HALLADOR ENERGY CO - Quarter Report: 2016 March (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D. C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

For the quarterly period ended: March 31, 2016

OR

Commission file number: 001-3473

“COAL KEEPS YOUR LIGHTS ON”

“COAL KEEPS YOUR LIGHTS ON”

HALLADOR ENERGY COMPANY

(www.halladorenergy.com)

Issuer's telephone number: 303.839.5504

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þ No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

Yes þ No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of "larger accelerated filer," "accelerated filer" and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes ¨ No þ

As of May 6, 2016, we had 29,251,000 shares outstanding.

PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1.  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Consolidated Balance Sheet

(in thousands, except per share data)

See accompanying notes.

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

For the three months ended March 31,

(in thousands, except per share data)

See accompanying notes.

Consolidated Condensed Statement of Cash Flows

For the three months ended March 31,

(in thousands)

See accompanying notes.

Consolidated Statement of Stockholders’ Equity

(in thousands)

*Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income

See accompanying notes.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The interim financial data is unaudited; however, in our opinion, it includes all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments necessary for a fair statement of the results for the interim periods. The financial statements included herein have been prepared pursuant to the SEC’s rules and regulations; accordingly, certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in GAAP financial statements have been condensed or omitted.

The results of operations and cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2016 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for future quarters or for the year ending December 31, 2016. To maintain consistency and comparability, certain 2015 amounts have been reclassified to conform to the 2016 presentation.

Our organization and business, the accounting policies we follow and other information, are contained in the notes to our consolidated financial statements filed as part of our 2015 Form 10-K. This quarterly report should be read in conjunction with such 10-K.

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Hallador Energy Company (the Company) and its wholly-owned subsidiary Sunrise Coal, LLC (Sunrise) and Sunrise’s wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. We are engaged in the production of steam coal from mines located in western Indiana.  We own a 40% equity interest in Savoy Energy, L.P., a private oil and gas company, which has operations in Michigan and a 50% interest in Sunrise Energy, LLC, a private entity engaged in oil and gas operations in the same vicinity as the Carlisle mine.

Change in Estimate for Computing Depreciation

At the beginning of Q1 2016, we changed from the straight-line method to the units-of-production method in computing the depreciation for our underground mining equipment. This change in estimate reduced our DD&A expense for Q1 2016 by $1.6 million. As disclosed last year, we significantly curtailed the production at the Carlisle Mine. This change better reflects the usage of our underground mining equipment especially since Carlisle had limited production in Q1 2016.

On March 18, 2016, we executed an amendment to our credit agreement with PNC, as administrative agent for our lenders.  The primary purpose of the amendment was to increase liquidity and maintain compliance through the maturity of the agreement in August 2019.  The revolver was reduced from $250 million to $200 million and the term loan remains the same. Our debt at March 2016 was $256 million (term-$131, revolver-$125). In addition, a maximum annual capex of $30 million was included.   

Bank fees and other costs incurred in connection with the initial facility and the amendment were $9.1 million, which were deferred and are being amortized over five years. The credit facility is collateralized by substantially all of Sunrise’s assets and we are the guarantor.

The amended credit facility increased the maximum leverage ratio (total funded debt/ trailing 12 months EBITDA) from 2.75X to 4X at March 31, 2016. The maximum leverage ratio is calculated at the end of each fiscal quarter and shall not exceed the applicable ratios below.

The fixed charge coverage ratio was changed to the debt service coverage ratio and requires a minimum of 1.25X through the maturity of the credit facility. The amendment defines the debt service coverage as trailing 12 months EBITDA/annual debt service. As of March 31, 2016, we have additional borrowing capacity of $67 million.

At March 31, 2016, our maximum leverage ratio was 2.89X and our debt service coverage ratio was 2.40X.  Therefore, we were in compliance with these two ratios.

 
The interest rate on the facility ranges from LIBOR plus 2.25% to LIBOR plus 4%, depending on our maximum leverage ratio.

New accounting rules for 2016 require that our debt issues costs be presented as a direct reduction from the related debt rather than as an asset.  Our December 31, 2015 balance sheet was changed to reflect the new rule.

Debt less debt issuance cost at March 31 and December 31 are presented below (in thousands):

We currently own a 40% interest in Savoy Energy, L.P., a private company engaged in the oil and gas business primarily in the state of Michigan.  Savoy uses the successful efforts method of accounting. We account for our interest using the equity method of accounting.

Below (in thousands) to the 100% is a condensed balance sheet at March 31, and a condensed statement of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015.

Condensed Balance Sheet

Condensed Statement of Operations

We own a 50% interest in Sunrise Energy, LLC, which owns gas reserves and gathering equipment with plans to develop and operate such reserves. Sunrise Energy also plans to develop and explore for oil, gas and coal-bed methane gas reserves on or near our underground coal reserves. They use the successful efforts method of accounting. We account for our interest using the equity method of accounting.

Below (in thousands) to the 100% is a condensed balance sheet at March 31, and a condensed statement of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015.

Condensed Balance Sheet

Condensed Statement of Operations

*Held by Sunrise Indemnity, Inc., our wholly-owned captive insurance company.

