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[October 2002]
Fording Inc Announces 3rd Quarter Results
Fording Inc (Calgary, Canada) announced income from operations for the third quarter of 2002 of $26 million and net income of $9 million or 18 cents per share. Q3 results included the write-off of the accumulated capital costs of the Brooks power project of nearly $8 million. In Q3 2001, income from operations was $47 million and net income was $22 million or 42 cents per share.
For the nine months ended 30 September 2002, net income was $48 million which compares with $66 million last year. Income from operations for this period was $103 million compared to $133 million in this period last year. The 2002 operating results largely reflect the net effect of higher unit costs, lower sales volumes and higher prices for the metallurgical coal business of the Mountain Operations.
Fording is the parent company of NYCO Minerals. Overall, income from the Industrial Minerals Operations decreased from $1 million in the third quarter of 2001 to an operating loss of $1 million in the third quarter of 2002, while year-to-date operating income in 2002 declined by $3 million from the same period in 2001.
Reduced sales volumes were partially offset by an increase in the average sales price, which was primarily the result of product mix. Wollastonite sales volume of 66,000 tonnes in the nine months to 30 September 2002 were 14% lower than the same period in 2001. The lower sales volumes were due to the company's exit from lower priced markets and the continued weak economies in the USA and Europe.
ENDS