The holders of the Depositary Shares will be entitled to elect two directors at the Annual Meeting. Each Depositary Share represents one-quarter of a share of the Company’s Series A Convertible Exchangeable Preferred Stock, the terms of which entitle the holders thereof to elect two directors if there are six or more accumulated but unpaid Preferred Stock dividends. There are six or more such unpaid dividends, and the Board of Directors accordingly has nominated two persons for election as directors by the holders of Depositary Shares.
The persons named in the following table have been recommended by the Nominating Committee for election to the Board of Directors and designated by the Board of Directors as the Depositary Stockholder Nominees for election to the Board of Directors for a one-year term. These nominees were brought to the Company’s attention by holders of Depositary Shares and have served on the Board of Directors since October 2000 and have been elected since May 2001. The persons named in the proxy card intend to vote for the election of these Depositary Stockholder Nominees. Each Depositary Stockholder Nominee has consented to being named and to serve if elected. If any Depositary Stockholder Nominee should decline or be unable to serve, the persons named in the proxy will vote for the election of such substitute nominee as shall have been designated by the Board of Directors. The Company has no reason to believe that any Depositary Stockholder Nominee will decline or be unable to serve. The holders of the Company’s Common Stock are not entitled to vote for the election of Depositary Stockholder Nominees.
(1) See "Information About the Board and Committees" below.
Information About the Board and Committees
The Board of Directors held eight meetings during 2004. Each director attended more than 75% of the total number of meetings of the Board of Directors held and of the total number of meetings held by all committees on which he served during 2004. Resolutions adopted by the Board provide that directors are expected to attend the annual meeting of stockholders. All directors attended the Company’s 2004 annual meeting of stockholders.
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, comprised of Messrs. Coffey (Chairman), Ostrander, Stern and Tortorice met nine times during 2004. This Committee, which reports to the Board of Directors, retains the registered public accounting firm, reviews and monitors the independence and performance of the registered public accounting firm, reviews the adequacy of the Company’s internal accounting controls and oversees the implementation of management recommendations. It also reviews with the Company’s registered public accounting firm the audit plan for the Company, the internal accounting controls, the financial statements and the registered public accounting firm’s letter to management. The Board of Directors has determined that Thomas J. Coffey is an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in Item 401(h) of Regulation S-K. The Board has also determined that each member of the Audit Committee, including Mr. Coffey, is “independent” under the American Stock Exchange’s listing standards, Section 10A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”), and Rule 10A-3 thereunder.
The Compensation and Benefits Committee of the Board of Directors, comprised of Messrs. Killen (Chairman), Armstrong, Stern and Tortorice, met four times during 2004. This Committee is responsible for assuring that the Board of Directors, various committee chairpersons and committee members, the chief executive officer, other officers, and key management of the Company are compensated appropriately and in a manner consistent with the approved compensation strategy of the Company, internal equity considerations, competitive practice and any relevant laws or regulations.
The Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, comprised of Messrs. Seglem (Chairman), Armstrong, Hutchinson, Killen and Sight, did not meet during 2004. To the extent permitted by law, this Committee is authorized to exercise the power of the Board of Directors with respect to the management of the business and affairs of the Company.
The Corporate Governance Committee, comprised of Messrs. Ostrander (Chairman), Armstrong, Coffey and Tortorice, met once during 2004. This Committee is authorized to provide oversight on matters related to corporate governance and structure and to make recommendations to the Board of Directors.
The Finance Committee of the Board of Directors, comprised of Messrs. Sight (Chairman), Coffey, Ostrander and Stern, met once during 2004. This Committee is authorized to provide oversight on matters related to the Company’s liquidity and capital needs and to make recommendations to the Board of Directors.
7
The Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors, comprised of Messrs. Killen (Chairman), Armstrong and Sight met twice during 2004, and met on February 24, 2005 in joint session with the Corporate Governance and Compensation and Benefits Committees to review the qualifications of potential candidates to serve as Common Stockholder Nominees and Depositary Stockholder Nominees for election to the Board of Directors and recommended a slate of candidates for consideration by the Board of Directors. Each member of the Nominating Committee is “independent” under the American Stock Exchange’s listing standards. This Committee, which reports to the Board of Directors, identifies and recommends individuals qualified to be nominated as members of the Board of Directors. A copy of the approved Nominating Committee Charter can be found on the Company’s web site at www.westmoreland.com.
There are no family relationships between any director, executive officer or person nominated or chosen by the Company to become a director or executive officer of the Company.
Director Candidates
The process followed by the Nominating Committee to identify and evaluate director candidates when a vacancy exists or is anticipated includes invitations to Board members and others, including major stockholders, for recommendations, the collection of information about individuals recommended, meetings to evaluate biographical information and background material relating to potential candidates, and interviews of selected candidates by members of the Committee and the Board.
�� In considering whether to recommend any particular candidate for inclusion in the Board’s slate of recommended director nominees, the Nominating Committee takes into consideration a number of criteria which include the candidate’s integrity, business acumen, knowledge of the Company’s business and industry, maturity, experience, diligence, potential conflicts of interest, willingness to serve as a Director and regularly attend and participate in Board meetings and the ability to act in the interests of all stockholders. The Committee does not assign specific weights to particular criteria and no particular criterion is a prerequisite for each prospective nominee. The Company believes that the backgrounds and qualifications of its directors, considered as a group, should provide a composite mix of skills, experience and knowledge that will assure that the Board can fulfill its responsibilities.
Stockholders may recommend individuals to the Nominating Committee for consideration as potential director candidates by submitting their names, together with appropriate biographical information and background materials and a statement as to whether the stockholder or group of stockholders making the recommendation has beneficially owned more than 5% of the Company’s common stock for at least a year as of the date such recommendation is made, to Nominating Committee, c/o Corporate Secretary, Westmoreland Coal Company, 2 North Cascade Avenue, 14th Floor, Colorado Springs, CO 80903. Assuming that appropriate biographical and background material has been provided on a timely basis, the Committee will evaluate stockholder-recommended candidates by following substantially the same process, and applying substantially the same criteria, as it follows for candidates submitted by others. If the Board determines to nominate a stockholder-recommended candidate and recommends his or her election, then his or her name will be included in the Company’s proxy card for the next annual meeting.
8
Stockholders also have the right under the Company’s bylaws to nominate director candidates directly, without any action or recommendation on the part of the Nominating Committee or the Board, by following the procedures set forth in Section 2.6, “Advance Notice of Nominees,” in the Company’s bylaws. Among other things, a stockholder wishing to nominate a candidate for election as a director must give notice to the Company within the time period specified in such section, and the notice must include the information about the stockholder and the proposed nominee required in the bylaws. Any stockholder wishing to nominate a candidate for election to the Board without any action or recommendation of the Nominating Committee or the Board must strictly comply with the procedures specified in Section 2.6 of the bylaws. Candidates nominated by stockholders in accordance with the procedures set forth in the bylaws will not be included in the Company’s proxy card for the next annual meeting.
Communicating with the Board
Stockholders wishing to communicate with the Company generally are asked to contact the Vice President–Corporate Relations, Diane S. Jones, at Westmoreland Coal Company, 2 North Cascade Ave., 14th Floor, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903, (719) 448-5814, diane.jones@westmoreland.com, who is primarily responsible for receiving, managing, monitoring and responding to stockholder communications.
Stockholders who wish to write directly to the Board on any topic should address communications to the Board of Directors in care of the Chairman, Westmoreland Coal Company Board of Directors, Westmoreland Coal Company, 2 North Cascade Ave., 14th Floor, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, with the assistance of Ms. Jones, will report on stockholder communications to the Board and provide copies or specific summaries to directors on matters deemed to be of appropriate importance.
In general, communications relating to corporate governance are very likely to be forwarded.
9
Director Independence
The Company’s Board of Directors has determined that each of the directors other than Mr. Seglem is “independent” within the rules of the American Stock Exchange. In determining that each of the Directors (other than Mr. Seglem) is independent, the Board considered that the Company and its subsidiaries have engaged in transactions in the ordinary course of business with subsidiaries of Citigroup. A portion of Westmoreland’s reclamation bonds is secured by the pledge of cash accounts held by Salomon Smith Barney, Inc., a subsidiary of Citigroup, and two other subsidiaries of Citigroup, The Travelers Insurance Company and Travelers Corporate Loan Fund Inc., are among a group of lenders to Westmoreland Mining LLC. Thomas Ostrander is a Managing Director of Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., a subsidiary of Citigroup. In determining that Mr. Ostrander is independent, notwithstanding these business relationships between the Company and Citigroup, the Board considered that Mr. Ostrander is not an executive officer or director of Citigroup; that Mr. Ostrander does not have any involvement with any of these services and exercises no authority or control over the Citigroup, Travelers, or Salomon Smith Barney representatives that provide oversight and management for these services; that Citigroup and its subsidiaries did not provide investment banking services to the Company in 2004; and that in each of the last three fiscal years, the amounts paid by the Company to subsidiaries of Citigroup account for significantly less than 1% of Citigroup’s consolidated gross revenues. The Board also determined that Mr. Ostrander does not have a material interest that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment.
