UPDATE 3-Coal mine problems hit Consol production
* Says “roof issues” at two coal mines* Stock falls 3.8 percent, other coal companies tumbleOct 13 (Reuters) - Coal miner Consol Energy Inc
said on Thursday that production at two of its mines was
affected by structural problems, but it still expects to hit
its target for the year.Meanwhile, natural gas production in 2011 could be as much
as 25 percent higher than last year, said the Pittsburgh-based
company, which operates gas wells in the Marcellus Shale region
of the Northeastern United States.”We did have roof issues at both McElroy and Enlow Fork
mines during the quarter, but we were able to meet commitments
by overproducing at our other mines,” Chief Executive Brett
Harvey said in a statement.The company did not immediately respond to calls from
Reuters to elaborate on the problems at Enlow Fork in southwest
Pennsylvania and McElroy in northern West Virginia.Consol’s shares were down 3.8 percent at $37.46 in morning
trading on the New York Stock Exchange, along with most other
coal company stocks, which had risen in recent sessions. The
Dow Jones coal index was down 3.7 percent.Consol, which will report third-quarter results on Oct 27,
said it produced 14.7 million tons of coal in the third quarter
— in line with its estimate — and sees fourth-quarter
production in the range of 14.7 million to 15.3 million tons.
It narrowed its annual production goal slightly to 62.0 million
to 62.6 million tons from 62.0 million to 63.0 million tons.Last month, Consol raised its 2011 coal export forecast,
saying it sees higher shipments to Asia and expects overall
export markets to remain strong for the rest of the year.”While the fourth-quarter guidance implies a bit below our
model, the full-year implied guidance following the strong
third quarter matches up well with our model,” said analyst
Daniel Scott, of Dahlman Rose & Co.”Following the company’s previous release in which they
raised expectations for exports this year, Consol remains the
one bright spot in third-quarter pre-announcements,” he said.Consol expects fourth-quarter gas production to be about 36
billion to 38 billion cubic feet (bcf), with annual production
up as much as 25 percent over 2010 at 160 bcf.
Iraq’s Asiacell picks banks for IPO - sources
The company is currently converting from being a limited
liability company to a shareholding corporation, the public
offering isn’t expected until 2012, two of the sources said, due
to volatile market conditions and the time needed to complete
the pre-IPO process.Qtel declined to comment.While Asiacell and two other Iraqi telecom companies —
Korek Telecom, part-owned by France Telecom and
logistics firm Agility , and Zain Iraq, a unit of
Kuwait’s Zain — were required to list 25 percent of
their shares before August, the commissioner of Iraq’s
Communications and Media Commission said last week it did not
expect any offerings until mid-2012.”All three operators are in dialogue with the regulator and
they are trying to find a suitable roadmap which doesn’t
overload the system,” one of the sources said.”It is all about the fine balance between being late on the
deadline and, even if they were ready, going public in an
environment where they price at a reasonable rate.”Last year’s listing of Nawras , Oman’s second
mobile operator whose majority shareholder is also Qtel,
encountered a similar situation.The terms of its licence dictated that it needed to list 40
percent on the Muscat Securities Market by February 2010 but
volatile equity markets saw the regulator grant it an extension
and the IPO was completed in October 2010.For the three Iraqi telcos, listing on their home exchange
also presents challenges.There has never been an IPO on the Iraqi bourse which is
structured like a Western offering, with a roadshow and then a
period of bookbuilding before final pricing.The format of Asiacell’s IPO has yet to be decided but one
of the sources said discussions were taking place around whether
to use the book-build method.A fixed price offering would be the other option for
Asiacell, which is easier for investors to understand but
doesn’t reflect the true value of the shares; with shares liable
to big jumps on the first day of trading as the market corrects.The size of the three listings are also set to be much
larger than any other stock on the Iraqi bourse.The combined freefloats would be worth around $5 billion but
the current daily turnover on the Iraqi exchange was around $1.5
million, Ghada Gebara, the chief executive of Korek Telecom,
told Reuters last week.Therefore, ensuring a smooth listing process will be
important for both the future performance of the stocks and the
credibility of the wider exchange.”You can’t have listings from the same sector and the same
country on top of each other as it damages investor demand so it
would be better if the regulator gave all of 2012 to get the
three deals done,” the first source said.”But the regulator seems to understand what a proper process
should be, with their recent comments about timing sensible and
without the sabre-rattling of having to get it done by a certain
date.”Zain Iraq said last month it has also begun the process of
changing to a shareholding company.It has appointed BNP Paribas , Citigroup and
National Bank of Kuwait to run its offering, three of
the sources said.Meanwhile, Korek Telecom has yet to invite banks to pitch
for its IPO, the sources said.
