TERRE HAUTE, Ind., May 06, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hallador Energy Company (NASDAQ – HNRG) reported a net loss of $1.7 million, $(0.05) basic earnings per share, operating cash flow of $16.4 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $6.8 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. Brent Bilsland, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Throughout the first quarter, we continued our progress on transitioning the focus of Hallador from a coal production company to an independent power producer. During the first three months of 2024, our Electric Operation's revenue exceeded that of our Coal Operation's revenue. Additionally, we were successful in adding approximately $138.0 million in forward energy and capacity sales, growing our Electric Operation's forward sales book to approximately $657.0 million and total contracted forward sales capacity, energy and coal through 2029 to $1.5 billion (on a segment basis). In support of our expectation that Hallador Power sales will continue to exceed our traditional Sunrise Coal subsidiary, we anticipate changing Hallador's SIC code to 4911 (electric services) from 1220 (bituminous coal producer) in the future." Below are highlights for the first quarter of 2024: The Company Generated $16.4 Million in Operating Cash Flow Which We Utilized to Pay Down Bank Debt by $14.5 million. As of March 31, 2024, our bank debt was $77.0 million, bringing our liquidity to $39.5 million and our leverage ratio to 1.58X, within our covenant of 2.25X. We Continued to Make Progress in our Transition from a Coal Production Company to an Independent Power Producer. Our Electric Operation's revenue exceeded our Coal Operation's revenue for the first three months of 2024. Since January 1, 2024, we secured approximately $138.0 million in new long-term capacity and energy contracts. We Restructured Our Coal Division to Increase Margins and Adjust to Current Market Conditions. As previously announced, the restructuring should reduce capital expenditures at the Oaktown Mining Complex by $10.0 million. Maintains up to 4.5 million tons of annual production of our highest margin coal. Mining costs for the quarter were $53.38 per ton. However, at Oaktown, we saw mining costs in March decrease into the $30's on a per ton basis. Reduced employee headcount by 110. Idled production at our highest cost surface mines. We Launched a Targeted Request for Proposals for Power Demand Supporting New Development at our Merom Power Plant. Proposals are Due in Mid-May. Allows us to potentially capture additional margins above our traditional wholesale energy markets. Allows us to market industrial users of power, such as data centers, AI providers and power dense manufacturers, to the Merom property. We believe utilizing our power plant to help supply these large users of energy with reliable, resilient electricity, should allow us to operate more efficiently in a volatile power environment, generate increased margins and support the fragile power grid as it navigates the challenges of transition to new sources of energy in the coming decades. Solid Forward Sales Position – Segment Basis, Before Intercompany Eliminations (unaudited):     2024     2025     2026     2027     2028     2029     Total   Power                                                         Energy                                                         Contracted MWh (in millions)     1.60       1.90       1.83       1.78       1.09       0.27       8.47   Contracted price per MWh   $ 37.02     $ 36.06     $ 55.37     $ 54.65     $ 52.98     $ 51.00           Contracted revenue (in millions)   $ 59.23     $ 68.51     $ 101.33     $ 97.28     $ 57.75     $ 13.77     $ 397.87   % Energy Sold*     27 %     32 %     31 %     30 %     18 %     5 %                                                                   Capacity                                                         Average monthly contracted capacity     818       801       744       623       454       100           % Capacity Contracted**     106 %     82 %     77 %     64 %     47 %     10 %         Average contracted capacity price per MWd   $ 209     $ 198     $ 230     $ 226     $ 225     $ 230           Contracted capacity revenue (in millions)   $ 47.01     $ 57.89     $ 62.46     $ 51.39     $ 37.39     $ 3.47     $ 259.61                                                             Total Energy & Capacity Revenue                                                         Contracted Power Revenue (in millions)   $ 106.24     $ 126.40     $ 163.79     $ 148.67     $ 95.14     $ 17.24     $ 657.48   Contracted Power Revenue per MWh*   $ 44.39     $ 47.76     $ 68.96     $ 68.00     $ 66.31     $ 56.62                                                                     2024 average cost per MWh was $31.88 for the three months ended March 31, 2024 ($30.41 assuming intercompany sales of coal were sold at cost)                                                                                                                   2024 Power Capex Budget (in millions) excluding ELG requirements   $ 18.00                                                                                                             Coal                                                         Priced tons – 3rd party (in millions)     2.48       1.78       0.50       0.50       —       —       5.26   Average price per ton – 3rd party   $ 50.65     $ 50.04     $ 55.50     $ 55.50     $ —     $ —           Priced tons (in millions) – Hallador Power     1.20       2.30       2.30       2.30       2.30       —       10.40   Average price per ton – Hallador Power   $ 51.00     $ 51.00     $ 51.00     $ 51.00     $ 51.00     $ —           Contracted coal revenue (in millions)   $ 186.81     $ 206.37     $ 145.05     $ 145.05     $ 117.30     $ —     $ 800.58   % Priced     82 %     91 %     62 %     62 %     51 %     0 %                                                                   Committed & unpriced tons (in millions) – 3rd party     —       1.00       1.00       1.00       —       —       3.00   Committed & unpriced tons (in millions) – Hallador Power     —       —       —       —       —       —       —   Total contracted tons (in millions)     3.68       5.08       3.80       3.80       2.30       —       18.66                                                             % Coal Sold*     82 %     113 %     84 %     84 %     51 %     0 %