10
BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES
Except as set forth in the following table, no person or entity known to the Company beneficially owned more than 5% of the Company’s voting securities as of March 31, 2005:
Number of Shares and Nature of Beneficial Ownership(1)
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner | Common Stock | Percentage of Common Stock | Depositary Shares | Percentage of Depositary Shares |
|
|
|
|
|
Alan A. Blase 2230 SW 70th Ave., #5 Davie, FL 33317 | – | – | 61,114(2) | 7.5% |
| | | | |
Jeffrey L. Gendell 55 Railroad Avenue, 3rd Fl Greenwich, CT 06830 | 1,480,400(3) | 18.0% | 4,300(4) | * |
| | | | |
Lonestar Capital Management, LLC One Maritime Plaza Suite 2555 San Francisco, CA 94111 | – | – | 64,735(5) | 7.9% |
| | | | |
Redwood Asset Management, L.P. 1038 Lake Avenue Greenwich, CT 06831 | 425,300 | 5.2% | – | – |
| | | | |
Stephen D. Rosenbaum 817 N. Calvert Street Baltimore, MD 21202 | – | – | 80,000(6) | 9.8% |
| | | | |
(1) | Information in this table is as of March 31, 2005, unless otherwise indicated, and is based solely on information contained in Schedules 13D and 13G and Section 16 Forms filed by the beneficial owners with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") or information furnished to the Company. Except as indicated below, the respective beneficial owners have reported that they have sole voting power and sole dispositive power with respect to the securities set forth opposite their names. For ease of analysis, the Common Stock information in the table and the related footnotes does not include the number of shares of Common Stock into which the Depositary Shares may be converted. A holder of Depositary Shares may convert such Depositary Shares into shares of Common Stock at any time at a conversion ratio of 1.708 shares of Common Stock for each Depositary Share. Consequently, a holder of Depositary Shares is deemed to beneficially own all of the shares of Common Stock into which such holder's Depositary Shares may be converted. However, for so long as the Company is in arrears on six or more preferred stock dividends, holders of Depositary Shares are not entitled to vote for the election of directors to be elected by holders of the Common Stock unless such Depositary Shares are actually converted prior to the record date for the Annual Meeting. Percentages of less than 1% are indicated by an asterisk. |
11
(2) | According to a Schedule 13G filed on February 16, 2003, a Schedule 13G filed on February 17, 2003, a Schedule 13G filed on February 16, 2003, a Schedule 13G filed on February 17, 2003 and a Schedule 13G filed on March 27, 2003, Mr. Alan Blase beneficially owns 61,114 Depositary Shares. Of the 61,114 Depositary Shares, Mr. Blase has sole voting power and sole dispositive power over 2,895 Depositary Shares and shared dispositive power over 58,219 Depositary Shares; and Mr. Frank Vicino, Sr. owns 23,085 Depositary Shares and has sole voting power over 23,085 Depositary Shares and shared dispositive power over 23,085 Depositary Shares; and Deborah Vicino Klamarus owns 3,890 Depositary Shares and has sole voting power over 3,890 Depositary Shares and shared dispositive power over 3,890 Depositary Shares; and Rosemary Vicino owns 1,539 Depositary Shares and has sole voting power over 1,539 Depositary Shares and shared dispositive power over 1,539 Depositary Shares; and Frank Vicino, Jr. owns 29,285 Depositary Shares and has sole voting power over 17,790 Depositary Shares, shared voting power over 11,495 Depositary Shares and shared dispositive power over 29,285 Depositary Shares; and Deborah Dee Vicino owns 11,915 Depositary Shares and has sole voting power over 420 Depositary Shares, shared voting power over 11,495 Depositary Shares and shared dispositive power over 11,915 Depositary Shares. See Note (1). |
(3) | According to a Form 3 and Form 4 filed March 3, 2004 with the SEC, Mr. Gendell has sole voting power and sole dispositive power over 549,000 shares of Common Stock and shared voting and shared dispositive power over 931,400 shares of Common Stock held by limited partnerships and limited liability companies of which Mr. Gendell is either a managing member or general partner. See Note (1). |
(4) | According to information supplied to the Company on March 5, 2004, Mr. Gendell has shared voting and dispositive power over 4,300 Depositary Shares held by a limited partnership through a limited liability company of which Mr. Gendell is either a managing member or general partner. These Depositary Shares are convertible into 7,343 shares of Common Stock, which shares of Common Stock together with the 1,480,400 shares of Common Stock reported in the table would represent 18.0% of the total shares of Common Stock outstanding. See Notes (1) and (3). |
(5) | According to a Form 13F Holdings Report filed by Lonestar Capital Management, LLC for the quarter ended December 31, 2004. |
(6) | The Depositary Shares are convertible into 136,640 shares of Common Stock, which would represent 1.6% of the total shares of Common Stock outstanding. See Note (1). |
12
The following table sets forth information as of March 31, 2005 concerning stock ownership of individual directors and named executive officers, and of the executive officers and directors of the Company as a group:
Number of Shares and Nature of Beneficial Ownership(1) |
| | | | |
Name of Directors, Named Executive Officers and Persons as a Group | Common Stock | Percentage of Common Stock | Depositary Shares | Percentage of Depositary Shares |
|
|
|
|
|
| | | | |
Michael Armstrong | 49,318(2) | * | 11,334(3) | 1.4% |
Ronald H. Beck | 8,511(4) | * | – | – |
Thomas J. Coffey | 40,742(5) | * | – | – |
Thomas G. Durham | 45,829(6) | * | – | – |
Pemberton Hutchinson | 98,092(7) | 1.2% | – | – |
Douglas P. Kathol | 2,748(8) | * | – | – |
Robert E. Killen | 402,613(9) | 4.9% | 750(10) | * |
W. Michael Lepchitz | 88,572(11) | 1.1% | 26(12) | * |
Todd A. Myers | 32,645(13) | * | – | – |
Thomas W. Ostrander | 100,257(14) | 1.2% | – | – |
Christopher K. Seglem | 395,848(15) | 4.6% | 1,185(16) | * |
James W. Sight | 365,492(17) | 4.4% | – | – |
William M. Stern | 42,992(18) | * | 8,100(19) | 1.0% |
Donald A. Tortorice | 13,492(20) | * | – | – |
Directors and Executive Officers of the Company as a Group (15 persons) | 1,687,151(21) | 19.2% | 21,394(22) | 2.6% |
_________
(1) | This information is based on information known to the Company or furnished to the Company by directors and executive officers. Except as indicated below, the Company is informed that the respective beneficial owners have sole voting power and sole dispositive power with respect to all of the shares set forth opposite their names. Percentages of less than 1% are indicated by an asterisk. For ease of analysis, the Common Stock information in the table and the related footnotes does not include the number of shares of Common Stock into which the Depositary Shares may be converted. A holder of Depositary Shares may convert such Depositary Shares into shares of Common Stock at any time at a conversion ratio of 1.708 shares of Common Stock for each Depositary Share. Consequently, a holder of Depositary Shares is deemed to beneficially own all of the shares of Common Stock into which such holder's Depositary Shares may be converted. However, for so long as the Company is in arrears on six or more preferred stock dividends, holders of Depositary Shares are not entitled to vote for the election of directors to be elected by holders of the Common Stock unless such Depositary Shares are actually converted prior to the record date for the Annual Meeting. Also, shares which may be purchased under option plans are reflected in the table but are not entitled to vote unless exercised prior to the record date for the Annual Meeting. The Westmoreland Coal Company and Affiliated Companies Employees' Savings/Retirement Plan (the "401(k) Plan") provides investment alternatives which include a Common Stock Fund and a Depositary Share Fund. All amounts included herein held through the 401(k) Plan are as of March 31, 2005. |
13
(2) | Includes 17,500 shares of Common Stock which may be purchased upon exercise of options under the 2000 Non-Employee Directors' Stock Incentive Plan, as amended (the "2000 Directors' Plan") and 1,596 shares of Common Stock for which sale is restricted until after May 21, 2005. |
(3) | Includes 4,000 Depositary Shares held by two trusts of which Mr. Armstrong is trustee, 3,500 shares held by a trust for which Mr. Armstrong exercises voting and dispositive power on behalf of the trustee, and 3,834 shares held by Mr. Armstrong as a personal investment. |
(4) | Includes 1,211 shares of Common Stock held by Prudential Retirement ("Prudential Retirement"), as trustee of the 401(k) Plan. Also includes 6,800 shares of Common Stock which may be purchased upon exercise of options under the 1995 Long-Term Incentive Stock Plan (the "1995 Plan"), the 2000 Long-Term Incentive Stock Plan (the "2000 Plan"), and the 2002 Long-Term Incentive Stock Plan (the "2002 Plan"). |
(5) | Includes 12,500 shares of Common Stock which may be purchased upon exercise of options under the 2000 Directors' Plan and 1,596 shares of Common Stock for which sale is restricted until after May 21, 2005. |
(6) | Includes 1,909 shares of Common Stock held by Prudential Retirement, as trustee of the 401(k) Plan, and 29,650 shares of Common Stock which may be purchased upon exercise of options under the 1995 Plan, the 2000 Plan, and the 2002 Plan. |