In late August 2010 we decided to terminate the property insurance on our underground mining equipment. Such equipment is allocated among 10 mining units spread out over 20 miles. The historical cost of such equipment is about $255 million.

We compute net income per share using the two-class method, which is an allocation formula that determines net income per share for common stock and participating securities, which for us are our outstanding RSUs.

The following table sets forth the computation of net income per share for the three months ended March 31 (in thousands):

As disclosed last year, we significantly curtailed the production at the Carlisle mine and had a reduction in work force. Consequently, we conducted a review of those assets for recoverability and determined that no impairment charge was necessary. In conducting such review, we assumed (i) that natgas prices will start to increase in late 2017; (ii) Carlisle production will increase in 2018-2019, and (iii) sometime in 2020, the Carlisle Mine will return to its normal production capacity of 3.3 million tons per year. The Carlisle assets had an aggregate carrying value of $137 million at March 31, 2016. If, in later quarters, we reduce our estimate of the future net cash flows attributable to the Carlisle mine, it may result in future impairment of such assets and such charges could be significant.

On March 22, 2016, we completed the purchase of the Freelandville coal reserves and coal sales agreement for $18 million. These reserves totaled 14.2 million tons of fee and leased coal and will be mined from our Oaktown 1 portal. This purchase also allows Sunrise access to another 1.6 million tons of our own leased reserves that were previously inaccessible. The purchased coal sales agreement totaled 1,435,000 tons (can be adjusted +/- 6,700 tons monthly) and will be delivered ratably in calendar year 2017. The preliminary purchase price allocation for the acquisition was as follows (in thousands):

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders

Hallador Energy Company

Denver, Colorado

We have reviewed the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet of Hallador Energy Company and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of March 31, 2016, and the related condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive income, and cash flows, for the three month periods ended March 31, 2016 and March 31, 2015 and the statement of stockholders’ equity for the three month period ended March 31, 2016.  These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management.

We conducted our reviews in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). A review of interim financial information consists principally of applying analytical procedures and making inquiries of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters. It is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance with standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the objective of which is the expression of an opinion regarding the financial statements taken as a whole. Accordingly, we do not express such an opinion.

Based on our reviews, we are not aware of any material modifications that should be made to the accompanying condensed consolidated interim financial information for it to be in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

We have previously audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated balance sheet of the Company as of December 31, 2015, and the related consolidated statements of comprehensive income, cash flows, and stockholders’ equity for the year then ended (not presented herein); and in our report dated March 11, 2016, we expressed an unqualified opinion on those consolidated financial statements. In our opinion, the information set forth in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2015, is fairly stated, in all material respects, in relation to the balance sheet from which it has been derived.

/s/ EKS&H LLLP

May 6, 2016

Denver, Colorado

ITEM 2.   MD&A

The following discussion updates the MD&A section of our 2015 Form 10-K and should be read in conjunction therewith.

Our consolidated financial statements should also be read in conjunction with this discussion.

Our Coal Contracts

On March 22, 2016, we completed the purchase of certain underground coal reserves and a coal sales agreement associated with Triad Mining, LLC’s (Triad) Freelandville mining complex for $18 million.  Triad is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Blackhawk Mining, LLC based in Lexington, Kentucky. The Freelandville complex is located in Sullivan and Knox Counties, Indiana.  As part of the transaction, we also purchased 14.2 million tons of proven coal reserves and associated advanced royalties in addition to rights under a coal sales agreement that extends through 2017. See Note 9 to our financial statements.

The table below (in thousands, except prices) shows our contracted tons. Some of our contracts contain language that allow our customers to increase or decrease tonnages throughout the year. The table represents the minimum and maximum tonnages we could deliver under existing contracts. In some cases, our customers are required to purchase their additional tonnage needs from us. We fully anticipate making additional sales.

Unpriced tons are firm commitments, meaning we are required to ship and our customer is required to receive said tons through the duration of the contract. The contracts provide mechanisms for establishing a market-based price. As set forth in the table above, we have 12-18 million tons committed but unpriced through 2024. 

We expect to continue selling a significant portion of our coal under supply agreements with terms of one year or longer. Typically, customers enter into coal supply agreements to secure reliable sources of coal at predictable prices while we seek stable sources of revenue to support the investments required to open, expand and maintain, or improve productivity at the mines needed to supply these contracts. The terms of coal supply agreements result from competitive bidding and extensive negotiations with customers.  

Asset Realization

See Note 8 to our financial statements.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As set forth in our Statement of Cash Flows, cash provided by operations was $19 million (includes a non-recurring $1.8 million cash distribution from Savoy) for Q1 2016. This amount was adequate to fund our capital expenditures for coal properties, our debt service requirements and our dividend. Our capex budget for the next nine months is $15 million, of which $8 million is for maintenance capex. Cash from operations for the next nine months should again fund our capital expenditures, debt service and our dividend.

Other than our surety bonds for reclamation, we have no material off-balance sheet arrangements. Our surety bonds total $23 million in the event we are not able to perform.

