Tag Archives: stock research

Wescoal: An Overlooked Coal Junior With Exciting Prospects

Initiation of Coverage – Share Code: WSL – Market Cap: R239m – PE: 11.1x – DY: 2.2%

Download Wescoal Holdings Initiation of Coverage Report Here

Business Overview: Coal Miner with Strong Coal Trading Operations

  • Built out of long-established coal-trading operations, Wescoal has moved into thermal coal mining for supply to Eskom.
  • The Group has built a portfolio of valuable short- to medium-life coal deposits that are mostly either in or near to production.
  • Khanyisa was previously the only producing mine, but Intibane began production during June 2013 and will contribute to FY 14E. The larger, longer-life mine, Elandspruit, is planned for FY 15E.
  • The Group has also recently conditionally acquired a large competitor in the coal trading space.

Key Issues: Inland Coal Price and Inland Coal Market Dynamics

  • The inland coal tends to track international coal prices, which have been under short-term spot pressure as softer global markets attempt to absorb increasing USA exports.
  • A looming 2015 supply deficit to Eskom creates risks of regulatory intervention in South Africa’s inland coal market.

Forecast, Valuation and Implied Return: Highly Sensitive to Coal Price

  • Our forecasts are heavily influenced by the assumptions underpinning the timing, efficiency and rate of Wescoal’s new coal mines; critically, Intibane in the short term (from FY 14E) and Elandspruit in the medium term (from FY 15E).
  • Our SOTPs on Wescoal arrives at a fair value of R367m or 213cps, 54% more than the current share price on an implied PE of 18.6x of historical earnings. This implies a fair value of c.R10 per ton of in situ coal for the Group’s mining assets (c.218cps per WSL share) with a further R56m or 33cps fair value from the Group’s Coal Trading segment. We have taken out a 20% Group discount for overheads and corporate costs.
  • Rolling forward all the fair values at our Cost of Equity (19.2%), we arrive at our 12m TP of 246cps for Wescoal on an Exit PE of 10.6x, implying an attractive 78% return.
  • As a junior coal miner, our valuation of Wescoal is based on the assumption of a flat spot coal price. A sensitivity analysis of our models sees our fair value changing by between 10cps to 13cps for every 1% change in the assumed coal price.

 

Download Wescoal Holdings Initiation of Coverage Report Here

What do you think of Wescoal? Please send us a mail with your view of the Group…

See our methodology here and note our disclaimer here.