JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – TSX- and JSE-listed Forbes & Manhattan Coal on Monday reported net losses for the 3 and 12 months ended February 28 of C$22-million and C$30.7-million respectively, compared with losses of C$6.6-million and C$14.3-million for the 3 and 12 months ended February 28, 2013.

The company stated that the significant net loss for the fourth quarter of the 2014 financial year was attributable to an impairment on goodwill of C$15.7-million and an impairment of C$2-million on the receivables relating to escrow funds.

Meanwhile, Forbes’ coal revenues increased by 5.6% year-on-year to C$72.3-million, as its run-of-mine (RoM) production reflected a 10.7% increase.

The company’s total RoM production for the period was 1.56-million tonnes compared with the 1.41-million tonnes produced in 2013, with the Magdalena operations, in KwaZulu-Natal, having produced 1.07-million tonnes RoM, a 6.5% increase on that produced in the prior financial year.

The RoM production from Magdalena comprised 773 000 t from the underground and 302 000 t from the opencast operations.

Forbes stated that the opencast operations exceeded the budgeted tonnes for the year by 21.2% while the underground operations underperformed by 29.7%, primarily as a result of difficult geology in sections 4 and 5 of the mine.

Meanwhile, RoM production from the company’s Aviemore operation, in KwaZulu-Natal, was 487 000 t, a 20.9% increase on the 403 000 t produced in the previous financial year.

“Aviemore continues to perform in line with historic and budgeted performance levels,” the company said.

Saleable coal production for the 2014 fiscal year amounted to 922 000 t, excluding calcine, which was a 6.4% increase compared with the 867 000 t, excluding bought-in coal, in 2013.

Saleable calcine product amounted to 40 000 t for 2014.