CSO Corsa Coal Corp

FRIEDENS, Pa., May 12, 2022 /CNW/ - Corsa Coal Corp. (TSXV: CSO) (OTCQX: CRSXF) ("Corsa" or the "Company"), a premium quality metallurgical coal producer, today reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2022.  Corsa has filed its unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 and related management's discussion and analysis under its profile on www.sedar.com.

Unless otherwise noted, all dollar amounts in this news release are expressed in United States dollars and all ton amounts are short tons (2,000 pounds per ton).  Pricing and cost per ton information is expressed on a free-on-board ("FOB"), mine site basis, unless otherwise noted.

First Quarter Highlights

• Key financial results and operational statistics are shown below:

• Corsa's average realized price for the first quarter 2022 is the approximate equivalent of between $200 to $206 per metric ton on an FOB vessel basis⁽²⁾. For the first quarter 2022, Corsa's sales mix included 61% of sales to domestic customers and 39% of sales to international customers.

Kevin M. Harrigan, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Corsa, commented, "The first quarter of 2022 saw continued challenges that carried over from 2021 mainly related to mining geology and labor-availability productivity issues.  Geologically, our Casselman mine is nearing the end of its reserve life and we are operating in areas that typically may not be mined due to the lower thickness of the coal seam.  However, existing orders and market conditions allow these reserves to be mined and extend the economical coal reserve life albeit with significantly increased mining costs per ton sold when compared to our historical results.  Production and costs from our surface operations were also negatively impacted as we continued to establish the second working pit at our Schrock Run Extension mine and experienced challenging weather conditions during the winter operating season.  Like many of our competitors and customers, Corsa also experienced transportation constraints and delays for shipments of our coal to our customers."

"An ongoing shortage of experienced and skilled labor limits our production capabilities while hiring and training of inexperienced miners decreases our labor efficiency and increases our labor costs per ton.  Although the Company implemented and continues to explore ways to attract and retain employees, our productivity, costs and financial results directly reflect the detrimental effects of these significant labor challenges."

"Productivity issues at our mines resulted in the Company not being able to take advantage of higher priced opportunities in the spot market during the quarter as we fulfilled our existing domestic and export fixed price orders.  We expect this trend to continue into the second quarter or until we can obtain the personnel necessary to fully staff our mines and improve coal production.  While Corsa was able to benefit from improved realized pricing on our fixed price contracts, we continue to focus on increasing our operations and improving productivity so that we can further benefit from the current metallurgical coal price environment."

Financial and Operations Summary

^{(1) This is a non-GAAP financial measure.  See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
(2) Cost of sales consists of the following:}

^{(1) This is a non-GAAP financial measure.  See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
(2) Cash production cost per ton sold excludes purchased coal.  This is a non-GAAP financial measure.  See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
(3) Cash cost per ton sold includes purchased coal.  This is a non-GAAP financial measure.  See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.}

Coal Pricing Trends and Outlook

Price levels opened the first quarter of 2022 at $357.75/metric ton ("mt") delivered-to-the-port ("FOBT") for spot deliveries of Australian premium low volatile metallurgical coal and closed the quarter at $515.00/mt FOBT.  The quarterly average price for the first quarter of 2022 was $486.57/mt FOBT for Australian premium low volatile metallurgical coal, compared to $368.92/mt FOBT in the fourth quarter of 2021, and traded in a range from a high of $670.50/mt FOBT to a low of $357.75/mt FOBT.

The forward curve for the balance of the second quarter of 2022 according to the SGX TSI index is trading at $504.84/mt FOBT with May at $522.00/mt FOBT and June at $487.67/mt FOBT. Forward curve pricing for the balance of 2022 is trading at an average of $440.33/mt FOBT with the second quarter at a high of $504.84/mt FOBT and the fourth quarter at a low of $393.33/mt FOBT. The forward curve for 2023 is indicating pricing at an average of $337.17/mt FOBT. Increased global steel demand and high levels of global steel production are supporting the demand and supporting higher prices for metallurgical coal. Trade tensions between China and Australia remain and continue to influence the international metallurgical coal market supply routes and metallurgical coal export pricing dynamics, although the long-term effects of the conflict in Ukraine and resurgences in COVID-19 cases and related mitigation measures remain unknown.

See "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form dated March 1, 2022 for the year ended December 31, 2021 for an additional discussion regarding certain factors that could impact coal pricing trends and outlook, as well as the Company's ongoing operations.

Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis

Refer to Corsa's unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 and related management's discussion and analysis, filed under Corsa's profile on www.sedar.com, for details of the financial performance of Corsa and the matters referred to in this news release.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Corsa uses certain non-GAAP financial measures to measure its performance internally and to assist in business decision-making as well as providing key performance information to senior management.  These measures are not recognized under International Financial Reporting Standards ("GAAP").  Corsa believes that, in addition to the conventional measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, certain investors and other stakeholders also use these non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate Corsa's operating and financial performance; however, these non-GAAP financial measures do not have any standardized meaning and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.  Accordingly, these non-GAAP financial measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. 

Management uses the following non-GAAP financial measures:

• EBITDA - earnings before deductions for interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization;
• Adjusted EBITDA - EBITDA adjusted for change in estimate of reclamation and water treatment provision for non-operating properties, impairment and write-off of mineral properties and advance royalties, gain (loss) on sale of assets and other costs, stock-based compensation, non-cash finance expenses and other non-cash adjustments. Adjusted EBITDA is used as a supplemental financial measure by management and by external users of our financial statements to assess our performance as compared to the performance of other companies in the coal industry, without regard to financing methods, historical cost basis or capital structure; the ability of our assets to generate sufficient cash flow; and our ability to incur and service debt and fund capital expenditures;
• Realized price per ton sold - revenue from coal sales less transportation costs from the mine site to the loading terminal divided by tons of coal sold. Management evaluates our operations based on the volume of coal we can safely produce or purchase and sell in compliance with regulatory standards, and the prices we receive for our coal. Our sales volume and sales prices are largely dependent upon the terms of our contracts, for which prices generally are set based on an index. We evaluate the price we receive for our coal on an average realized price on an FOB mine site per short ton basis;
• Cash production cost per ton sold - cash production costs of sales excluding purchased coal costs, all included within cost of sales, divided by tons of produced coal sold. Cash production cost is based on cost of sales and includes items such as manpower, royalties, fuel, and other similar production related items, pursuant to IFRS, but relate directly to the costs incurred to produce coal and sell it on an FOB mine site basis. Cash production cost per ton sold is used as a supplemental financial measure by management and by external users to assess our operating performance as compared to the operating performance of other companies in the coal industry. Purchased coal is excluded as the purchased coal costs are based on market prices of coal purchased and not the cost to produce the coal;
• Cash cost purchased coal per ton sold - purchased coal costs divided by tons of purchased coal sold. Management uses this measure to assess coal purchases against the market price at which this coal will be sold;
• Cash cost per ton sold - cash production costs of sales, included within cost of sales, divided by total tons sold. Management uses cash cost per ton sold to assess our overall financial performance on a per ton basis to include the Company's production and purchased coal cost in total; and
• Cash margin per ton sold - calculated difference between realized price per ton sold and cash cost per ton sold. Cash margin per ton sold is used by management and external users to assess the operating performance as compared to the operating performance of other coal companies in the coal industry.

For a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP measures, see the tabular presentation at the end of this news release.

Qualified Person

All scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by David E. Yingling, Professional Engineer and the Company's mining engineer, who is a qualified person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Caution

Potential developments and market conditions discussed in this news release are considered to be forward looking information.  Readers are cautioned that actual results may vary from this forward-looking information.  See "Forward-Looking Statements" below.

Information about Corsa

Corsa is a coal mining company focused on the production and sales of metallurgical coal, an essential ingredient in the production of steel. Our core business is producing and selling metallurgical coal to domestic and international steel and coke producers in the Atlantic and Pacific basin markets.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this press release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") under applicable securities laws. Except for statements of historical fact, certain information contained herein including, but not limited to, statements relating to the expected price volatility of the metallurgical coal market, the future demand for steel and its production, and the availability of its supply, changes to sales margins and expected profitability constitutes forward-looking statements which include management's assessment of future plans and operations and are based on current internal expectations, assumptions and beliefs, which may prove to be incorrect. Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "will", "estimates", "expects" "anticipates", "believes", "projects", "plans", "capacity", "hope", "forecast", "anticipate", "could" and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: changes in market conditions, governmental or regulatory developments as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise, the operating status and capabilities of our customers and competitors; various events which could disrupt operations and/or the transportation of coal products, including the conflict in Ukraine, labor stoppages, the outbreak of disease and severe weather conditions; and management's ability to anticipate and manage the foregoing factors and risks.  There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Corsa does not undertake to update any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release unless required by law. The statements as to Corsa's capacity to produce coal are no assurance that it will achieve these levels of production or that it will be able to achieve these sales levels.

The TSX Venture Exchange has in no way passed on the merits of this news release.  Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures Reconciliation

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021

 
Realized price per ton sold for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021

Cash cost per ton sold, cash production cost per ton sold, and cash cost per purchased coal per ton sold for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021

Cash margin per ton sold for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021

SOURCE Corsa Coal Corp.