Bens Creek Group PLC (AIM:BEN, OTC:BENCF) has posted its first gross profit in the half year to end-September 2022 as production from its metallurgical coal mine in West Virginia started to ramp up.
Losses for the half year before tax were US$11.7mln on revenues of US$17.4mln but the miner said it will have a second high wall miner in place early in 2023 that along with a two-tier shift on both machines will bring it closer to its expected levels of production.
Over the period 1 April 2022 to 30 September 2022, Bens Creek produced 99,928 tons of clean metallurgical coal at a gross profit of US$924,000.
First sales were delivered by train in June 2022 and out of eight trains in total over the period six were in the last two months.
In the results statement Adam Wilson, the company's chief executive, said: “The first half of our fiscal year has seen us further advance the transition from a moribund business on care and maintenance into a flourishing full production model."
“As production levels rise we will see economies of scale per clean ton start to take effect which should assist us in our drive for profitability. The change from contracted-out earth moving to utilising our own fleet will allow us greater control over the operations and we expect that it will also result in some financial efficiencies, primarily as we will no longer have to make profit share payments," he added.
Bens Creek had cash at the end of the half-year of US$7.35mln.