves or rights do not exist or are not available on acceptable terms, our production and revenues will decline as our reserves in that region are depleted. Exhaustion of reserves at particular mines also may have an adverse effect on our operating results that is disproportionate to the percentage of overall production represented by such mines.

Surface mining is subject to increased regulation, and may require us to incur additional costs.

Surface mining is subject to numerous regulations related, among others, to blasting activities that can result in additional costs. For example, when blasting in close proximity to structures, additional costs are incurred in designing and implementing more complex blast delay regimens, conducting pre-blast surveys and blast monitoring, and the risk of potential blast-related damages increases. Since the nature of surface mining requires ongoing disturbance to the surface, environmental compliance costs can be significantly greater than with underground operations. In addition, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers imposes stream mitigation requirements on surface mining operations. These regulations require that footage of stream loss be replaced through various mitigation processes, if any ephemeral, intermittent, or perennial streams are filled due to mining operations. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of Surface Mining imposed regulatory requirements applicable to excess spoil placement, including the requirement that operators return as much spoil as possible to the excavation created by the mine. These regulations may cause us to incur significant additional costs, which could adversely impact our operating performance.

We are subject to various legal proceedings, which may have an adverse effect on our business.

We are party to a number of legal proceedings incidental to our normal business activities, including a large number of workers’ compensation claims. While we cannot predict the outcome of the proceedings, there is always the potential that the costs of defending litigation in an individual matter or the aggregation of many matters could have an adverse effect on our cash flows, results of operations or financial position.

Our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards may be subject to limitation

Section 382 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, imposes an annual limit on the amount of net operating loss carryforwards that may be used to offset taxable income when a corporation has undergone significant changes in its stock ownership or equity structure. Our ability to use net operating losses is limited by prior changes in our ownership, and may be further limited by issuances of common stock, in connection with the conversion of the existing convertible senior notes or by the consummation of other transactions. As a result, as we earn net taxable income, our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards to offset U.S. federal taxable income may become subject to limitations, which could potentially result in increased future tax liabilities for us.


Risks Relating to our Common Stock

The market price of our common stock has been volatile and difficult to predict, and may continue to be volatile and difficult to predict in the future, and the value of your investment may decline.

The market price of our common stock has been volatile in the past and may continue to be volatile in the future. The market price of our common stock will be affected by, among other things:
 
 
variations in our quarterly operating results;
 
changes in financial estimates by securities analysts;
 
sales of shares of our common stock by our officers and directors or by our shareholders;
 
changes in general conditions in the economy or the financial markets;
 
changes in accounting standards, policies or interpretations;
 
other developments affecting us, our industry, clients or competitors; and
 
the operating and stock price performance of companies that investors deem comparable to us.


 
47

 


Any of these factors could have a negative effect on the price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, make it difficult to predict the market price for our common stock in the future and cause the value of your investment to decline. 

We do not intend to pay cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.
 
We do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. In addition, covenants in our Revolver, 2019 Senior Notes, 2015 Convertible Senior Notes and 2018 Convertible Senior Notes restrict our ability to pay cash dividends and may prohibit the payment of dividends and certain other payments.


Provisions of our articles of incorporation, bylaws and shareholder rights agreement could discourage potential acquisition proposals and could deter or prevent a change in control.
 
Some provisions of our articles of incorporation and bylaws, as well as Virginia statutes, may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control. These provisions may make it more difficult for other persons, without the approval of our Board of Directors, to make a tender offer or otherwise acquire substantial amounts of our common stock or to launch other takeover attempts that a shareholder might consider to be in such shareholder’s best interest. These provisions could limit the price that some investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock.

We have a shareholder rights agreement which, in certain circumstances, including a person or group acquiring, or the commencement of a tender or exchange offer that would result in a person or group acquiring, beneficial ownership of more than 20% of the outstanding shares of our common stock, would entitle each right holder, other than the person or group triggering the plan, to receive, upon exercise of the right, shares of our common stock having a then-current fair value equal to twice the exercise price of a right.

This shareholder rights agreement provides us with a defensive mechanism that decreases the risk that a hostile acquirer will attempt to take control of us without negotiating directly with our Board of Directors. The shareholder rights agreement may discourage acquirers from attempting to purchase us, which may adversely affect the price of our common stock.

ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

None.

ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UNDER SENIOR SECURITIES
 
 
None.

ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION

On July 21, 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Act) was enacted. Section 1503 of the Act contains new reporting requirements regarding coal or other mine safety.

 The operation of our mines is subject to regulation by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the Mine Act). MSHA inspects our mines on a regular basis and issues various citations and orders when it believes a violation has occurred under the Mine Act. The table below presents information regarding certain mining safety and health citations which MSHA has issued with respect to our coal mining operations. In evaluating this information, consideration should be given to factors such as: (i) the number of citations and orders will vary depending on the size of the coal mine, (ii) the number of citations issued will vary from inspector to inspector and mine to mine, and (iii) citations and orders can be contested and appealed, and in that process, may be reduced in severity and amount, and are sometimes dismissed.