(7) | Includes 20,000 shares of Common Stock which may be purchased upon exercise of options under the 2000 Directors' Plan and 1,596 shares of Common Stock for which sale is restricted until after May 21, 2005. |
(8) | Includes 248 shares of Common Stock held by Prudential Retirement, as trustee of the 401(k) Plan, and 2,500 shares of Common Stock which may be purchased upon exercise of options under the 2002 Plan. |
(9) | Includes 85,228 shares of Common Stock owned by Mr. Killen as a personal investment, 59,184 shares of Common Stock held jointly by Mr. Killen and his spouse, 61,500 shares of Common Stock held by a limited partnership of which Mr. Killen and his spouse are general partners, 50,000 shares of Common Stock held by a limited partnership of which Mr. Killen is the general partner and 140,105 shares of Common Stock owned by The Killen Group, Inc. ("The Killen Group"), of which Mr. Killen is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Killen has dispositive power over all 140,105 shares but does not have voting power over those shares. Also includes 5,000 shares of Common Stock which may be purchased upon exercise of options under the 2000 Directors' Plan and 1,596 shares of Common Stock for which sale is restricted until after May 21, 2005. See Notes (1) and (10). |
(10) | Includes 750 Depositary Shares jointly held by Mr. Killen and his spouse. These Depositary Shares are convertible into 1,281 shares of Common Stock, which shares of Common Stock, together with the 402,613 shares of Common Stock reported in the table, would represent 4.9% of the total shares of Common Stock outstanding. See Notes (1) and (9). |
(11) | Includes 1,693 shares of Common Stock held by Prudential Retirement, as trustee of the 401(k) Plan. Also includes 20,666 shares of Common Stock which may be purchased upon exercise of options under the 1995 Plan, the 2000 Plan, and the 2002 Plan. |
(12) | Held by Prudential Retirement, as trustee of the 401(k) Plan. |
14
(13) | Includes 1,475 shares of Common Stock held by Prudential Retirement, as trustee of the 401(k) Plan. Also includes 21,116 shares of Common Stock which may be purchased upon exercise of options under the 1995 Plan, the 2000 Plan or the 2002 Plan. |
(14) | Includes 85,000 shares of Common Stock which may be purchased upon exercise of options under the 1991 Plan, the 1996 Plan and the 2000 Directors' Plan, and 1,596 shares of Common Stock for which sale is restricted until after May 21, 2005. |
(15) | Includes 4,094 shares of Common Stock held by Prudential Retirement, as trustee of the 401(k) Plan, and 306,200 shares of Common Stock which may be purchased upon exercise of options under the 1995 Plan, the 1996 Directors' Plan, the 2000 Plan, and the 2002 Plan. |
(16) | Includes 85 Depositary Shares held by Prudential Retirement, as trustee of the 401(k) Plan. |
(17) | Includes 12,500 shares of Common Stock which may be purchased upon exercise of options under the 2000 Directors' Plan and 1,596 shares of Common Stock for which sale is restricted until after May 21, 2005. |
(18) | Includes 22,500 shares of Common Stock which may be purchased upon exercise of options under the 2000 Directors' Plan and 1,596 shares of Common Stock for which sale is restricted until after May 21, 2005. |
(19) | Includes 4,100 Depositary Shares held by two trusts of which Mr. Stern is a trustee and beneficiary, 3,000 shares held by a trust for which Mr. Stern is sole trustee, and 1,000 shares held in trust for which Mr. Stern is sole trustee and beneficiary. |
(20) | Includes 5,000 shares of Common Stock which may be purchased upon exercise of options under the 2000 Directors' Plan and 1,596 shares of Common Stock for which sale is restricted until after May 21, 2005. |
(21) | See Notes (2), (4) - (9), (11), (13) - (15), (17) - (18), and (20). |
(22) | See Notes (3), (10), (12), (16), and (19). |
Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The number of shares beneficially owned by a person includes shares of Common Stock subject to options held by that person that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of April 18, 2005. The shares issuable pursuant to these options are not deemed outstanding for the purposes of computing the percentage ownership of any other person.
15
EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION
The following table presents information regarding equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2004 and depicts the total number of securities to be issued upon the exercise of outstanding options, the weighted average exercise price and the number of securities available for future issuance.
Plan Category | Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights | Weighted average price of outstanding options, warrants and rights | Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a)) |
| (a) | (b) | (c) |
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders | 746,000 | $ 8.55 | 185,906 |
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders | 180,000 | $14.65 | 32,064(1) |
Total | 926,000 | $9.735 | 217,970 |
(1) | This amount does not include securities which may be issued to the non-employee directors at their individual election in lieu of a cash payment for up to $12,000 of their individual annual retainer fee. See "Compensation of Directors" on page 29. |
| |
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CERTAIN EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
The following sets forth certain information with respect to the executive officers of the Company as of December 31, 2004. Additional information regarding the Company’s executive officers can be found in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004.
Name | Age | Position |
Christopher K. Seglem(1) | 58 | Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer |
| |
Robert W. Holzwarth(2) | 57 | Senior Vice President - Power |
| |
W. Michael Lepchitz(3) | 51 | Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary |
| |
Ronald H. Beck(4) | 60 | Vice President - Finance and Treasurer, Acting Chief Financial Officer, Assistant Secretary |
| |
Thomas G. Durham(5) | 56 | Vice President, Coal Operations |
| |
Todd A. Myers(6) | 41 | Vice President, Sales and Marketing |
| |
Douglas P. Kathol(7) | 52 | Vice President, Development |
| |
_________
(1) | Mr. Seglem was elected President and Chief Operating Officer in June 1992, and a Director of the Company in December 1992. In June 1993, he was elected Chief Executive Officer, at which time he relinquished the position of Chief Operating Officer. In June 1996, he was elected Chairman of the Board. He is a member of the bar of Pennsylvania. |
| |
(2) | Mr. Holzwarth joined Westmoreland in November of 2004. From 1993 to 2003 he was employed by Aquila, Inc. in various management positions, including from 1997 to 2000 as Vice President and General Manager of Power Services and Generation, in which capacity he managed power plants capable of generating over 2,000 MW of electricity, and from December 2001 through 2003 as Chief Executive Officer of United Energy, Australia, an electric distribution utility serving 600,000 customers. |
| |
(3) | Mr. Lepchitz joined Westmoreland in 1991 as Assistant General Counsel. In June 2000, Mr. Lepchitz was elected Vice President and General Counsel of Westmoreland Coal Company and, in May 2001, he became Corporate Secretary of Westmoreland. He is a member of the bar of Virginia. Mr. Lepchitz resigned from the Company effective April 11, 2005. |
| |
(4) | Mr. Beck joined Westmoreland in July 2001 as Vice President - Finance and Treasurer. In September 2003, Mr. Beck also began serving as Acting Chief Financial Officer. He was appointed Assistant Secretary in April 2005. Prior to joining Westmoreland he was a financial officer at Columbus Energy Corp. from 1985 to 2000, lastly as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. |
17
(5) | Mr. Durham joined Westmoreland as Vice President, Coal Operations in April 2000. For the four years prior to joining Westmoreland, he was a Vice President of NorWest Mine Services, Inc. which provides worldwide mining consulting services on surface mining and other projects. Mr. Durham has over 30 years of surface mine management and operations experience. He became a registered professional engineer in 1976. |
| |
(6) | Mr. Myers re-joined Westmoreland in January 2000 as Vice President, Marketing and Business Development and in 2002 became Vice President, Sales and Marketing. He originally joined Westmoreland in 1989 as a Market Analyst and was promoted in 1991 to Manager of the Contract Administration Department. He left Westmoreland in 1994. Between 1994 and 2000, he was Senior Consultant and Manager of the environmental consulting group of a nationally recognized energy consulting firm, specializing in coal markets, independent power development, and environmental regulation. |
| |
(7) | Mr. Kathol joined Westmoreland in August 2003 as Vice President, Development. Prior to joining Westmoreland, Mr. Kathol was Vice President and Controller of NorWest Mine Services, Inc. which provides worldwide mining consulting services. Mr. Kathol has over 27 years experience evaluating and developing energy related projects. |
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AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT
The Audit Committee of the Westmoreland Coal Company Board of Directors (the “Committee”) is composed of four directors and operates under a written charter first adopted by the Board of Directors on March 10, 2000 and amended most recently on February 26, 2004.
