Rio Tinto’s major Australian coal arm, Coal & Allied Industries, has accelerated expansion plans in the Hunter valley and stands to receive more than 70% more for its soft coking coal exports, following a surge in global prices in recent months.
The price rise coincides with similar settlements for coal and iron ore exports used by the steel companies in Asia, China and Europe.
Coal & Allied is 76% owned by Rio (which has also switched to quarterly pricing for coal and iron ore after BHP and Vale led the way).
Friday’s AGM in Sydney was told that the benchmark price for the first quarter starting April 1 for this type of coal had been set at $US167, or around $A175 a tonne.
That price is about 76% above last year’s figure of $US90 to $US95 per tonne.
But it is nowhere near the $200 plus paid in the 2008-09 shipping year (April 1 to March 31).
Coal & Allied said some thermal coal prices have been concluded in the high $US97-plus range, a figure well up on last year’s price of about $US70 per tonne.
This year marked the first time Coal & Allied was selling the coal on a quarterly basis, in contrast to the annual pricing used for 40 years or more in the industry.
Chairman, Chris Renwick told shareholders.
"Coal & Allied is optimistic about the future.
"We have expansion options at all three of our Hunter Valley operations either under consideration or going through government approval processes.
"We are updating our 2007/08 engineering feasibility study on the Mount Pleasant thermal coal project, as we expect to secure long term take or pay contracts with Port Waratah Coal Services for Mount Pleasant. This provides us with improved certainty to press ahead with work towards this project.
"Our balance sheet remains strong – we have divested assets that were not core to our business – and we remain committed to growing our business.
"After a cautious year in 2009, 2010 has many positive signs ahead."
Coal and Allied shares ended down 50c at $97.50 on Friday.
Insurance giant, QBE, has continued its offshore expansion with the purchase of an insurer in the US for more than $600 million.
QBE told the ASX Friday that it had paid $US565 million ($604.08 million) for farm insurer, NAU County Insurance Co.
It is "a multi-peril crop insurance business" headquartered in Ramsay, Minnesota, with offices in the US midwest (America’s farming heartland and in California, another big farming state).
According to QBE, Multi-Peril Crop Insurance is a US "Department of Agriculture program that provides protection against weather-related and other unavoidable causes of crop loss. NAU operates 10 offices across the US and has over 1,600 independent agents."
QBE said net tangible assets acquired will be $US217 million ($232.01 million) and NAU is the third-largest insurer in that sector with a market share of 11%.
QBE chief executive, Frank O’Halloran, said in the statement that the acquisition was in line with the company’s long-term strategy of acquiring specialist businesses to enhance the company’s diversification and distribution.
"Synergies are expected from savings in reinsurance costs and cross selling of QBE’s various agricultural insurance products to NAU’s client base," Mr O’Halloran said in the statement.
"The purchase price relative to book value reflects the high quality of NAU’s underwriting and management business."
In 2009, NAU wrote $US976 million ($1.04 billion) of gross earned premium, while net earned premium was $US354 million ($378.49 million).
Profit after tax was $US92.5 million.
"The substantial majority of the 2010 profits will be earned in the second half of the calendar year," Mr O’Halloran said.
Completion of the deal is expected by July 2010.