The information below includes references to specific sections of the Mine Act.   The information provided is for the three months ended June 30, 2011, except for pending legal actions, which are as of June 30, 2011:

 
(1)
For each coal or other mine, of which the issuer or a subsidiary of the issuer is an operator (number of occurrences, except for proposed assessment dollar values)

 
48

 


Table I - Mine Safety Information (Columns A to G show the 6 and 3 months ended June 30, 2011 totals, respectively)
 
                 
Mine
 Section
 104A S&S Citations
 (A)
 Section
104(b)
Orders  
 (B)
 Section
104(d)
Citations and Orders
(C)
 Section
110(b)(2)
Violations  
(D)
 Section 107(a)
Orders 
 (E)
 Proposed MSHA
 Assessments  
(F)
 Fatalities 
(G)
 Pending Legal
 Actions 
(H)
Bell County Coal Corporation
               
Jellico
 22/12
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
$  8,566/3,025
 -/-
12
Garmeada  #2
 8/3
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 2,969/1,360
 -/-
3
Coal Creek
 3/1
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 9,206/263
 -/-
2
Cabin Hollow
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
1
Mosley Spur
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
1
Bell Preparation Plant
 3/-
 -/-
 /-
 -/-
 -/-
 3,369/-
 -/-
 -
Bledsoe Coal Corporation
               
Beechfork Mine
 53/29
 1/1
 2/-
 -/-
 -/-
 98,545/34,416
 -/-
17
Oldhouse Branch
 23/10
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 7,608/372
 -/-
5
Abner Branch Rider
 18/0
 -/-
 11/11
 -/-
 -/-
 63,765/20,118
 -/-
17
Tantrough
 15/4
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 9,211/8,048
 -/-
6
#4
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
5
Marion Branch
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 /-
 -/-
1
#61 Plant
 1/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 7,369/6,784
 -/-
3
#1 Plant
 1/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 436/436
 -/-
4
Clover Loadout
 5/1
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 648/648
 -/-
 -
Miniard Branch
 2/2
 1/1
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
-
Blue Diamond Coal Company
               
#74
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -
#75
 33/14
 -/-
 2/-
 -/-
 -/-
 150,865/114,800
 -/-
11
#77
 25/13
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 90,873/55,978
 -/-
20
Calvary No. 81
 31/16
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 41,224/8,404
 -/-
17
76 Plant
 -/13
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 3,605/2,905
 -/-
-
James River Coal Service Company
               
Buckeye Strip #1
 6/6
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 687/687
 -/-
 -
Buckeye Highwall Miner
 4/4
 1/1
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -
Bear Branch Surface
 2/2
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 580/380
 -/-
1
Lick Branch Strip
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
-
Montgomery Creek 
 3/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 1,879/-
 -/-
 -
Harmonds Branch
 2/2
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 425/425
 -/-
 -
Frasure Branch
 1/1
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -
Leeco Inc.
               
# 68
 49/13
 2/1
 3/2
 -/-
 -/-
 847,194/232,212
 -/-
25
#88
 4/4
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -
# 64 Plant
 -/6
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 1,326/1,236
 -/-
 -
Jeff Tipple
 -/1
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -
Mccoy Elkhorn Coal Corp.
               
Mine #12
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
1
Mine # 15
 20/11
 -/-
 1/-
 -/-
 -/-
 12,121/4,137
 -/-
27
Mine # 15A
 11/10
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 4,686/3,650
 -/-
2
Mine # 16
 15/4
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 2,493/799
 -/-
14
Mine # 23
 35/16
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 32,311/17,301
 -/-
16
Bevins Branch Preparation Plant
 2/1
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 224/224
 -/-
2
Burke Preparation Plant
 8/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -
Shamrock Coal Company
               
Beech Fork Coal Prep Facility
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
-
Shamrock
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
-
Triad Underground Mining LLC
               
Freelandville Underground
 1/1
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 2,161/2,161
 -/ -
3


 
49

 

 
Mine
 Section
104A S&S Citations
 (A)
 Section
104(b)
 Orders  
(B)
 Section
104(d)
Citations and Orders
(C)
 Section
110(b)(2)
Violations 
 (D)
 Section 107(a) Orders   
(E)
 Proposed
MSHA
Assessments 
 (F)
 Fatalities
(G)
 Pending Legal Actions  
(H)
Triad Mining Inc.
               
Log Creek Surface
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 1,094/-
 -/-
 -
Freelandville Mine
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
-
Patoka River Preparation Plant
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
-
Augusta Surface
 1/1
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 263/263
 -/-
-
International Resources, LLC
               
Snap Creek No. 1 Surface
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 200/200
 -/-
9
Lower Pete's Branch Alma Mine
 2/2
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 380/380
 -/-
 
Snap Creek #1 Loadout
 2/2
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 452/452
 -/-
2
Hampden Coal Co - Mingo No. 1
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
1
Rockhouse #3
 3/3
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 2,364/2,364
 -/-
26
Rockhouse #8
 16/16
 1/1
 3/3
 -/-
 -/-
 53,983/53,983
 -/-
34
Rockhouse #3A
 1/1
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 1,698/1,698
 -/-
6
Rockhouse #6
 3/3
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 3,500/3,500
 -/-
13
Rockhouse #2
 11/11
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 -/-
 8,478/8,478
 -/-
15

 
 
(A)
The total number of violations of mandatory health or safety standards that could significantly and substantially contribute to the cause and effect of a coal or other mine safety or health hazard under section 104 of the Mine Act for which the operator received a citation from the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
 
(B)
The total number of orders issued under section 104(b) of the Mine Act.
 
