TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – NYSE-listed metallurgical coal producer Walter Energy has exercised a 30-day grace period to make debt interest payments.
Last year, Walter Energy idled its Canadian operations in the second quarter and, in January, the cash-strapped miner suspended its quarterly dividend on its common stock in an effort to enhance its financial flexibility in the current turbulent metallurgical coal market conditions.
The company on Wednesday said it was working with its debtholders to establish a capital structure that would position the company to weather a highly competitive and challenging market.
It chose to exercise its 30-day grace period under its indenture agreements with holders of its 9.5% senior secured notes due in 2019 and the 8.5% senior notes due in 2021 to extend the timeframe for making the cash interest payments due on Thursday.
Walter Energy emphasised that this decision did not reflect a current liquidity issue, as it had about $435-million of cash and investments as of March 31.
The company would continue to deliver high-quality metallurgical coal to customers and meet its other obligations as it worked with its debtholders to address the company's capital structure.
Walter Energy stood to lose its NYSE listing after the exchange notified the ailing company last month that its common stock did not satisfy one of the exchange's continued listing standards.
The NYSE required the average closing price a share of a listed company's common stock to be at least $1 over a consecutive 30-day trading period.
The company’s stock changed hands at $0.64 apiece on the NYSE on Thursday morning, having hit a 52-week high of $8.04 a share.