Westmoreland Reports First Quarter 2016 Results and Affirms Full-year Guidance

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., May 10, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Westmoreland Coal Company (Nasdaq:WLB) today reported financial results for the 2016 first quarter and affirmed its full-year 2016 outlook.

First Quarter Highlights

• Revenues of $354.7 million, from tons sold of 13.8 million
• Net income applicable to common shareholders of $30.6 million, or $1.67 per diluted share, including a $47.9 million, or $2.62 per diluted share, tax benefit resulting from the change in valuation of tax assets following the San Juan acquisition
• Adjusted EBITDA¹ of $63.0 million
• Cash flow provided by operating activities of $18.2 million
• Free cash flow¹ of $14.0 million

“Despite weak power demand during the first quarter, which was one of the warmest quarters on record, our mine-mouth and cost-protected model again helped us deliver solid results, especially cash flows,” said Kevin Paprzycki, Westmoreland’s Chief Executive Officer. “We continue to make progress on our cash generation initiatives as we work towards paying down our debt late in the year. Our goal is to create value for Westmoreland’s investors by generating cash and strengthening our balance sheet.”

Safety

Westmoreland is committed to achieving the highest safety standards. Reflected in the safety performance in the first quarter of 2016 is an admirable accomplishment of 21 years with no lost time incidents at Westmoreland’s Sheerness mine, near Hanna, Alberta.

Consolidated and Segment Results

The record-setting warm weather and the power pricing environment in many of Westmoreland’s markets impacted the first quarter results. Westmoreland made progress in the quarter implementing cost curtailment initiatives and integrating San Juan Coal Company following the January 31 acquisition. The consolidated and Coal - U.S. segment results benefited year over year from having two months of San Juan results included in the first quarter of 2016.

The Coal - U.S. segment experienced market softness as our customers reduced their power generation due to the low number of heating days this winter. Coal - Canada results were impacted by low demand, however operating improvements led to increased profitability. Lower open market pricing in Ohio pressured results at Coal - WMLP.

Cash Flow and Liquidity

The $14.0 million of free cash flow Westmoreland generated in the quarter was comprised of cash flow provided by operations of $18.2 million, less capital expenditures of $5.5 million, plus net cash collected under a certain contract for loan and lease receivables of $1.3 million. Working capital investments, which included the initial underwriting of San Juan’s accounts receivables, reduced Westmoreland’s free cash flow by $16.9 million in the first quarter.

Westmoreland ended the 2016 first quarter with $17.8 million of cash and cash equivalents on hand. Contributing to the $5.2 million decrease from year end were, among other items, first quarter’s free cash flow generation, $11.0 million cash debt reductions, approximately $6 million of cash used, net of loan proceeds received, to purchase San Juan and $3.2 million of cash used for additional bonding. Westmoreland had outstanding debt at quarter end of $1,129.0 million, an increase from year end driven by the San Juan financing.

At March 31, 2016, Westmoreland had zero drawn on its revolving credit facility and had, net of letters of credit, $36.3 million available to draw. An additional $15 million was available to Westmoreland Resource Partners through its revolving credit facility, which is not available to the parent for borrowings.

Full-Year Guidance

Commenting on the outlook, Paprzycki said, “After taking into account the current market conditions, we still expect to achieve the guidance we issued in February. We have visibility into our cash flow stream because we entered this year with nearly 90% of our tons under cost-protected contracts. Our cash generation, considering normal seasonality, will strengthen following the second quarter which typically experiences the year’s lowest energy demand. We will look to reduce debt later in the year with our increased cash flow.”

Westmoreland’s 2016 guidance remains:

Notes

¹Westmoreland presents certain non-GAAP financial measures including Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow that management believes provide meaningful supplemental information and provide meaningful comparability to prior periods. Reconciliations of non-GAAP to GAAP measures are presented in the accompanying tables.

