March 20, 2019 - Ramaco Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:METC) ("Ramaco," "Ramaco Resources" or the "Company") today reported annual net income of $25.1 million, or $0.62 per diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2018, as compared to a net loss of $15.4 million in 2017. The Company's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and equity-based compensation expenses ("Adjusted EBITDA") was $42.2 million for the year ended December 31,2018, as compared with Adjusted EBITDA loss of $9.3 million in 2017. 

For the fourth quarter of 2018, Ramaco reported net income of $3.4 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, compared with a net income of $6.2 million, or $0.15 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2018.  The Company's Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter was $7.0 million compared with Adjusted EBITDA of $11.0 million for the third quarter of 2018. 

Full Year 2018 Summary

Full year 2018 revenues of $227.6 million were up 273% over 2017. Company production was 1.8 million tons in 2018, compared to 0.5 million tons in 2017, an increase of 260%. Cash margins on Company produced and sold coal improved to a profit of $29 per ton in 2018 versus a loss of $7 per ton in 2017. Cash mine costs per ton on company produced and sold coal decreased by 14% to $63 in 2018 from $73 in 2017. Net income for 2018 was $25.1 million, compared to a net loss of $15.4 million in 2017 or an increase of $40.5 million.  The Company's Adjusted EBITDA was $42.2 million for 2018, compared with a loss of $9.3 million in 2017 for an increase of $51.5 million.

Fourth Quarter 2018 Summary

Fourth quarter 2018 revenues were $44.2 million, a decline of 29% compared to the third quarter of 2018, as the fourth quarter results were negatively impacted by the previously announced Elk Creek silo failure. Company production was 423,000 tons in the fourth quarter, compared to 449,000 tons in the third quarter. Cash margins on Company produced and sold coal however, improved by 12% from approximately $25 per ton in the third quarter to approximately $28 per ton in the fourth quarter. Cash mine costs per ton on Company produced and sold coal were $68 in the fourth quarter compared to $65 in the third quarter.

Randall Atkins, Ramaco Resources' Executive Chairman and Chief Financial Officer remarked, "We were challenged by the silo failure at our Elk Creek mining complex in the middle of the fourth quarter, which caused us to idle our prep plant there for approximately three weeks starting in November 2018. Our fourth quarter results were impacted accordingly, but were much better than anticipated immediately after the silo failure.  Sales volumes for the fourth quarter were down 32% compared to the third quarter. As we announced in December, our team successfully completed a temporary conveying system three weeks after the incident that allowed us to begin processing coal at approximately 80% of total plant capacity. We now expect to operate at full capacity in the second quarter of 2019."

"Despite the fourth quarter, our year end 2018 results were extremely positive year over year in almost all financial and operating metrics. We had a $40.5 million positive swing in net income and over a $50 million increase in EBITDA. Both cash mining costs per ton and capital expenditure levels fell meaningfully, while production was up over 200%."

Additional Financial Results

The Company ended the quarter with approximately $7.0 million of cash on hand, $10.7 million of accounts receivable and $26.4 million of availability under the Revolving Credit Facility. Free cash flow generated during 2019, as well as borrowings available through the Revolving Credit Facility, are expected to be used to fund working capital and capital expenditures.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, the Company recorded an income tax benefit of $1.3 million for an annual effective tax rate of approximately 0.5% for 2018.  Cash taxes payable for 2018 were less than $0.4 million.

Capital expenditures totaled approximately $8.3 million during the fourth quarter of 2018.  We ended 2018 with $48.1 million in capital expenditures for the full year, a decline from $75 million in 2017.

2019 Outlook

"We are excited about Ramaco's long-term prospects for growth, free cash flow generation and ultimately the ability to return cash to shareholders through regular dividends." Randall Atkins said. "In 2019, we expect to produce 2.0 million tons of met coal at the midpoint of guidance, up approximately 14% from 2018 levels. We ended 2018 with overall average costs of roughly $63 per ton, allocated as $60 per ton average cost at Elk Creek and $127 per ton at our Berwind development mine."

"In 2019, it will be important for investors to focus on the cost difference between the two complexes. At Berwind, we will still be in development mode in 2019, mining approximately 250,000 tons in thin seam conditions in the Pocahontas #3 seam, until we reach the thicker roughly 60" Pocahontas #4 low-vol coal seam by 2020. At full capacity, we expect Berwind mine costs to be closer to $80 per ton and production at roughly 750,000 tons. At today's pricing, we'd ultimately anticipate Berwind cash margins at that point to be similar to Elk Creek."

"At Elk Creek, we expect costs this year in the mid-$60s per ton range, with the increase mainly caused by higher-sales related costs associated with improved sales realizations. As Berwind ramps up production, and Elk Creek continues to produce as expected, even without any proposed development activities, we hope to reach a 2.5 million ton annual production rate in 2020 which should increase to approximately 4.5 million tons by 2023 through investments in organic growth at our existing properties. As production increases, we anticipate exploring with our Board the possibility of returning cash to shareholders in the form of a recurring dividend." 

Michael Bauersachs, Ramaco Resources' President and CEO commented, "As we start 2019, we are very encouraged and anticipate a strong year. We look forward to eliminating the side effects of the silo collapse early in the year. On marketing, we have sold forward approximately 2.0 million tons domestically and for export at both fixed and indexed prices. Thus far our mine productivity levels at Elk Creek have been strong in 2019, however produced and sold tons have been negatively impacted by high inventories and limited plant capacity. We also expect currently budgeted 2019 capital expenditures to decline to roughly $35-40 million."

"Our development mine at Berwind has overcome some geological issues encountered in 2018 and should complete its path to the low cost, thicker seam Pocahontas #4 seam by next year. Our confidence in reaching the bottom slope location at Berwind has substantially improved due to positive data obtained from drilling multiple horizontal long hole boreholes in advance of our projections in order to confirm that our mining route is free from sandstone."

"We are also seeking opportunities to expand production. While our route to full production rate of roughly 4.5 million tons will be different than we originally modeled years ago, we indeed have a good roadmap of internal production and productivity enhancements to reach that level. Knox Creek is most likely our next development project due to positive results from our recent exploration work to define access to the Jawbone seam through the Tiller seam, where we project the potential for approximately 500,000 tons per year of additional High Vol A production. We also are exploring ways to increase throughput levels at the Elk Creek preparation plant by as much as 500,000 tons annually beyond its current nameplate capacity. If we did that, we would accelerate some of the permitted production at Elk Creek that we currently have projected in 2020 and 2021. We will continue examining both these opportunities as the year progresses." 

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