Central Europe-based miner New World Resources Plc (NWR) has announced its financial results for the first quarter this year, reporting a net loss of €27 million, down from a net loss of €81 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. NWR's sales revenues decreased by 18 percent year on year in the first quarter to €173 million, mainly attributable to lower sales volumes and lower realized prices of thermal coal, as well as to lower realized prices of coking coal that were partly offset by its higher sales volumes. In the given period, the company posted an operating loss of €10 million, compared to an operating loss of €67 million in the same period of 2012.
During the first quarter, NWR's total coal output increased by four percent to 2.2 million mt, while external coal sales declined by 12 percent to 1.9 million mt, both compared to the first quarter of the previous year.
New World Resources said that its coking coal prices for the second quarter decreased by six percent quarter on quarter to €85/mt. This pricing environment is clearly a challenge for the company. The company stated that, while it is encouraged by the tentative signs of recovery as indicated by rising steel production in NWR's core markets along with an increase in capacity utilization rates in the year to date, any such recovery is still far from robust and it is too early to assess its sustainability.