New World Resources shares plunge after massive losses
COAL producer New World Resources (NWR) saw its shares plummet yesterday, after the Czech firm reported net losses of €2.14m (£1.89m) for the first quarter, down from a profit of €117.8m in the same period last year.
It also slashed its full year 2009 production targets of coal and coke.
In February, the company said it was fully contracted for 2009, but yesterday it said it would be fully committed after cutting production by 13 per cent. When the company first floated, it traded at £13.25. Yesterday, its shares closed down 7.93 per cent at 325p.
Arbuthnot Securities repeated its “reduce” recommendation on the shares.
NWR’s executive chairman Mike Salamon blamed the global economic downturn for the losses, saying it had “severely impacted” industrial output in the CEE (central and eastern Europe) region.
“Steel production in the region is falling by some 41 per cent compared with the same period in the previous year,” he added.
Falling Western demand for factory goods from central Europe has punished the region’s export-driven economies. NWR shares – which are listed in London – have plunged more than 70 per cent since its initial public offering in May 2008.