Exhibit 99.1

Walter Energy Announces First Quarter 2012 Results

·                  First Quarter Revenues Reach $632 Million; EPS of $0.65; Operating Income of $84 Million; EBITDA of $144 Million

·                  Realizes All-Time Record Quarterly Metallurgical Coal Production of 3 Million Metric Tons

·                  Metallurgical Coal Sales of 2.4 Million; Inventory Grows by Over 500,000 Metric Tons

·                  Recent Costs Per Ton of Hard Coking Coal Continue to Improve in the U.S. and Canada

(Note:  Trend comparisons with Fourth Quarter 2011 vs. First Quarter 2011 are included due to the Western Coal acquisition, effective April 1, 2011.)

BIRMINGHAM, AL — May 2, 2012 - Walter Energy, Inc. (NYSE:  WLT) (TSX:  WLT), the world’s leading, publicly traded “pure-play” producer of metallurgical (met) coal for the global steel industry, today announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012.

“Our first quarter results reflect sales of 2.4 million metric tons (MMTs) of met coal and were in line with the latest outlook we provided. However, when compared with prior periods, the first quarter reflects reduced profitability,” said Walt Scheller, Chief Executive Officer. “First-quarter met coal production of 3 MMTs was better than our outlook for 2.8 to 2.9 MMTs and set a new quarterly record. I am particularly pleased that consolidated cash costs per ton of hard coking coal (HCC) have improved 12 percent when compared with the fourth quarter of 2011. Walter is on target to achieve our production targets while continuing to focus on further cost reductions.”

First Quarter Financial Results

For the first quarter 2012, revenues reached $632 million, up significantly from the $409 million reported in the first quarter of 2011, reflecting the acquisition of Western Coal. As noted in the table below, operating income, net income and earnings per share were all lower in the first quarter of 2012 compared with the same period a year ago, reflecting losses from the Canadian and U.K. operations (including one-time costs at the Willow mine), higher U.S. operating costs and increased interest expense.

Operating income was $84 million in the first quarter 2012 and was comprised of $107 million from U.S. operations, partially offset by a first-quarter operating loss of $14 million in the Canadian and U.K. operations and a $9 million loss in the other segment. The operating loss in the Canadian and U.K. operations was primarily due to high operating costs. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was lower in the first quarter of 2012 reflecting these higher operating costs as mentioned. Lower coal sales prices also reduced all operating results compared with the fourth quarter of 2011.

*Does not include Western Coal Corporation, which was acquired April 1, 2011

**Cash cost per ton of pulverized coal injection (PCI) coal, excluding the Willow project

Cash Costs

The consolidated cash cost for HCC decreased 12 percent to $116 per metric ton (MT) compared with $132 per MT in the fourth quarter 2011.  In the U.S. operations, the cash cost of HCC decreased 7 percent to $110 per MT compared with $119 per MT in the prior quarter. In the Canadian operations, the cash cost of HCC decreased 14 percent to $145 per MT compared with $168 in the prior quarter.

The improvement in cash cost for HCC was partially offset by higher cash costs per MT for PCI in the first quarter of 2012 compared with the fourth quarter 2011. At the Brule PCI mine, the cash cost per MT was $159 in the first quarter of 2012. Overall PCI cash costs per ton in the first quarter 2012 were affected by low first quarter production at the Willow mine, which resulted from the planned wash plant outage necessary to

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upgrade its capability to process HCC. The wash plant upgrade was successfully completed during the quarter and will allow for the processing of premium low-vol HCC from the Willow mine going forward.

Liquidity and Capital Expenditures

At the end of the first quarter 2012, available liquidity was $366 million, consisting of cash and cash equivalents of $138 million plus $228 million available under the Company’s $375 million credit revolver.  Capital expenditures for the first quarter were $121 million.

Metallurgical Sales Volume and Pricing

As anticipated in the Company’s first-quarter outlook news release issued March 26, 2012, consolidated met coal sales volume was 2.4 MMTs in the first quarter of 2012. HCC sales volume of 1.9 MMTs was up 25 percent compared with 1.5 MMTs in the first quarter 2011, prior to the acquisition of Western Coal. PCI sales volume was 0.5 MMTs in the first quarter of 2012.

