In the same prior-year period, it generated revenues of $18.6m primarily through the sale of 270,515 tons of coal.

For the three months ended September 30, 2009, National Coal reported a net loss of $663,950 versus a net loss of $8.4m during the year-ago quarter.

The net loss of $663,950 consists of a loss from continuing operations of $4.5m and income from discontinued operations net of tax of $3.9m, which includes a gain on disposal of discontinued operations of $23.5m.

The net loss of $8.4m during the year ago-quarter consists of a loss from continuing operations of $4.5m and a loss from discontinued operations net of tax of $3.8m.

Daniel Roling, president and CEO of National Coal, said: “Despite a number of economic challenges our results continue to strengthen and show improvement, most dramatically in our reduced loss and our improved cash flow. As we look forward to the future we are mindful that even though our anticipated tons to be sold are less than originally contracted, we have not seen any further deterioration since mid summer. We continue to see opportunities for investing in our Tennessee operations and are planning to be well positioned to benefit when the market improves.”

The average selling price for coal sold from the company’s Tennessee operations increased 15.2% from $65.08 per ton sold during the 2008 period to $75 per ton sold during the 2009 period, while tons sold also increased 5.9% from 270,515 tons in 2008 to 286,447 tons in 2009.

The company also reported a positive EBITDA of $3.5m versus a negative EBITDA of $4.8m reported in the year-ago quarter.

At September 30, 2009, the company had available liquidity of $10.1m, consisting of $6m available under a short-term revolving credit facility and cash equivalents of approximately $4.1m. Cash flows provided by the Tennessee operations were $2.9m and $6.2m for the 9 months ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively.

The company produced 201,121 tons of coal during the quarter, a decrease of 24% versus the year ago quarter and a decrease of 14% from the prior quarter. The decline in production reflects both the weaker industry conditions and the company’s continuing efforts to control costs, especially in the current economic environment. On a quarter-to-quarter basis, total tons decreased 14%, while total production costs declined only 4.5%, resulting in higher per ton costs. Management anticipates further improvements in its costs in the fourth quarter.