Vancouver's Western Canadian Coal Corp. (TSX:WTN) suffered a heavy net loss for its fiscal year ending March 31, 2008, due to higher production costs and lower coal prices.
It reported a net loss of $106 million compared to a net loss of $13 million in fiscal 2007 despite revenue almost doubling to $252.5 million from $134.1 million a year earlier. The company more than doubled the amount of coal sold to more than 3 billion tonnes from 1.4 billion tonnes.
Net loss for the year was the result of one-time adjustments, write-off of future income taxes and investment impairments, on top of a strong Canadian dollar that impacted revenue by $29 million.
Costs of production spiralled upward for the year $86.10 per tonne from $80.80 per tonne a year earlier. Its average costs were slightly higher than the average realized price for coal of $80.67 per tonne from 82.99 per tonne.
The company had an optimistic outlook with rising coal prices on the horizon and strong production growth in 2008. With strong market conditions, the company said it could continue on its goal of producing more than seven million tonnes of coal per year by 2012.
Western Canadian Coal's share price range during the past week: between $7.65 and $10.60; 52-week high: $8.90; 52-week low: $0.47.