The average first-quarter 2012 selling price of HCC was $226 per MT, slightly above the $220 per MT price estimated in the Company’s first-quarter outlook. However, the HCC selling price was 7 percent lower than the $244 per MT achieved last quarter, reflecting world market trends. The average first-quarter selling price for PCI was $188 per MT, again above the estimate of $180 per MT in the first-quarter outlook, but 11 percent lower than the $212 per MT achieved in the fourth quarter of 2011, reflecting world market trends.

Metallurgical Coal Production

Consolidated met coal production reached a quarterly record of 3 MMTs in the first quarter 2012, double the 1.5 MMTs produced in the first quarter of 2011 due largely to the acquisition of Western Coal. Compared with the fourth quarter, met coal production is up almost 25 percent from 2.4 MMTs produced in the fourth quarter 2011.

The Company increased its higher margin HCC production to 2.4 MMTs in the first quarter of 2012. HCC comprised 80 percent of met production in the first quarter of 2012 compared with 76 percent in the fourth quarter 2011. The remainder of met coal output in both periods was low-vol PCI coal.

2012 Production Guidance

The Company continues to forecast that full-year 2012 met coal production will be between 11.5 and 13.0 MMTs, of which an estimated 75 percent to 80 percent will be HCC and the remainder will be low-vol PCI.

Safety and Stewardship Highlights

U.S. operations reduced its total recordable injury rate by 16 percent in the first quarter of 2012 compared with first quarter 2011. Canadian and U.K. operations reduced their total reportable injury rate by 5 percent compared with the same period last year.

On April 20, the Brule mine was awarded the Edward Prior Safety Award for 2011 by the Office of the Chief Inspector of Mines from the Ministry of Natural Resource Operations in British Columbia, Canada, as recognition for dedication to safe operations in all aspects of its mining operations.

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Use of Non-GAAP Measures

This release contains the use of certain U.S. non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) measures. These non-GAAP measures are provided as supplemental information for financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Management believes that these non-GAAP measures provide additional insights into the performance of the Company, and they reflect how management analyzes Company performance and compares that performance against other companies. A reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP measures is provided in the financial section of this release.

Conference Call Webcast

The Company will hold a conference call webcast to discuss first quarter 2012 results Thursday, May 3, 2012, at 8 a.m. CDT. To listen to the live event, visit www.walterenergy.com.

About Walter Energy

Walter Energy is the world’s leading, publicly traded “pure-play” metallurgical coal producer for the global steel industry with strategic access to high-growth steel markets in Asia, South America and Europe. The Company also produces thermal coal, anthracite, metallurgical coke and coal bed methane gas. Walter Energy employs approximately 4,400 employees and contractors with operations in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom. For more information about Walter Energy, please visit www.walterenergy.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this release are forward-looking and made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and may involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are based on information available to management at the time, and they involve judgments and estimates. Forward-looking statements include expressions such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “will,” and similar terms and expressions. These forward-looking statements are made based on expectations and beliefs concerning future events affecting us and are subject to various risks, uncertainties and factors relating to our operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control, that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those matters expressed in or implied by these forward-looking statements. The following factors are among those that may cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements: the market demand for coal, coke and natural gas as well as changes in pricing and costs; the availability of raw material, labor, equipment and transportation; changes in weather and geologic conditions; changes in extraction costs, pricing and assumptions and projections concerning reserves in our mining operations; changes in customer orders; pricing actions by our competitors, customers, suppliers and contractors; changes in governmental policies and laws, including with respect to safety enhancements and environmental initiatives; availability and costs of credit, surety bonds and letters of credit; and changes in general economic conditions. Forward-looking statements made by us in this release, or elsewhere, speak only as of the date on which the statements were made. See also the “Risk Factors” in our 2011 Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the SEC, which are currently available on our website at www.walterenergy.com. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict these events or how they may affect us or our anticipated results. We have no duty to, and do not intend to, update or revise the forward-looking statements in this release, except as may be required by law. In

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light of these risks and uncertainties, readers should keep in mind that any forward-looking statement made in this press release may not occur. All data presented herein is as of the date of this release unless otherwise noted.