Management is responsible for the Company’s internal controls and financial reporting process. The registered public accounting firm is responsible for performing an independent audit of the Company’s consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and issuing a report thereon. The Committee’s responsibility is to retain the registered public accounting firm, review and monitor the independence and performance of the Company’s registered public accounting firm, monitor the integrity of the Company’s financial reporting process and systems of internal controls regarding finance, accounting and legal compliance and provide an avenue of communication among the registered public accounting firm, management and the Board of Directors.
In this context, the Committee met with management and the registered public accounting firm to review and discuss the Company’s significant accounting policies, systems of internal controls, and the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2004. The Committee also discussed with the registered public accounting firm the matters required to be discussed by Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61 (Communication with Audit Committees). The Company’s registered public accounting firm also provided to the Committee the written disclosures and the letter required by Independence Standards Board Standard No. 1 (Independence Discussions with Audit Committees), and the Committee discussed with the registered public accounting firm the firm’s independence. The Audit Committee also considered whether the registered public accounting firm’s provision of non-audit related services to the Company is compatible with maintaining such auditor’s independence.
Based on its discussions with management and the registered public accounting firm, and its review of the representations and information provided by management and the registered public accounting firm, the Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the audited consolidated financial statements be included in Westmoreland Coal Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 for filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
| Thomas J. Coffey, Chairman |
| Thomas W. Ostrander |
| William M. Stern |
| Donald A. Tortorice |
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EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
The following table sets forth information for 2004, 2003 and 2002 as to the person who held the position of Chief Executive Officer during 2004 and the other four most highly compensated executive officers at the end of 2004, whose total salary and bonus for 2004 exceeded $100,000 (the “named executive officers”). None of the named executive officers received any loans or credits from the Company.
Summary Compensation Table
| | Annual Compensation | Long-Term Compensation | |
| |
|
| |
| | | | | Awards | Payouts | |
Name and Principal Positions | Year | Salary ($) | Bonus(1) ($) | Other Annual Compen- sation(2)(3) ($) | Securities Underlying Options (#) | LTIP Payout(4)(5)(6) ($) | All Other Compen- sation(7) ($) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Christopher K. Seglem, | 2004 | 486,869 | 110,442 | 25,242 | – | 502,813 | 16,762 |
Chief Executive Officer | 2003 | 475,000 | 321,663 | – | 64,200 | 2,450,753 | 14,540 |
and President | 2002 | 424,825 | 220,254 | 517 | 31,900 | – | 10,823 |
| | | | | | | |
W. Michael Lepchitz, | 2004 | 202,578 | 6,449 | 7,023 | – | 160,066 | 8,369 |
Vice President, General | 2003 | 197,184 | 61,847 | – | 16,400 | 681,813 | 7,438 |
Counsel and Secretary | 2002 | 189,625 | 65,705 | – | 10,200 | – | 33,276 |
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Thomas G. Durham, | 2004 | 187,852 | 11,961 | 3,554 | – | 114,280 | 8,201 |
Vice President, Coal | 2003 | 184,697 | 58,143 | – | 15,300 | 345,095 | 7,183 |
Operations | 2002 | 173,250 | 53,361 | – | 7,600 | – | 14,205 |
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Todd A. Myers, | 2004 | 177,706 | 19,092 | 3,345 | – | 103,849 | 7,997 |
Vice President, Sales | 2003 | 166,195 | 72,261 | – | 13,400 | 324,791 | 6,988 |
and Marketing | 2002 | 154,875 | 47,702 | – | 6,700 | – | 3,737 |
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Ronald H. Beck, | 2004 | 153,873 | 20,818 | – | – | 34,616 | 7,670 |
Vice President - | 2003 | 141,145 | 69,839 | – | 4,500 | – | 6,790 |
Finance and Treasurer, Acting Chief Financial Officer; Assistant Secretary | 2002 | 125,001 | 40,425 | – | 4,200 | – | 3,336 |
20
(1) | The amounts shown in this column were earned through performance in the year shown and paid in the immediately following year. For example, Mr. Seglem's $110,442 bonus was earned for performance in 2004 and paid in 2005. |
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(2) | In accordance with SEC Rules, other compensation in the form of perquisites and other personal benefits has been omitted in those instances where the aggregate of such perquisites and other personal benefits did not exceed the lesser of $50,000 or ten percent of the total annual salary and bonus for the named executive officer for such year. |
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(3) | In 2004, Messrs. Seglem, Lepchitz, Durham and Myers were paid interest of $25,242, $7,023, $3,554 and $3,345, respectively, on amounts earned pursuant to awards under the 2000 Performance Unit Plan which were deferred at the Company's election. Interest at the rate of Prime plus 1% is paid on all long-term compensation amounts deferred by the Compensation and Benefits Committee. |
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(4) | This column is titled "Payouts" in accordance with Item 402(b) of Regulation S-K and Item 8 of Schedule 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The amounts listed in this column are the amounts earned in a given year, but the Company's 2000 Performance Unit Plan permits the Compensation and Benefits Committee to defer those amounts and pay them over time. As described in notes 5 and 6, the Committee in fact deferred payment of a portion of those amounts. |
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(5) | In 2000, Messrs. Seglem, Lepchitz, Durham and Myers were awarded 196,499, 46,307, 23,438, and 22,059 performance units, respectively, under the 2000 Performance Unit Plan. Each performance unit entitled the recipient to receive a payment in cash or stock, at the election of the Compensation and Benefits Committee, equal to an amount based on the increase in the Company's Common Stock over a three year period. The base price of $2.9097 was the average price of the Company's common stock for the 20 trading days ending June 30, 2000, and the ending price was $17.6335, the average price of the Company's common stock for the 20 trading days ending June 30, 2003. In 2003, and as permitted by the 2000 Performance Unit Plan, the Compensation and Benefits Committee elected to pay approximately one-fifth of the 2000 awards and defer payment of the balance over a period of up to five years. Notwithstanding the caption for the column, the value of the 2000 awards actually paid to Messrs. Seglem, Lepchitz, Durham and Myers in 2003 was $431,375, $112,010, $60,743 and $57,169, respectively, of which approximately two-thirds was paid in stock drawn from the shareholder-approved 2002 Plan, and approximately one-third was paid in cash. In 2004, the Compensation and Benefits Committee elected to pay approximately one-fourth of the deferred amount of the 2000 awards and continued to defer the balance for a period of up to four years. The value of the 2000 awards actually paid to Messrs. Seglem, Lepchitz, Durham and Myers in 2004 was $504,845, $140,451, $71,088 and $66,906, respectively, all of which was paid in cash. |
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(6) | In 2001, Messrs. Seglem, Lepchitz, Durham, Myers and Beck were awarded 5,447, 1,734, 1,238, 1,125 and 375 performance units, respectively, under the 2000 Performance Unit Plan. Each performance unit entitled the recipient to receive a payment in cash or stock, at the election of the Compensation and Benefits Committee, equal to an amount based upon the total stockholder return percentage on the Company's common stock over a three year period from the date of the grant, May 31, 2001, compared to such return during such period on the common stock of a peer group comprised of AES Corp., Alliance Resource Partners L.P., Arch Coal, Inc., BHP Billiton Limited, Beard Company, Calpine Corp., CONSOL Energy, Inc., Headwaters, Inc., Massey Energy Company, Peabody Energy Corp., RWE AG, SGI International, and Yanzhou Coal Mining Company. Over the three-year period, Westmoreland's stockholder return was better than 7 of the 13 companies comprising the peer group or 53.85%, resulting in an award of $92.31 per performance unit. In 2004, and as permitted by the 2000 Performance Unit Plan, the Compensation and Benefits Committee elected to pay approximately one-fifth of the 2001 awards and defer payment of the balance over a period of up to five years. Notwithstanding the caption for the column, the value of the 2001 awards actually paid to Messrs. Seglem, Lepchitz, Durham, Myers and Beck in 2004 was $100,563, $32,013, $22,856, $20,770 and $6,092, respectively, all of which was paid in cash. |
21
(7) | The category entitled "All Other Compensation" includes reimbursements and payments for relocation and related expenses, Company contributions to the 401(k) Plan, insurance premiums, and financial planning fees paid by the Company. The Company contributed $6,150 to the 401(k) Plan during 2004 on behalf of each of Messrs. Seglem, Lepchitz, Durham, Myers and Beck. In 2004, the Company paid life insurance premiums of $9,390; $2,219; $2,051; $1,847; and $1,520 for Messrs. Seglem, Lepchitz, Durham, Myers and Beck, respectively. In 2004, the Company paid financial planning fees of $1,222 for Mr. Seglem. |
22
The following table presents information regarding options to purchase common shares and common stock appreciation rights (“SAR”) awarded to the named executive officers in 2004. The stock option and SAR awards reflected in the table consist of 2004 grants made to the listed executives under the 2002 Long Term Incentive Stock Plan (“2002 Plan”).