(C)
The total number of citations and orders for unwarrantable failure of the mine operator to comply with mandatory health or safety standards under section 104(d) of the Mine Act.
 
(D)
The total number of flagrant violations under section 110(b)(2) of the Mine Act.
 
(E)
The total number of imminent danger orders issued under section 107(a) of the Mine Act.
 
(F)
The total dollar value of proposed assessments from the MSHA under the Mine Act.
 
(G)
The total number of mining-related fatalities.
 
(H)
The Pending Legal Actions include matters which were initiated by us and do not necessarily relate to the citations, orders or proposed assessments issued by MSHA during the current reporting period. All of the Legal Actions were initiated by us to contest citations, orders or proposed assessments issued by MSHA, and if we are successful, may result in reduction or dismissal of those citations, orders or assessments.  Each legal action is assigned a docket number and may have as its subject matter one or more citations, orders, penalties or complaints.

 
(2)
A list of such coal or other mine, of which the issuer or a subsidiary of the issuer is an operator, that received written notice from the MSHA of — (A) a pattern of violations of mandatory health or safety standards that are of such nature as could have significantly and substantially contributed to the cause and effect of coal or other mine health and safety hazards under section 104(e) of such Act (30 U.S.C. 814 (e)); or (B) the potential to have such a pattern.

On November 18, 2010, Bledsoe Coal Corporation, a subsidiary of James River Coal Company, received written notification that a potential pattern of violation exists at its Abner Branch Rider Mine.  On April 12, 2011, MSHA notified Bledsoe Coal Corporation that a Pattern of Violation (POV) exists at its Abner Branch Rider Mine.  As a result, within 90 days of the POV notice, if MSHA finds any violation of a mandatory health or safety standard that could significantly and substantially contribute to the cause and effect of a coal or other mine safety or health hazard, MSHA shall require all persons in the areas affected by such violation, except those persons referred to in Section 104(c) of the Mine Act, to be withdrawn from, and to be prohibited from entering such area until MSHA determines the violation has been abated.  The POV notice will terminate if, upon inspection of the entire mine, MSHA finds no S&S violations of mandatory safety and health standards. The Abner Branch Rider Mine produced approximately 220,000 tons in 2010.  The POV could have a significant impact on the operations of that mine.

 
(3)
Any pending legal action before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission involving such coal or other mine.

See footnote (H) in the table above.

 
50

 


ITEM 6. EXHIBITS

Exhibit
Number
Description
   
   
10.1
Fourth Amendment to Amended and Restated Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of April 15, 2011, by and among the Company and certain of its Subsidiaries identified on the signature pages thereto, as Borrowers, and the other credit parties thereto, identified on the signature pages thereto as Guarantors, the Lenders party thereto, and General Electrical Capital Corporation, as Administrative Agent and as Collateral Agent, incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Form 8-K filed April 21, 2011.
   
10.2
Second Amended and Restated Revolving Credit Agreement by and among James River Coal Company, James River Coal Service Company, Leeco, Inc., Triad Mining, Inc., Triad Underground Mining, LLC, Bledsoe Coal Corporation, Johns Creek Elkhorn Coal Corporation, Bell County Coal Corporation, James River Coal Sales, Inc., Bledsoe Coal Leasing Company, Blue Diamond Coal Company, McCoy Elkhorn Coal Corporation, Chafin Branch Coal Company, LLC, Hampden Coal Company, LLC, Laurel Mountain Resources, LLC, Logan & Kanawha Coal Co., LLC, Rockhouse Creek Development, LLC, and Snap Creek Mining, LLC, as Borrowers, the other Credit Parties thereto from time to time, as Guarantors, the Lenders party thereto from time to time, and General Electric Capital Corporation, as Administrative Agent and Collateral Agent, GE Capital Markets, Inc., and UBS Securities LLC, as Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners, and UBS Securities LLC, as Documentation Agent, dated as of June 30, 2011, incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Form 8-K filed July 7, 2011.
   
31.1
Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002.
   
31.2
Certification of Chief Accounting Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
   
32.1
Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
   
32.2
Certification of Chief Accounting Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
   
101.INS
XBRL Instance Document
   
101.SCH
XBRL Schema Document
   
101.CAL
XBRL Calculation Linkbase Document
   
101.DEF
XBRL Definition Linkbase Document
   
101.LAB
XBRL Label Linkbase Document
   
101.PRE
XBRL Presentation Linkbase Document
 
 
 
 
51

 

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 
 
 
James River Coal Company
 

By: /s/  Peter T. Socha
Peter T. Socha
Chairman, President and
Chief Executive Officer

 

By: /s/ Samuel M. Hopkins II
Samuel M. Hopkins, II
Vice President and
Chief Accounting Officer
 


August 9, 2011
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
52