We are very pleased to report that for the six month period ending on 30 June 2018, Bisichi Mining PLC achieved earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £5.2million (2017: £1.4 million).
During the first half of 2018, Black Wattle continued to benefit from the infrastructure improvements to the coal washing plant that were reported to shareholders in 2017. These improvements have enabled Black Wattle to deliver a higher rate of production from our opencast areas and achieve an increased overall yield compared to the first half of 2017. The mine’s total production was 670,000 metric tonnes (2017: 582,000 metric tonnes) during the period reported.
In terms of markets, a shortage of coal in the domestic market and a strong demand for coal in the international market have continued to impact positively on the prices achievable for our coal during the period. At the end of June 2018 the average weekly price of Free on Board (FOB) Coal from Richard Bay Coal Terminal (API4 price) reached levels of over US$105 per metric tonne, compared to US$95 at the end of 2017 and US$85 at the beginning of 2017. The higher coal prices, along with a stable Rand and improved production attributed to the increase in Group revenue compared to the same period last year.
Looking forward to the rest of this year, management will continue to focus on increasing our life of mine at Black Wattle, through the acquisition of additional coal reserves, as well as maintaining levels of production in order to benefit from the higher prices achievable for our coal.
In other news, and as reported to shareholders earlier this year, the Group has formed a joint venture to acquire the freehold of five shops and to develop flats in West Ealing, London. Bisichi and London & Associated Properties PLC, a 41.52% shareholder of Bisichi, each own 45% of the joint venture, with the remaining 10% owned by Metroprop Real Estate Ltd. The joint venture includes shops that produce a current rent of c£140,000 per annum and has planning consent for 20 flats at first and second floor which will be eligible for the UK Government Help to Buy Scheme. At present the Group has no further news to report on this exciting real estate transaction, however we look forward to updating shareholders as the development progresses.
Finally, the Company’s current UK retail property portfolio, which is managed by London & Associated Properties, continues to perform well with the group achieving revenue from our directly owned property portfolio of £0.55million (2017: £0.56million) during the period.
Your directors intend to pay an interim dividend of 1p per share which will be paid on the 8 February 2019, to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 4 January 2019.
On behalf of the Board we would like to thank all our staff for their hard work during the first six months of the year.
Sir Michael Heller: Chairman
Andrew Heller: Managing Director
Bisichi Mining is a mining and property corporation listed on the London Stock Exchange. It was founded in 1910. It operates the Black Wattle coal mine in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, South Africa.