Option/SAR Grants in Last Fiscal Year(1)
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Individual Grants | Potential Realizable Value at Assumed Annual Rates of Stock Price Appreciation for Option Term |
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Name | Number of Securities Underlying Options/SARs Granted (#) | Percent of total Options/SARs granted to employees in fiscal year(2) | Exercise or base price per share ($/sh) | Expiration date | 5% ($) | 10% ($) |
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Christopher K. Seglem | 63,300 | 33.5% | $19.365 | 6/30/14 | 770,905 | 1,953,438 |
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W. Michael Lepchitz | 14,200 | 7.5% | $19.365 | 6/30/14 | 172,936 | 438,212 |
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Thomas G. Durham | 13,300 | 7.0% | $19.365 | 6/30/14 | 161,975 | 410,438 |
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Todd A. Myers | 12,300 | 6.5% | $19.365 | 6/30/14 | 149,797 | 379,578 |
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Ronald H. Beck | 8,700 | 4.6% | $19.365 | 6/30/14 | 105,954 | 268,482 |
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(1) | All amounts except as noted represent SAR grants. |
(2) | Total SAR grants in 2004 = 178,926; Total option grants in 2004 = 10,000. |
23
The following table presents information regarding exercises of stock options and SARs by the named executive officers in 2004 and the number of unexercised options to purchase Common Stock and SARs held by them at December 31, 2004:
Aggregated Option/SAR Exercises in the last Fiscal Year and FY-End Option/SAR Values
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| Shares Acquired on Exercise (#) | Value Realized ($) | Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options/SARs at December 31, 2004 (#) | Value of Unexercised In-the-Money Options/SARs at December 31, 2004 ($) |
Name | | | Exercisable | Unexercisable | Exercisable | Unexercisable |
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Christopher K. Seglem | – | – | 306,200 | 42,800 | 7,584,251 | 535,856 |
W. Michael Lepchitz | – | – | 63,266 | 10,934 | 1,481,626 | 136,893 |
Thomas G. Durham | – | – | 24,550 | 10,200 | 469,994 | 127,704 |
Todd A. Myers | – | – | 21,116 | 8,934 | 397,012 | 118,853 |
Ronald H. Beck | – | – | 6,800 | 3,000 | 108,952 | 37,560 |
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In 2000, the Board of Directors of the Company adopted a Performance Unit Plan as part of the Company’s long-term incentive program because an insufficient number of stock options were available to provide a competitive long-term incentive to key executives. The Plan is designed to link recipients’ long-term economic interest with those of the stockholders. Performance units awarded in 2000 and 2001 are described in the Summary Compensation Table and accompanying footnotes on pages 20-22. Performance units granted in 2002 are not yet vested and no payout has occurred. No performance units were granted in 2003. The following table presents information regarding long-term incentive awards of performance units awarded in 2004:
Long-Term Incentive Plans-Awards in last Fiscal Year
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Name | Number of shares, units or other rights (#) | Performance or other period until maturation or payout | Threshold ($ or #) | Target ($ or #) | Maximum ($ or #) |
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Christopher K. Seglem | 3,206 | 3 years | $105,798 | $320,600 | $641,200 |
W. Michael Lepchitz | 720 | 3 years | 23,760 | 72,000 | 144,000 |
Thomas G. Durham | 676 | 3 years | 22,308 | 67,600 | 135,200 |
Todd A. Myers | 621 | 3 years | 20,493 | 62,100 | 124,200 |
Ronald H. Beck | 443 | 3 years | 14,619 | 44,300 | 88,600 |
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24
In 2004, the Compensation and Benefits Committee chose to provide long-term incentives to the Company’s executives which included issuing performance units under the 2000 Performance Unit Plan (for purpose of this discussion, “Performance Units”). The value of each Performance Unit is a function of three separate comparisons over a three-year period from the date of grant, July 1, 2004. The Company will compare the total stockholder return of the Company’s common stock, expressed as a percentage, to: (i) the total stockholder return, expressed as a percentage, on the common stock of each company in a peer group; (ii) the total stockholder return of the Russell 2000 Index, expressed as a percentage; and (iii) the total stockholder return of the S&P Utilities Index, expressed as a percentage.
The peer group is comprised of Alliance Resource Partners L.P., Arch Coal, Inc., Massey Energy Company, Peabody Energy Corp., and CONSOL Energy Inc. The calculation of item (i) depends on the number of companies in the peer group that the Company out-performs. For purposes of calculating the total stockholder return, the base price of the Company’s common stock and each member of the peer group’s common stock, as well as the two indexes, is the average of trading and index prices for the 20 trading days ending the day before the third anniversary of the date of the grant; the calculation of total shareholder return includes the value of dividends paid.
To determine the value of the Performance Units, the Company will calculate a “weighted average” of these percentages. The comparison to the peer group will count for 50% and the other two comparisons will count for 25% each. In order for the Performance Units to have any value, the weighted average percentage must be at least 40%. At a weighted average percentage of 40%, each Performance Unit would have a value of $33. If the weighted average percentage is 60%, each Performance Unit will have a value of $100. If the weighted average percentage is 80%, each Performance Unit will have a value of $200, the maximum amount. Values between those numbers are interpolated.
Performance Units vest in one-third annual increments beginning on the first anniversary of the date of the grant. The 2000 Performance Unit Plan provides that, if a recipient of Performance Units voluntarily terminates his employment, or if his employment is terminated involuntarily for cause, then the recipient forfeits all Performance Units, whether vested or not, for which the three-year performance period has not ended. The Compensation and Benefits Committee may elect to pay the Performance Units in cash or stock and to defer full payment of amounts earned over time.
Deferred Compensation Plan
On March 7, 2003, the Board adopted a deferred compensation plan which permits recipients of performance unit awards under the 2000 Plan and subsequent long-term incentive plan awards to defer receipt of all or some percentage of any cash payments they receive. This deferral is in addition to any amount deferred by the Compensation and Benefits Committee. The deferred compensation plan is intended to be an unfunded “top hat” arrangement under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), as well as for income tax purposes. A top hat plan is a method of deferring compensation and the tax on such compensation, to a fixed and determinable future date, and is generally used for certain nonqualified deferred compensation plans that are exempt from most of the substantive requirements of ERISA. The ERISA exemption applies to a plan that is unfunded and is maintained by an employer primarily for the purpose of providing deferred compensation for a select group of management or highly compensated employees.
25
Pension Plan
The Company sponsors a Pension Plan (the “Plan”) for eligible employees of the Company and its subsidiaries to which employees make no contributions. All employees whose terms and conditions of employment are not subject to collective bargaining and who work 1,000 or more hours per year are eligible for participation in the Plan. Eligible employees become fully vested after five years of service, or, in any event, upon attaining age 65.
The following table shows estimated annual retirement benefits, which are representative of an employee currently age 65 whose salary remained unchanged during his or her last five years of employment and whose benefit will be paid for the life of the employee:
PENSION PLAN TABLE
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Remuneration | | 15 | | 20 | | 25 | | 30 | | 35 |
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$ 125,000 | | $ 28,275 | | $ 37,700 | | $ 47,125 | | $ 56,550 | | $ 56,550 |
150,000 | | 34,650 | | 46,200 | | 57,750 | | 69,300 | | 69,300 |
175,000 | | 41,025 | | 54,700 | | 68,375 | | 82,050 | | 82,050 |
200,000 | | 47,400 | | 63,200 | | 79,000 | | 94,800 | | 94,800 |
225,000 | | 53,775 | | 71,700 | | 89,625 | | 107,550 | | 107,550 |
250,000 | | 60,150 | | 80,200 | | 100,250 | | 120,300 | | 120,300 |
300,000 | | 72,900 | | 97,200 | | 121,500 | | 145,800 | | 145,800 |
350,000 | | 85,650 | | 114,200 | | 142,750 | | 171,300 | | 171,300 |
400,000 | | 98,400 | | 131,200 | | 164,000 | | 196,800 | | 196,800 |
450,000 | | 111,150 | | 148,200 | | 185,250 | | 222,300 | | 222,300 |
500,000 | | 123,900 | | 165,200 | | 206,500 | | 247,800 | | 247,800 |
The current compensation covered by the Plan for any executive officer in the Summary Compensation Table, page 20, is that amount reported in the Salary column, subject to limitations imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). In 2004 that limit was $210,000. As of December 31, 2004, the named executive officers had the following estimated credited years of service under the Plan: Mr. Seglem, 24 years, 4 months; Mr. Lepchitz, 13 years, 1 month; Mr. Beck, 3 years, 5 months; Mr. Durham, 4 years, 8 months; and Mr. Myers, 4 years, 11 months. The basis upon which benefits are computed is a straight-life annuity; payments are available in other forms on an actuarially adjusted basis equivalent to a straight-life annuity. Benefit amounts set forth in the table below are not subject to any deduction for Social Security benefits or other offset amounts, except as noted below for the amount of the accrued benefit under the Company’s previous pension plan (the “Previous Plan”).
