Puda Coal has reported total revenue of $60.2m for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2009, down 6.6% from $64.5m in the same quarter of previous year.
Operating income for the quarter was $4.9m, up 8% from $4.5 m for the prior year quarter. For the quarter, net income was $2.3m, or $0.14 per fully diluted share, compared to $3.4m, or $0.22 per fully diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Gross profit for the fourth quarter was $5.3m, down 11.5% from $6m for same quarter of previous year. Gross margin was 8.8% in the quarter, down from 9.3% in the prior year quarter. For the quarter, sales of cleaned coal totaled 535,000 metric tons (MT), down 0.6% year over year.
For the year ended December 31, 2009, net revenue was $214.1m, down 11.7% compared to
$242.3m for the prior year.
Operating income for the year was $14.5m compared to $24.9m for the prior year. For the year, net income was $5.5m, or $0.36 per fully diluted share, down 67.9% from $17.1m, or $1.12 per fully diluted share for the previous year.
For the year, gross profit was $18.2m compared to $30.3m for the prior year. Sales of cleaned coal for the year reached 1.9 million metric tons, down 17.6% from 2008.
Puda Coal anticipates that tonnage sales in 2010 will improve from current levels as steel inventories decline and customers increase order volumes. The company expects that such demand will provide significant opportunities for suppliers of cleaned coking coal like Puda Coal.
Liping Zhu, CEO of Puda Coal, said: “Despite very challenging market conditions that adversely affected the steel industry during 2009, we finished the year in a strong position by generating sequential revenue and profit growth as the sector continued to rebound with stronger tonnage sales volume and higher average selling prices.
“We began 2010 strong from a strategic perspective, as we have been named a consolidator of four additional coal mines in Huozhou County, Shanxi Province, bringing our total number of mines to consolidate to twelve. We are excited to begin transforming from a coal washing business to an integrated coal mining company.”