Conference Call

Westmoreland Coal Company will conduct a joint earnings conference call with Westmoreland Resource Partners, LP (NYSE:WMLP), on May 10, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. ET. Participants may join the call using the numbers below:

About Westmoreland Coal Company

Westmoreland Coal Company is the oldest independent coal company in the United States. Westmoreland’s coal operations include surface coal mines in the United States and Canada, underground coal mines in Ohio and New Mexico, a char production facility, and a 50% interest in an activated carbon plant. Westmoreland also owns the general partner of and a majority interest in Westmoreland Resource Partners, LP, a publicly-traded coal master limited partnership. Its power operations include ownership of the two-unit ROVA coal-fired power plant in North Carolina. For more information, visit www.westmoreland.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Forward-looking statements are based on Westmoreland’s current expectations and assumptions regarding its business, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Westmoreland cautions you against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. They are statements neither of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future performance. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include political, economic, business, competitive, market, weather and regulatory conditions.

Any forward-looking statements made by Westmoreland in this news release speak only as of the date on which it was made. Westmoreland undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

The tables below show how the Company calculates and reconciles to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA, including a breakdown by segment; and free cash flow.

EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow are supplemental measures of financial performance that are not required by, or presented in accordance with, GAAP. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow are included in this news release because they are key metrics used by management to assess Westmoreland’s operating performance and as a basis for strategic planning and forecasting. Westmoreland believes that EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and free cash are useful to an investor in evaluating the Company’s operating performance because these measures:

• are used widely by investors to measure a company’s operating performance without regard to items excluded from the calculation of such terms, which can vary substantially from company to company depending upon accounting methods and book value of assets, capital structure and the method by which assets were acquired, among other factors;
• are used by rating agencies, lenders and other parties to evaluate creditworthiness; and
• help investors to more meaningfully evaluate and compare the results of Westmoreland’s operations from period to period by removing the effect of the Company’s capital structure and asset base from the Company’s operating results.

Neither EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA nor free cash flow are measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. The items excluded from EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow are significant in assessing Westmoreland’s operating results. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow have limitations as analytical tools, and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, analysis of the Company’s results as reported under GAAP.

Other companies in Westmoreland’s industry and in other industries may calculate EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow differently from the way that Westmoreland does, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures. Because of these limitations, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow should not be considered as measures of discretionary cash available to the Company to invest in the growth of its business. Westmoreland compensates for these limitations by relying primarily on its GAAP results and using EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow only as supplemental data.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

EBITDA (earnings before interest expense, interest income, income taxes, depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion expense) and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP measures that do not reflect the Company’s cash expenditures, or future requirements for capital and major maintenance expenditures or contractual commitments; do not reflect income tax expenses or the cash requirements necessary to pay income taxes; do not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, the Company’s working capital needs; and do not reflect the significant interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments, on certain of the Company’s debt obligations. In addition, although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future and EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements. Westmoreland considers Adjusted EBITDA to be useful because it reflects operating performance before the effects of certain non-cash items and other items that it believes are not indicative of core operations. The Company uses Adjusted EBITDA to assess operating performance.

Free Cash Flow

Free cash flow represents net cash provided (used) by operating activities less additions to property, plant and equipment (“CAPEX” or “capital expenditures”) plus net customer payments received under loan and lease receivable. Free cash flow is a non-GAAP measure and should not be considered as an alternative to cash and cash equivalents, cash flow from operations, cash flow from investing activities, cash flow from financing activities, net income (loss) or any other measure of performance presented in accordance with GAAP. Free cash flow is intended to represent cash flow available to satisfy our debts, after giving consideration to those expenses required to maintain our assets and infrastructure. Accordingly, although free cash flow is not a measure of performance calculated in accordance with GAAP, the Company believes free cash flow is useful to investors because it allows analysts and others in the industry to assess performance, liquidity and ability to satisfy debt requirements.

For further information please contact

Gary Kohn, Vice President Investor Relations
1-720-354-4467
gkohn@westmoreland.com