26
The Plan was adopted effective December 1, 1997 as a qualified replacement plan for a previous plan (the “Previous Plan”), which was terminated effective November 30, 1996 (the “Previous Plan Termination Date”). In general, the Plan provides for payment of annual retirement benefits to eligible employees equal to 1.2% of any employee’s average annual salaried compensation (over the sixty most highly compensated consecutive months of employment) plus 0.5% of such average annual compensation in excess of the employee’s pay used to determine Social Security retirement benefits for each year of service to a maximum of 30 years, less the benefit, if any, provided to the participants under the Previous Plan. The Plan also provides for disability benefits and for reduced benefits upon retirement prior to the normal retirement age of 65. For the purpose of benefit calculation under the Plan, credited service under the Previous Plan is included with credited service under the Plan and a benefit amount is calculated using the above formula. The amount of the accrued benefit under the Previous Plan, calculated as of the Previous Plan Termination Date, is then subtracted to arrive at the benefit amount payable under the Plan.
No amounts are included in the Salary column of the Summary Compensation Table above in respect of Plan contributions by the Company and its subsidiaries because the Plan is a qualified defined benefit plan. The Company made $3,430,703 in contributions to this Plan in 2004 to remain in compliance with the funding requirements imposed under ERISA.
The amounts shown in the table above would be reduced by the amount of accrued benefit under the Previous Plan. The amount of reduction from the annual benefit for the following individuals are: Mr. Seglem—$38,162; and Mr. Lepchitz—$3,594. Since Messrs. Beck, Durham and Myers were not employees of the Company at the time the Previous Plan was terminated, they have no accrued benefit under the Previous Plan but participate in the Company’s current pension plan.
Seven years and one month of service has been credited through December 31, 2004 under the Plan subsequent to the Previous Plan Termination Date for each of Messrs. Seglem and Lepchitz. Years of credited service under the Previous Plan as of the Previous Plan Termination Date for the following individuals and the amounts received by them from the Previous Plan in December 1997 in connection with the plan termination were: Mr. Seglem—16 years, three months, $174,424; and Mr. Lepchitz—five years, $10,426. As of December 31, 2004, the named executive officers had the following estimated credit years of service under the Plan: Mr. Seglem, 24 years, 4 months; Mr. Lepchitz, 13 years, 1 month; Mr. Beck, 3 years, 5 months; Mr. Durham, 4 years, 8 months; and Mr. Myers, 4 years, 11 months.
Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan
The Code limits the amount of compensation that may be taken into account for the purpose of determining the retirement benefit payable under retirement plans (such as the Plan) that are qualified under ERISA. The limitation for 2003 and 2004 is $205,000 and $210,000, respectively, for each year. So that the Company may provide retirement income to its senior executives and other key individuals that is commensurate as a percentage of preretirement income with that paid to other Company employees, the Company established a nonqualified Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (the “SERP”), effective January 1, 1992, which among currently active employees covers only Mr. Seglem. The annual benefit presented in the table above includes the portion of retirement benefits payable through the SERP.
27
To become vested in the SERP, a participant must attain age 55 and generally complete 10 years of service. Bonus amounts are included in a participant’s compensation under the SERP, although excluded under the Plan. Benefits are payable out of the Company’s general assets, and shall commence and be payable at the same time and in the same form as benefits under the Plan.
Mr. Hutchinson retired as an employee of the Company as of December 31, 1993. Mr. Hutchinson is entitled to receive benefit payments from the Company's SERP of $3,708 a month.
Severance Arrangements
The Company and its subsidiaries have severance policies. The Westmoreland Coal Company severance policies consist of an Executive Severance Policy (the “Executive Policy”) which covers Mr. Seglem, and a Severance Policy (the “Severance Policy”) which covers Messrs. Lepchitz, Beck, Durham, and Myers and certain other employees of the Company at the corporate offices.
The Executive Policy provides that Mr. Seglem is entitled to a severance benefit in the event of certain terminations of his employment with the Company or its subsidiaries. The policy was adopted in 1993 as the Company entered a restructuring phase, and its original coverage included other senior executives who have since retired or left the Company. For purposes of the Executive Policy, a termination is deemed to have occurred and severance will be granted at any and all times for the following reasons: (i) discharge for unacceptable job performance (other than that resulting from gross or willful misconduct, which is defined as an act or acts constituting larceny, fraud, gross negligence, crime or crimes, moral turpitude in the course of employment, or willful and material misrepresentation to the Company’s directors or officers); (ii) discharge due to recognition of a mistake in the recruiting process, as determined by management; (iii) a significant reduction, or increase without adequate compensation, in the nature or scope of such executive’s authority or duties; (iv) a relocation of such executive from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to any location, or a reduction in such executive’s base compensation, a material reduction of the value of the aggregate of employee benefits as described in the Policy, or cessation of eligibility for incentive bonus payments; or (v) in the event of a change in control of the Company, as defined in the Policy. The severance benefit under this policy is an amount equal to twice the executive officer’s annual average cash compensation, defined as the greater of the annualized base salary at the time of severance plus the amount of bonus awarded (including amount deferred) in that year or the annual average of the executive officer’s most recent five calendar years of base salary and bonus awarded (including amounts deferred), including the year of termination. The severance benefit will be paid in approximately equal monthly installments over a period of 24 months following the date of termination, unless the executive officer elects to receive the present value of his total severance discounted at the two-year treasury bill rate, including the present value of executive benefits (such as life and health insurance, stock options, and financial planning and outplacement services) in a lump sum cash distribution at the time of termination.
28
A change in control of the Company is defined in the Executive Policy as: (i) a transaction, acquisition, merger, other event or series of events (“events”) which results in any individual, person, entity or group acting in concert (“person”) having beneficial ownership of 20% or more of the Company’s Common Stock or voting preferred stock or any combination thereof, that will give that person ownership or control of 20% or more of the combined voting power of all stock generally entitled to vote for the election of directors; or where such person prior to a transaction, acquisition, merger, other event or series of events holds a 20% or more voting power, as defined therein, an event which increases that person’s interest by 5% or more; unless a majority of those members of the Board of Directors who were in office prior to the occurrence of the event determines at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting that the event was not hostile or adverse; or (ii) a change in the membership of the Board of Directors when, in less than two years, the directors prior to the change cease to constitute a majority, unless the new directors were designated as nominees or were elected to fill a vacancy on the Board by two-thirds of the incumbent directors at the time; or (iii) a consolidation or merger as a result of which the Company is not the surviving or continuing corporation or where the Company’s stock is converted into cash, securities or other property; or any sale, lease, exchange or other transfer of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company; or an adoption of any plan or proposal for the liquidation or dissolution of the Company.
The Severance Policy that currently covers Messrs. Lepchitz, Durham, Beck and Myers provides that all full-time non-union employees of the Company who are not covered under the Executive Policy may be entitled to a severance benefit in the event their employment with the Company is terminated for at least one of the following reasons: (i) involuntary termination that is not for cause; (ii) a reduction in work force; and (iii) liquidation of the Company. An employee is not eligible to receive severance benefits under the Severance Policy if the termination was voluntary or for cause. The severance benefit under this policy is an amount equal to four weeks of base salary for each year of continuous and completed service with a minimum of eight weeks and a maximum of 52 weeks, plus the continuation of medical, vision, and dental benefits for the balance of the month in which discharge occurred, plus three months.