Capital Expenditures (capex)

Q1 2016 capex was $6 million allocated as follows (in thousands):

Results of Operations

Oaktown’s cash costs for Q1 2016 were $27.87/ton. With our reduced coal sales in 2016, we see Oaktown’s costs ranging from $28 to $30 for 2016. Going forward we expect our SG&A to be $12 million annually and costs associated with Prosperity and Carlisle to be $9 million annually.

Quarterly coal sales and cost data (in thousands, except per ton data):

2016 v. 2015

For 2016, we sold 1,629,000 tons at an average price of $46.53/ton. For 2015, we sold 2,146,000 tons at an average price of $45.23/ton.

Operating costs and expenses averaged $30.56/ton in 2016 compared to $30.83 in 2015.  Our Indiana employees totaled 721 at March 31, 2016 compared to 1,018 at March 31, 2015.

The reduction in DD&A is due to a change in estimate in computing the depreciation for our underground mining equipment. In the past, we used the straight-line method; beginning Q1 2016, we changed to the units-of-production method. This change in estimate reduced our DD&A expense for Q1 2016 by $1.6 million.

There was no material change in SG&A. We expect SG&A for the last nine months of 2016 to be around $9 million.

Earnings (loss) per Share

40% Ownership in Savoy

Our share of Savoy’s operations dropped due to the precipitous drop in oil prices. 

Income Taxes

Our effective tax rate (ETR) for 2016 was 22% compared to 31% for 2015. We expect our ETR to be circa 22% for the remainder of 2016.

MSHA Reimbursements

Some of our legacy coal contracts allow us to pass on certain costs incurred resulting from changes in costs to comply with mandates issued by MSHA or other government agencies.  We do not recognize any revenue until customers have notified us that they accept the charges.

We submitted our incurred costs for 2011 in October 2012 for $3.7 million. $2.1 million in reimbursements were recorded in the first quarter 2013 and $1.6 million were recorded in the fourth quarter of 2013. We submitted our incurred costs for 2012 in June 2015 and expect to receive approximately $3 million for such costs during 2016. As stated above we do not record such reimbursements until they have been agreed to by our customers. Incurred costs for 2013 will be submitted during the second quarter of 2016.

Critical Accounting Estimates

We believe that the estimates of our coal reserves, our deferred tax accounts, and the estimates used in our impairment analysis are our only critical accounting estimates. The reserve estimates are used in the DD&A calculation and in our internal cash flow projections.  If these estimates turn out to be materially under or over-stated, our DD&A expense and impairment test may be affected.

We account for business combinations using the purchase method of accounting. The purchase method requires us to determine the fair value of all acquired assets, including identifiable intangible assets and all assumed liabilities. The total cost of acquisitions is allocated to the underlying identifiable net assets, based on their respective estimated fair values. Determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed requires management's judgment and the utilization of independent valuation experts, and often involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions, including assumptions with respect to future cash inflows and outflows, discount rates and asset lives, among other items. The fair value of our interest rate swaps is determined using a discounted future cash flow model based on the key assumption of anticipated future interest rates.

We have analyzed our filing positions in all of the federal and state jurisdictions where we are required to file income tax returns, as well as all open tax years in these jurisdictions. We identified our federal tax return and our Indiana state tax return as “major” tax jurisdictions.  During 2012, the IRS completed an examination of our 2009 and 2010 federal tax returns and there were no significant adjustments.  During 2012, the State of Indiana completed their examination of our 2008-2010 returns and no adjustments were proposed.  We believe that our income tax filing positions and deductions will be sustained on audit and do not anticipate any adjustments that will result in a material change to our consolidated financial position. 

New Accounting Pronouncements

None of the recent FASB pronouncements will have any material effect.

Yorktown Distributions

As previously disclosed, Yorktown Energy Partners and its affiliated partnerships (Yorktown) have made 11 distributions to their numerous partners totaling 7.3 million shares since May 2011.  In the past, these distributions were made soon after we filed our Form 10-Qs and Form 10-Ks. Currently they own 7.8 million shares of our stock representing about 27% of total shares outstanding. Yorktown last distributed shares in August of 2015.

We have been informed by Yorktown that they have not made any determination as to the disposition of their remaining Hallador stock. While we do not know Yorktown’s ultimate strategy to realize the value of their Hallador investment for their partners, we expect that over time such distributions will increase our liquidity and float.

If we are advised of another Yorktown distribution, we will timely report such on a Form 8-K.

ITEM 3.  QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.

No material change from the disclosure in our 2015 Form 10-K.

ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Disclosure Controls

We maintain a system of disclosure controls and procedures that are designed for the purposes of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our SEC reports is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC's rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our CEO and CFO as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

As of the end of the period covered by this report, we carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our CEO and CFO, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures. Based upon that evaluation, our CEO and CFO concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective for the purposes discussed above.

There have been no changes to our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended March 31, 2016 that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

PART II - OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE

See Exhibit 95 to this Form 10-Q for a listing of our mine safety violations.

ITEM 6. EXHIBITS

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.