Bathurst Resources' enforced plan to wait out slumped global coking coal prices has slashed its executive board numbers to four in the latest round of belt-tightening.
Bathurst this week reported a cash-positive quarter and boosted production of domestic coal sales by more than 70%. Domestic sales supply provides crucial cash flow for it during the waiting period.
Its shares have slumped from 21c a year ago to 2.7c yesterday.
Global coking coal prices remain just above $US105 ($NZ144) a tonne, with Bathurst needing sustained prices above $US120 for export viability to kick in. However, the wait for better international prices has cost further executive positions, with the departure shortly of chief financial officer Marshall Maine and chief operating officer Richard Tacon following the resignation of non-executive chairman Dave Frew and non-executive director Rob Lord last November.
The board has four remaining members: company secretary Graham Anderson, managing director Hamish Bohannan, non-executive director Toko Kapea and non-executive director Malcolm Macpherson.
One of the casualties is longtime general manager corporate relations, Sam Aarons.
Mr Bohannan said an operational review has resulted in changes to most aspects of the business, and reduced the number of positions.
About 30 positions were made redundant during 2014, the board was reduced last November and now, having implemented the review, the executive management team was to be reduced by four, Mr Bohannan said in a statement yesterday.
He said the executives' departure would have no effect on operational performance, other than making a ''substantial impact'' on decreasing overhead costs.
The management reduction was ''until the coal market recovered'', Mr Bohannan said.
Tonnage from the company's Cascade mine next to the Denniston plateau above Westport, from Takitimu in Southland and from the Canterbury mine west of Christchurch for the quarter to December rose 71% from 70,475 tonnes to 120,662 tonnes.
However, coal sales were down from 107,144 a year ago to 102,896, because of a customer's 40% reduced demand due to a technical plant failure.
Mr Bohannan said staff had ''largely established'' water management systems, haul roads and dump sites around the plateau's Escarpment mining area, which contains the high-quality export coking coal.
For the previous quarter to September, Bathurst held $6.29 million cash and deposits, which had fallen to $5.93 million for the December quarter.
While net operating cash flows for the six months to December were a $3.08 million loss, for the quarter to December they were a positive $233,000.
For the present trading quarter, to March, Mr Bohannan expected reduced sales to the agri-sector, with dry weather affecting dairy production, but he said sales for cement manufacture had increased.
''The forecast for the March quarter, and the remainder of the 2015 financial year, is projected to be cash-flow positive,'' he said in a statement.
Cement sales will end next year when Holcim closes its Westport manufacturing base. - Additional reporting The Westport News