Compensation of Directors
The Company compensates the members of its Board of Directors who are not employees of the Company (“non-employee directors”) by paying them an annual retainer and a fee for each meeting of the Board or committee that they attend and by granting them restricted shares of Common Stock. These payments and restricted stock grants are the sole compensation the non-employee directors receive from the Company, and the Company does not grant them loans or credits. In 2004, each non-employee director received an annual retainer of $30,000, $18,000 of which was paid in cash and the remaining $12,000 of which directors could elect to receive in cash or in Common Stock. Each non-employee director also received $1,000 per meeting attended of the Board and of each committee of which he was a member, and the Chairman of the Audit Committee received an additional $750 per meeting, the Chairman of the Compensation and Benefits Committee an additional $650 per meeting and all other Committee Chairmen $500 per meeting attended and chaired. In addition, each non-employee director is entitled to receive, as an initial grant upon his first joining the Board, options to purchase a number of shares of Common Stock equal to $30,000 in value; each non-employee director is entitled to receive thereafter upon his re-election to the Board, a grant of restricted stock equal in value to $30,000. In 2004, each of the non-employee directors received a grant of restricted stock equal to $30,000 pursuant to the 2000 Directors Plan, as amended. The Company altered its policy on the payment of directors’ fees to employee-directors in 2000, and Mr. Seglem has not received directors’ fees in respect of meetings of the Board of Directors or committees thereof that have taken place after March 2000.
29
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation in Compensation Decisions
Messrs. Killen (Chairman), Armstrong, Stern and Tortorice served on the Compensation and Benefits Committee during 2004.
No member of this Committee was an officer or employee of the Company in 2004 or any prior year. No executive officer of the Company served either as a member of the compensation committee or as a director of a company, one of whose executive officers served on the Company’s Compensation and Benefits Committee, or as a member of the compensation committee of a company, one of whose executive officers served as a director of the Company.
30
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS COMMITTEE REPORT ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
The Compensation and Benefits Committee is responsible for setting the salaries and incentive compensation of the Company’s executive officers. The Committee’s objective is to oversee and administer compensation programs which attract, retain, reward and motivate highly qualified executive officers to perform their duties in a competent and efficient manner, increase the Company’s long-term profitability and build stockholder value. The Committee is composed of four independent, non-employee directors, Messrs. Killen (Chairman), Armstrong, Stern and Tortorice.
Westmoreland’s compensation policy is based on the principle that financial rewards to executives should reflect the Company’s performance. By doing this, the Company aligns the interest of its executives with that of its stockholders by promoting a suitable return on investment through earnings and prudent management of the Company’s businesses. Primarily as a result of the financial challenges faced in restructuring the Company over the past decade, the Company’s compensation levels fell below those of comparable positions and companies as set forth in studies provided by independent human resources consulting firms. It is the Committee and Company’s intention to bring these to at least comparable levels over time.
The Committee met on April 1, April 29, June 18 and December 10, 2004 to review compensation. To assist it, the Committee retained a nationally recognized independent human resources consulting firm, which had previously conducted a review of the Company’s compensation levels and practices for key executives and directors and had assisted it in developing an appropriate compensation strategy based on Westmoreland’s strategic position, restructuring and development plan, and the compensation paid to executives of companies comparable to Westmoreland.
Westmoreland’s executive compensation strategy has three separate elements: base salary, annual incentive compensation and long-term incentive compensation and is applied to the Company’s key management group which includes executive officers not named in this report. The Committee chose in 2004 to continue its policy of deemphasizing base salary in favor of annual incentive and long-term incentive compensation in order to align compensation with and motivate successful implementation of the Company’s strategic plan for growth and recovery. The following is a summary of each element.
Base Salary
The Committee determines a salary range for each of the Company’s executive officers. The range and salary is based on: (1) the officer’s level and scope of responsibilities; (2) the median salaries of executives at similar levels or discharging similar responsibilities for companies in a “peer group”, developed by the independent human resources consulting firm; and (3) the officer’s skill, effort, experience and performance. In considering the second of these factors, the Committee reviews a group of publicly traded companies developed by the independent human resources consulting firm that includes mining and energy companies that are similar in size to Westmoreland. It also takes into account the Company’s presence in what is called the renewal stage of a mature business.
31
The Committee’s practice has been, with the consultant’s help, to establish a market range and median of the peer group companies for base salaries for particular executive officers. The data utilized in this determination is compiled from publicly available information for the comparison group of companies and from various salary surveys that are made available to the public by trade and industry associations, accounting firms, compensation consultants and professional groups.
In 2004, the Committee’s consideration of base salary increases for Messrs. Lepchitz, Durham, Myers and Beck was based on the information described above regarding comparable positions and companies and Mr. Seglem’s performance evaluations and recommendations. The Committee’s consideration of a base salary increase for Mr. Seglem, as the Chief Executive Officer, was also based on the independent human resources consulting firm’s study and an evaluation of performance conducted by the Committee and the Board of Directors. The Committee’s consideration of Mr. Seglem’s salary is done without Mr. Seglem’s input and without Mr. Seglem being present.
Annual Incentive Compensation
Yearly the Committee establishes a set of weighted performance objectives in connection with the annual incentive bonus program for each of the Company’s executive officers and key managers. The performance-based strategic criteria established by the Committee for 2004 related to safety at the operations (35% weight) and the Company’s financial performance relative to the budget approved by the Board (30% weight). The Plan also included a discretionary component (35% weight) for recognition of relative contributions to the accomplishment of strategic objectives, outstanding performance, special efforts, and similar factors. Target bonus levels are based on the independent human resources consulting firm’s market comparison studies and range in tiers from 15% to 60% of base salary according to the responsibility level of the key manager or executive with payouts of up to twice the target bonus level for exceptional above target performance. Targeted bonus correlates to targeted performance. An annual incentive performance award is equal to (i) the individual’s performance in the measured areas (expressed as a weighted percentage) multiplied by (ii) the tier level (which is a percentage of the individual’s base salary), multiplied by (iii) the individual’s base salary. Neither the safety nor the financial performance goals were achieved in 2004. Because the annual incentive program is intended to be at least partially self-funding, the Committee determined that the amount available for any discretionary awards under the program in 2004 would be limited to a total of $400,000 for all participants. Approximately $65,000 of that pool was voluntarily allocated by participants to fund bonuses for certain non-management administrative staff. The balance was distributed to the twenty-eight participants in the annual incentive bonus program. Each of Westmoreland’s executive officers and key managers was awarded a discretionary bonus from this pool based on their relative effort and contributions to the Company’s progress in 2004. Messrs. Seglem, Lepchitz, Durham, Myers and Beck, were awarded performance-based bonuses of $110,442, $6,449, $11,961, $19,092, and $20,818, respectively, for 2004.
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Long-Term Incentive Compensation
On an annual basis the Committee determines a targeted long-term incentive award for each of the Company’s executive officers. The Committee believes that long-term incentive compensation is the most direct way of tying executive compensation to increases in value for the stockholder. The Company’s long-term incentive compensation plan is comprised of the award of stock options, stock appreciation rights, and grants under long-term incentive stock plans and/or cash or stock under a performance unit plan. A Performance Unit Plan was also adopted in 2000, because the Company does not have adequate shares available for use as stock grants or options under approved long-term incentive stock plans to compensate employees at levels competitive with the market or its peer group. Performance units may be settled in stock or cash.
In 2004, again with the independent human resources consulting firm’s advice and assistance, the Committee evaluated the appropriate level of long-term incentives that should be provided to each of the executive officers of Westmoreland and each officer’s relative potential for contributions to corporate performance. During the year ended December 31, 2004, the Committee granted the following stock appreciation rights under the 2002 Long-Term Incentive Stock Plan, to the named executive officers in the following amounts: Mr. Seglem – 63,300 rights; Mr. Lepchitz – 14,200 rights; Mr. Durham – 13,300 rights; Mr. Myers – 12,300 rights and Mr. Beck – 8,700 rights. The stock appreciation rights were valued based on the average of the high and low stock price on the date of the award, $19.365, and vest in equal one-third increments annually and may be exercised over a ten year period. The granted stock appreciation rights will be settled with Company stock available under the 2002 Long-Term Incentive Stock Plan. The independent human resources consulting firm has advised the Company that these levels of long-term incentive compensation remain materially below those at comparable companies.
Compensation of Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Seglem's base salary, annual incentive compensation and long-term incentive compensation are determined by the Committee, without any input from Mr. Seglem, in a similar manner as is used by the Committee for executive officers generally. Mr. Seglem's total compensation package is designed to be aligned with the financial interests of the stockholders, to reflect the performance of the Company and to be competitive with the market place. A substantial portion of Mr. Seglem's cash compensation for the year is incentive-based and is therefore at risk to the extent that Westmoreland fails to meet or exceed performance goals determined by the Committee. In 2004, the Committee increased Mr. Seglem's base salary from $475,000 to $498,750 as of July 1, 2004, on the basis of his individual performance in 2004 and the market median for his position. In addition, Mr. Seglem received an annual incentive award of $110,442, which award was 38% of the targeted level.
