Publications
Partners
ohannesburg - Coal miner Wescoal Holdings [JSE:WSL] slipped
into the red with a diluted headline loss per share of 25.9 cents for the year
ended March 2011, compared with earnings of 4.3c per share last year.
Revenue was higher at R557.6m but expenses left a loss of
R43.8m, compared with a profit of R5.7m
last year. No dividends were declared.
A total of 967 000 tonnes of coal was extracted for the year.
The company blamed its poor results on writing off mining
costs totalling R29.3m incurred for Sutha Civils, accelerated write-offs of
R7.5m of mine establishment costs and mining in progress, and impairments of
goodwill of R4.8m in subsidiary Chandler
Coal.
Sutha was one of the contractors Wescoal engaged to mine at
its Khanyisa Colliery near Kendal in Mpumalanga.
Wescoal previously reported that it launched an
investigation into irregularities within the Sutha contract, but no meaningful
explanations were forthcoming from Sutha. Wescoal then removed Sutha from
Khanyisa in December 2010.
"In addition to these write-offs, the reduced
production and increased costs relating to flooding accelerated losses,
especially at the Blesboklaagte washing plant that incurred an operating loss
of R22.6m," it said.
Wescoal announced in January that production at the Blesboklaagte plant and the Khanyisa Colliery had been significantly affected by persistent rains and flooding in the Witbank and Middelburg areas.
