(Source: PRNewswire)RICHMOND, Va., Aug. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- James River Coal Company (Nasdaq: JRCC), a producer of steam and industrial-grade coal, today announced that it had net income of $16.2 million or $.59 per fully diluted share for the second quarter of 2009 and net income of $44.3 million or $1.61 per fully diluted share for the six months ended June 30, 2009. This is compared to a net loss of $24.0 million or $.97 per fully diluted share for the second quarter of 2008 and a net loss of $40.7 million or $1.76 per fully diluted share for the six months ended June 30, 2008.

Peter T. Socha, Chairman and Chief Executive Office commented: "This was another solid quarter. We are continuing to generate both net income and free cash flow during a weak period in the economy and the coal markets. We will use this period to strengthen our financial position and to make prudent investments in all aspects of our company. We believe that our shareholders will see significant benefits from these decisions as we move from today's weak coal markets to tomorrow's stronger coal markets."

FINANCIAL RESULTS

The following tables show selected operating results for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2008 (in 000's except per ton amounts).

Total Results__ Three Months Ended__ Six Months Ended

June 30,__ June 30,

2009__ 2008__ 2009__ 2008

Total__ Total__ Total__ Total

Company and contractor

production (tons)__ 2,486__ 2,845__ 5,353__ 5,647

Coal purchased from other

sources (tons)__ 26__ 65__ 62__ 198

--__ --__ --__ ---

Total coal available to ship

(tons)__ 2,512__ 2,910__ 5,415__ 5,845

Coal shipments (tons)__ 2,407__ 2,892__ 5,038__ 5,814

Coal sales revenue__ $171,649__ $137,703 $363,770 $275,891

Cost of coal sold__ 127,721__ 128,867__ 260,428 254,597

Depreciation, depletion, &

amortization__ 15,922__ 17,552__ 30,395__ 34,842

Gross profit (loss)__ 28,006__ (8,716)__ 72,947 (13,548)

Selling, general & administrative 10,559__ 8,732__ 19,846__ 16,066

Adjusted EBITDA (1)__ $37,036__ $3,020__ $90,230 $10,675

(1) Adjusted EBITDA is defined under "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP

Measures" in this release. Adjusted EBITDA is used to determine

compliance with financial covenants in our senior secured credit

facilities.