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WALTER ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

($ in thousands, except per share and share amounts)

Unaudited

(1)         Includes results of Western Coal acquired on April 1, 2011.

(2)         The 2011 first quarter includes $9.9 million of costs associated with the acquisition of Western Coal.

(3)         The 2012 first quarter includes losses on the sale and re-measurement to fair value of equity investments.

(4)         The provision for income taxes in the first quarter of 2012 at a rate of 17.6% is based on an estimated effective annual tax rate for the year as compared to 29.7% for the first quarter of 2011. The effective tax rate for 2012 is lower than the first quarter 2011 tax rate, primarily due to estimated foreign income and losses and the related international jurisdictional tax rates which were not relevant to the Company prior to the acquisition of Western Coal.

(5)         The 2012 first quarter weighted average number of shares outstanding gives effect to the issuance of 8,951,558 common shares on April 1, 2011 in connection with the acquisition of Western Coal.

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WALTER ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

RESULTS BY OPERATING SEGMENT (1)

($ in thousands)

Unaudited

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WALTER ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

QUARTERLY STATISTICAL RESULTS BY OPERATING SEGMENT AND MAJOR PRODUCT

(Ton information in thousand metric tons and dollars in USD)

Consolidated Statistical Information by Major Product

US Segment Statistical Information by Major Product

Canada and UK Segment Statistical Information by Major Product

(1)          Average Cash Cost per Ton is based on reported Cost of Sales and includes items such as freight, royalties, manpower, fuel and other similar production and sales cost items but excludes depreciation, depletion and post retirement benefits. Average Cash Cost per Ton is a non-GAAP financial measure which is not calculated in conformity with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and should be considered supplemental to, and not as a substitute or superior to financial measures calculated in conformity with GAAP. We believe Cash Cost per Ton is a useful measure  as our management uses that as a measure of performance and we believe it aids some investors and analysts in comparing us against other companies to help analyze our current and future potential performance.

(2)          Production and Average Cash Cost per Ton for our Willow Creek mining operations are separately provided for the current quarter as the mine’s production was adversely impacted by a planned wash plant outage necessary to upgrade its capability to process premium low-volatile hard coking coal. The plant upgrade was completed during the quarter.

(3)          Reconciliation of Cash Cost per Ton to Cost of Sales as disclosed (in thousands USD):

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WALTER ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

($ in thousands)

Unaudited

(1)          Includes accounts of Western Coal acquired on April 1, 2011. The purchase price has been allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values at the date of acquisition. The acquisition was finalized during the 2012 first quarter. The December 31, 2011 balance sheet has been recast to reflect the impacts of finalizing the allocation of the purchase price. Retained earnings, a component of stockholder’s equity, as of December 31, 2011 was increased by $14.4 million, primarily due to a decrease in mineral interests depletion and income tax expense related to 2011.

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WALTER ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2012

($ in thousands, except per share amounts)

Unaudited

(1)   Retained earnings as of December 31, 2011 has been recast to reflect the impacts of finalizing the allocation of the Western Coal purchase price. The balance was increased by $14.4 million primarily due to a decrease in mineral interests depletion and income tax expense related to 2011.

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WALTER ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

($ in thousands)

Unaudited

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WALTER ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

Unaudited

RECONCILIATION OF EBITDA TO AMOUNTS REPORTED UNDER US GAAP:

(1)          EBITDA is defined as earnings from continuing operations before interest expense, interest income, income taxes, and depreciation and depletion expense. EBITDA is a financial measure which is not calculated in conformity with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and should be considered supplemental to, and not as a substitute or superior to financial measures calculated in conformity with GAAP. We believe that EBITDA is a useful measure as some investors and analysts use EBITDA to compare us against other companies and to help analyze our ability to satisfy principal and interest obligations and capital expenditure needs. EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other entities.

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Contact:

Paul Blalock

Head - Investor Relations

1 205 745 2627

paul.blalock@walterenergy.com