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Deductibility of Certain Compensation
Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, generally disallows a tax deduction to public companies for certain compensation in excess of $1 million paid to the company’s Chief Executive Officer and the four other most highly compensated executive officers. Certain compensation, including qualified performance-based compensation, will not be subject to the deduction limit if certain requirements are met. The Committee reviews the potential effect of Section 162(m) periodically and generally seeks to structure the long-term incentive compensation granted to its executive officers in a manner that is intended to avoid disallowance of deductions under Section 162(m). Nevertheless, there can be no assurance that compensation will be treated as qualified performance-based compensation under Section 162(m). In addition, the Committee reserves the right to use its judgment to authorize compensation payments that may be subject to the limit when the Committee believes such payments are appropriate and in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders, after taking into consideration changing business conditions and the performance of its employees.
Charter
On April 8, 2002, the Committee approved and adopted a written charter to govern its activities. The charter was updated and amended on April 1, 2004. The Committee’s Charter, as amended, can be found on the Company’s web site at www.westmoreland.com.
| Robert E. Killen, Chairman |
| Michael Armstrong |
| William M. Stern |
| Donald A. Tortorice |
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Performance Graph
The following Performance Graph compares the cumulative total stockholder return on the Company's Common Stock for the five-year period December 31, 1999 through December 31, 2004 with the cumulative total return over the same period of the AMEX Market Index, and a peer group index which consists of Arch Coal Inc., CONSOL Energy Inc., Massey Energy Co., Peabody Energy Corp. and Alliance Resources Partners. These comparisons assume an initial investment of $100 and reinvestment of dividends. The Common Stock and Depositary Shares began trading on the AMEX on April 16, 1999.
COMPARISON OF CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN
Among Westmoreland Coal Company,
AMEX Index and Peer Group Index
Information Provided by CoreData Group |
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In the proxy statement for its 2004 annual meeting, the Company compared its performance to a group that included Alliance Resource Partners, Arch Coal Inc., CONSOL Energy Inc., Fording Canadian Coal Trust, Massey Energy Co., Natural Resource Partner, Peabody Energy Corp., Penn Virginia Resource Partners, and Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. (the "Prior Group"). This year, the Company has elected to compare its performance to that of Alliance Resource Partners, Arch Coal Inc., CONSOL Energy Inc., Massey Energy Co., and Peabody Energy Corp. because this group of companies is the peer group used to determine the value of the peer group shareholder return component of the 2004 performance unit award under the 2000 Performance Unit Plan. The following table compares the total stockholder return on the Company's Common Stock for the five year period ended December 31, 2004, with the total stockholder return on the Prior Group:
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
Westmoreland Coal Company | 100.00 | 280.77 | 418.46 | 361.54 | 538.46 | 937.23 |
Prior Group | 100.00 | 169.04 | 208.48 | 181.45 | 337.18 | 574.98 |
In each case, total stockholder return has been calculated in accordance with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS
Mark Seglem, the brother of Christopher Seglem, the Company’s Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer, is the Vice President of Texas Westmoreland Coal Co., an indirect subsidiary of the Company. In 2004, Mr. Mark Seglem was paid $167,976 in total compensation and granted 5,100 stock appreciation rights. The stock appreciation rights were valued based on the average of the high and low stock price on the date of the award, $19.365, and vest in equal one-third increments annually and may be exercised over a ten year period. The granted stock appreciation rights will be settled with Company stock available under the 2002 Long-Term Incentive Stock Plan. The stock appreciation rights are exercisable over a ten year period. Mr. Mark Seglem was also awarded 257 performance units. The performance units vest in one-third annual increments and are valued according to the terms of the 2004 grants of Performance Units under the 2000 Performance Unit Plan as described on page 25.
SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE
Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires the Company’s officers and directors and persons who own more than ten percent of a registered class of the Company’s equity securities to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership on Forms 3 and 4 with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the American Stock Exchange. Officers, directors and greater than ten percent stockholders are required by SEC regulations to furnish the Company with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they file. To the knowledge of management, based solely on its review of such reports furnished to the Company, all Section 16(a) filing requirements applicable to the Company’s officers, directors and greater than ten percent beneficial owners were complied with during the year ended December 31, 2004.
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AUDITORS
KPMG LLP, independent public accountants, served as the registered public accounting firm of the Company for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2004 and have been selected to serve as the Company’s registered public accounting firm for 2005. The Company expects that a representative of that firm will be present at the Annual Meeting and will have the opportunity to make a statement and to respond to appropriate questions from the stockholders.
Auditor’s Fees
The following table summarizes the fees of KPMG LLP, our registered public accounting firm, for each of the last two fiscal years for audit services. For 2004, audit fees include an estimate of amounts not yet billed.
Fee Category | | 2003 | | | 2004 |
Audit Fees(1) | $ | 409,472 | | $ | 855,009 |
Audit-Related Fees(2) | $ | 56,350 | | $ | 16,249 |
Tax Fees(3) | $ | 88,805 | | $ | 8,200 |
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All Other Fees | $ | - | | $ | - |
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Total Fees | $ | 554,627 | | $ | 879,458 |
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(1) Audit fees consist of fees for the audit of our financial statements, the audit of our internal controls over financial reporting, the review of the interim financial statements included in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other professional services provided in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements.
(2) Audit-related fees consist of fees for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit and the review of our financial statements and which are not reported under "Audit Fees". These services relate to employee benefit audits and consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards.
(3) Tax fees consist of fees for tax compliance and tax advice services. Tax compliance services, which relate to preparation of original and amended tax returns, claims for refunds and tax payment-planning services, accounted for none of the total tax fees paid for 2004 and $5,902 of the total tax fees paid for 2003. Tax advice services relate to assistance with tax audits and appeals and employee benefit plans.
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Pre-Approval Policy and Procedures
The Audit Committee has adopted policies and procedures relating to the approval of all audit and non-audit services that are to be performed by the Company’s registered public accounting firm. This policy generally provides that the Company will not engage its registered public accounting firm to render audit or non-audit services unless the service is specifically approved in advance by the Audit Committee or the engagement is entered into pursuant to one of the pre-approval procedures described below.
From time to time, the Audit Committee may pre-approve specified types of services that are expected to be provided to the Company by its registered public accounting firm during the next 12 months. Any such pre-approval is detailed as to the particular service or type of services to be provided and is also generally subject to a maximum dollar amount.
The Audit Committee has also delegated to the chairman of the Audit Committee the authority to approve any audit or non-audit services to be provided to the Company by its registered public accounting firm. Any approval of services by the chairman of the Audit Committee pursuant to this delegated authority is reported on at the next meeting of the Audit Committee.
All fees of KPMG LLP in 2004 were pre-approved by the Audit Committee.
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STOCKHOLDER PROPOSALS
In order to be considered for inclusion in the Company’s proxy materials for the 2006 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, a stockholder proposal must be received by the Secretary no later than December 20, 2005. A stockholder proposal intended to be brought before the 2006 Annual Meeting without inclusion in the Company’s proxy materials must be received by the Corporate Secretary no earlier than January 21, 2006 and no later than February 20, 2006, which is not less than 90 nor more than 120 days prior to the anniversary date of the preceding year’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders (or special meeting in lieu of an annual meeting). All proposals should be addressed to Westmoreland Coal Company, 2 North Cascade Avenue, 14th Floor, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903, Attention: Secretary. The Company reserves the right to reject, rule out of order, or take other appropriate action with respect to any proposal that does not comply with these and other applicable requirements, including conditions established by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
* * *
Upon the written request of any person who on the record date was a record owner of Company stock, or who represents in good faith that he or she was on such date a beneficial owner of such stock entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting, the Company will send such person, without charge, a copy of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2004, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Requests for this Report should be directed to Westmoreland Coal Company, 14th Floor, 2 North Cascade Avenue, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903. The Company has adopted a Code of Conduct Policy which is applicable to all employees, including all senior officers and financial personnel. A copy of the Company’s Code of Conduct Policy can be found on the Company’s web site at www.westmoreland.com.The Company will provide any person, without charge, upon request, a copy of its Code of Conduct. Requests for the Code of Conduct should be in writing and should be directed to the attention of the General Counsel of the Company at the preceding address.
OTHER BUSINESS
The Board of Directors has no present intention of bringing any other business before the meeting and has not been informed of any other matters that are to be presented to the meeting. If any other matters properly come before the meeting, however, the persons named in the enclosed proxy will vote in accordance with their best judgment.
| By order of the Board of Directors |
| /s/ Ronald H. Beck |
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| Ronald H. Beck |
| Assistant Secretary |
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