UK Coal posts first profit in four years

The group, which is a major supplier to Britain’s coal-fired power stations from three deep mines and six surface mines, swung from an interim loss of £93.2m to a profit of £22.1m in the six months to June as revenues jumped more than 80 per cent to £256m and average prices rose by 20 per cent.

More property sales also helped the recovery, but the coal mines posted a near £100m swing from heavy losses into a profit of £35.2m as output rose from 2.7m tonnes to 4.1m tonnes. The group’s deep mines are situated at Daw Mill, near Coventry, Thoresby in Nottinghamshire and Kellingley in Yorkshire.

Chairman Jonson Cox added that the greatest risk to output this year is at the Daw Mill deep mine, near Coventry, due to a change in the coal face.

The market for coal prices remains stable, he added, while the group will also have cleared the bulk of its lower priced legacy contracts by the end of the year.