Segment Results__ Three Months Ended June 30,

-------------__ -------------

2009__ 2008

----__ ----

CAPP Midwest__ CAPP Midwest

---- -------__ ---- -------

Company and contractor production

(tons)__ 1,677__ 809__ 2,083__ 762

Coal purchased from other sources

(tons)__ 26__ -__ 65__ -

--__ --__ --__ --

Total coal available to ship

(tons)__ 1,703__ 809__ 2,148__ 762

Coal shipments (tons)__ 1,601__ 806__ 2,161__ 731

Coal sales revenue__ $144,853__ 26,796 $114,218__ 23,485

Average sales price per ton__ 90.48__ 33.25__ 52.85__ 32.13

Cost of coal sold__ $103,952__ 23,769 $105,252__ 23,615

Cost of coal sold per ton__ 64.93__ 29.49__ 48.71__ 32.31

Segment Results__ Six Months Ended June 30,

-------------__ --------------

2009__ 2008

----__ ----

CAPP Midwest__ CAPP__ Midwest

---- -------__ ----__ -------

Company and contractor

production (tons)__ 3,718__ 1,635__ 4,170__ 1,477

Coal purchased from other

sources (tons)__ 62__ -__ 198__ -

--__ -__ ---__ -

Total coal available to ship

(tons)__ 3,780__ 1,635__ 4,368__ 1,477

Coal shipments (tons)__ 3,445__ 1,593__ 4,358__ 1,456

Coal sales revenue__ $312,488__ 51,282 $229,697__ 46,194

Average sales price per ton__ 90.71__ 32.19__ 52.71__ 31.73

Cost of coal sold__ $215,436__ 44,992 $209,362__ 45,235

Cost of coal sold per ton__ 62.54__ 28.24__ 48.04__ 31.07

Cost Bridge__ Q-1 2009 vs. Q-2 2009

CAPP__ Midwest

----__ -------

Beginning cash costs (Q-1 2009)__ $60.46__ 26.97

Labor__ 2.37__ 0.31

Fixed costs (absorption)__ 2.44__ 0.55

Variable costs__ -__ 1.40

Other__ (0.34)__ 0.26

-----__ ----

Ending cash costs (Q-2 2009)__ $64.93__ 29.49

======__ =====

C.K. Lane, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer commented: "Our operations had another excellent quarter in respect to both safety and production. In just the last six quarters, we have cut our NFDL rate (non-fatal days lost) in half. We are also pleased that one of our two mine rescue teams won 1st place in the Kentucky Mining Institute State Mine Rescue Competition held July 30- 31 in Lexington, Kentucky. We are very proud of our employees for making James River one of the safest places to work in the coal industry. Our mines continued to perform well even while we reduced our quarterly production by approximately 300,000 tons. This reduction was implemented in order to better manage our inventories and match our contract sales. We were able to make this reduction by eliminating Saturday and third shift production and idling our operations for two additional days during the second quarter."

LIQUIDITY AND CASH FLOW

As of June 30, 2009, the Company had available liquidity of $36.9 million calculated as follows (in millions):

Cash and Cash Equivalents__ $1.9

Availability under the Revolver__ 35.0

Drawn under the Revolver__ -

-----

Available Liquidity__ $36.9

=====

Effective July 1, 2009, the Company is no longer required to maintain the $10.0 million minimum liquidity as defined under its senior secured credit facilities. The Company was in compliance with all of the covenants in its senior secured credit facilities as of June 30, 2009.

Major cash flow items during the quarter include $17.9 million for capital expenditures, $9.0 million to pay down our revolving credit facility and $7.0 million for a semi-annual interest payment on our bonds.

Financial Leverage, calculated as Total Liabilities divided by Shareholders Equity, has been reduced from 6.1x at December 31, 2008 to 3.4x at June 30, 2009. This calculation is not used in any of our existing credit facilities and is provided for informational purposes only.

SALES POSITION AND MARKET COMMENTS

As of July 31, 2009, we had the following agreements to ship coal at a fixed and known price (in 000's except per ton amounts):

2009 Priced (1)

---------------

As of April 30, 2009__ As of July 31, 2009__ Change

Tons__ Avg Price__ Tons__ Avg Price__ Tons__ Avg Price

Per Ton__ Per Ton__ Per Ton

----__ --------__ ----__ ---------__ ----__ ---------

CAPP__ 6,655__ $ 89.34__ 6,946__ $ 88.63__ 291__ $ 72.47

--------__ -----__ -------__ -----__ -------__ ---__ -------

Midwest(2) 3,561__ $ 34.27__ 3,537__ $ 34.11__ -__ $-

--------- -----__ -------__ -----__ -------__ ---__ -------

2010 Priced

-----------

As of April 30, 2009__ As of July 31, 2009__ Change

Tons__ Avg Price__ Tons__ Avg Price__ Tons__ Avg Price

Per Ton__ Per Ton__ Per Ton

----__ ---------__ ----__ ---------__ ----__ ---------

CAPP__ 4,600__ $101.74__ 4,782__ $100.60__ 182__ $ 71.65

--------__ -----__ -------__ -----__ -------__ ---__ -------

Midwest(2)__ 813__ $ 43.61__ 2,642__ $ 41.47__ 1,829__ $ 40.52

--------__ -----__ -------__ -----__ -------__ ---__ -------

2011 Priced

-----------

As of April 30, 2009 As of July 31, 2009__ Change

Tons__ Avg Price__ Tons__ Avg Price__ Tons__ Avg Price

Per Ton__ Per Ton__ Per Ton

----__ ----------__ ----__ ----------__ ----__ ---------

CAPP__ 2,350__ $122.51__ 2,350__ $122.51__ -__ $-

--------__ -----__ -------__ -----__ -------__ ---__ ------

Midwest(2)__ -__ $-__ 375__ $45.47__ 375__ $45.47

--------- -----__ -------__ -----__ -------__ ---__ ------

2012 Priced

-----------

As of April 30, 2009__ As of July 31, 2009__ Change

Tons__ Avg Price__ Tons__ Avg Price Tons__ Avg Price

Per Ton__ Per Ton__ Per Ton

----__ ---------__ ----__ --------- ----__ ---------

CAPP__ 350__ $108.31__ 350__ $108.31__ -__ $-

-------__ ----__ -------__ ----__ -------__ ----__ -----

(1) 2009 includes all tons that have been shipped and tons with

agreements for fixed prices for the remainder of the year,

including carryover tons.

(2) The prices for the Midwest in years 2009 and 2010 are minimum base

price amounts adjusted for projected fuel escalators.

UPDATED GUIDANCE

The Company has previously issued forecasts of certain operating measures for 2009.