MINING
Wescoal expects debt revamp to help its acquisition opportunities
Coal miner and trader Wescoal has consolidated various debt instruments into a single long-term R440m facility, which will allow it to continue paying dividends and take advantage of acquisition opportunities, CEO Waheed Sulaiman says in a market update. Earlier in 2017, Wescoal took over and delisted junior coal miner Keaton in a R526m cash and shares deal. The acquisition put it on the path to becoming an 8-million tonnes a year coal producer. It produced 3.4-million tonnes in the previous year. A year ago, Wescoal raised its black empowerment shareholding to 59% to meet the requirements for Eskom coal suppliers. Eskom is the company’s biggest customer. Wescoal plans to add to its black empowerment shareholding by putting in place an employee share scheme. Sulaiman said in a strategic update ahead of the release of interim results on November 21 that the integration of Keaton’s operations was progressing well. Key technical and mining skills had been retained. With a larger resour...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.