* Q4 results due Feb. 24, 0700 GMT
* Seen posting 6.9 mln euro loss
PRAGUE, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Czech coal miner New World
Resources (NWR) <NWRSsp.PR> <NWRS.L> is expected to show a
fourth consecutive quarterly loss in the final three months of
2009, but narrower than before as demand slowly picked up.
Sixteen analysts in a Reuters poll estimated on average a
net loss of 6.9 million euros ($9.40 million) in the fourth
quarter, lower than a 27.6 million euro loss in the previous
three months.
NWR, owner of the Czech Republic's largest hard coal mines,
showed a 92.3 million euros profit in the final quarter of 2008,
but coal sales and prices slumped in 2009 with sinking demand
from the steel sector as the economic crisis bit central Europe.
Analysts said markets, rather than concentrating on the
results, were more likely to look for more comments on expected
development this year, especially for the coking business that
was the biggest drag on earnings last year.
The Czech economic recovery stalled at the end of the year,
a preliminary estimate showed. Analysts attributed this to
sliding domestic demand and weak investment.
Germany's economy also stagnated in the same period, boding
ill for central Europe's export-reliant manufacturers in the
coming quarters.
NWR said in November that recovery was beginning and earlier
this month announced it would target steady production this year
after mining 11 million tonnes last year.
It also secured price rises in key quarterly contracts,
although the increases were not as high as many analysts had
expected.
Shares in NWR have jumped 152 percent in the past 12 months,
outperforming Prague bourse's index <>, which has risen 79
percent over the same period. The stock has added 9.6 percent so
far this year, while the Prague index was up 3.6 percent.
Following is a summary of analyst estimates. Consolidated
results are in millions of euros (negative figures in brackets):
Q4/09 Average Median Range Q4/08
Revenue 328.9 326.9 269.0-393.0 488.6
EBITDA 51.9 51.0 32.2- 68.8 176.7
EBIT 8.7 8.8 (7.0)- 25.3 134.6
Net profit/loss (6.9) (9.4) (20.7)- 32.0 92.3
The following banks and brokerages took part in the poll:
Atlantik FT, BH Securities, BMO Capital Markets, C.A. Chevreux,
Concorde Securities, Credit Suisse, Cyrrus, Erste Bank/Ceska
Sporitelna, FIO, Goldman Sachs, ING Wholesale Banking, Ipopema
Securities, KBC Securities, Komercni Banka, Unicredit Global
Research, and Wood & Company.
Note: The figures for the previous year are not adjusted for
the subsidiary NWR Energy, which the company agreed to sell in
January 2010 for 122 million euros.
(Reporting by Jan Korselt and Jason Hovet; Editing by Mike
Nesbit)
