TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Colombia-focused coal miner Pacific Coal Resources on Thursday said it had swung to a third-quarter profit, which was boosted by higher output, lower costs at certain mines and a port impairment reversal recognised in the quarter.

The TSX-listed firm said that during the three months ended September 30, net earnings attributed to shareholders rose to $9-million, up from the loss of $15.2-million recorded in the comparable period of 2012.

The earnings from operations and net earnings during the period were the highest the company had ever recorded, as a result of favourable domestic sales contracts and continued cost reduction at the company's La Caypa mine site.

Earnings from operations rose to $11.38-million, up from a loss of $15.68-million a year earlier.

Revenue in the third quarter totalled $36.6-million, which reflected sales of 356 299 t of coal at an average realised price of $102.71/t. This was an 8% increase over the $33.9-million reported for the third quarter of 2012.

Pacific Coal produced 395 499 t of coal in the quarter, 16% more than over the third quarter of 2012 - when output totalled 341 248 t. This was consistent with second-quarter output of 398 865 t.

La Caypa produced 315 933 t, which was relatively flat over the second quarter’s 320 436 t, which was the highest for the mine since the first quarter of 2011. The La Caypa stripping ratio of 7.74:1 in the quarter was the lowest for the mine since the second quarter of 2012. This represented a 3% decrease quarter-on-quarter.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation for the third quarter came in at $5.3-million, the highest since the first quarter of 2011. This was a significant improvement over the $5-million loss in the comparable quarter of 2012 and the earnings of $3.1-million in the second quarter.

The total operating margin of $18.77/t sold was also the highest since the first quarter of 2011.