UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D. C. 20549 FORM 10-Q [X] QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2003 OR [ ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 COMMISSION FILE NUMBER: 001-31465 NATURAL RESOURCE PARTNERS L.P. (EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER) Delaware 35-2164875 (State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer incorporation or organization) Identification No.) 601 JEFFERSON STREET, SUITE 3600 HOUSTON, TEXAS 77002 (ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICES) (ZIP CODE) (713) 751-7507 (REGISTRANT'S TELEPHONE NUMBER, INCLUDING AREA CODE) Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes [X] No [ ] Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes [ ] No [X] At November 10, 2003, there were outstanding 11,353,658 Common Units and 11,353,658 Subordinated Units. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ---- PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Natural Resource Partners L.P.: Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2003 and December 31, 2002................................... 3 Consolidated Statements of Income For the Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2003..................... 4 Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Nine Months Ended September 30, 2003................................... 5 Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements................................................................... 6 Western Pocahontas Properties Limited Partnership: Statements of Income For the Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2002.................................. 12 Statement of Cash Flows For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2002......................................... 13 Notes to Financial Statements................................................................................ 14 Great Northern Properties Limited Partnership: Statements of Income For the Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2002................................. 15 Statement of Cash Flows For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2002 ....................................... 16 Notes to Financial Statements............................................................................... 17 New Gauley Coal Corporation: Statements of Income For the Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2002................................. 18 Statement of Cash Flows For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2002........................................ 19 Notes to Financial Statements............................................................................... 20 Arch Coal Contributed Properties: Statements of Revenues and Direct Costs and Expenses - Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2002......................................................................... 21 Notes to Financial Statements............................................................................... 22 ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS Introduction............................................................................................... 23 Results of Operations: Natural Resource Partners L.P.............................................................................. 26 Western Pocahontas Properties Limited Partnership.......................................................... 29 Great Northern Properties Limited Partnership.............................................................. 31 New Gauley Coal Corporation................................................................................ 33 Arch Coal Contributed Properties........................................................................... 34 Related Party Transactions................................................................................. 35 Liquidity and Capital Resources............................................................................ 36 ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK............................................................................................. 37 ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES................................................................................. 39 PART II. OTHER INFORMATION ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS....................................................................................... 40 ITEM 2. CHANGES IN SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS............................................................... 40 ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES......................................................................... 40 ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS................................................................................................. 40 ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION....................................................................................... 40 ITEM 6. EXHIBITS AND REPORTS ON FORM 8-K........................................................................ 41 SIGNATURES...................................................................................................... 42 2 PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS NATURAL RESOURCE PARTNERS L. P. CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (IN THOUSANDS) SEPTEMBER 30, DECEMBER 31, 2003 2002 ------------- ------------- (UNAUDITED) ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents ............................................. $ 21,837 $ 7,753 Accounts receivable ................................................... 10,148 7,593 Accounts receivable - affiliate ....................................... -- 1,450 Other ................................................................. 22 511 ------------- ------------- Total current assets ............................................... 32,007 17,307 Property and equipment, at cost ........................................... 557,139 433,430 Less accumulated depletion and amortization ........................... (77,661) (59,243) ------------- ------------- Net property and equipment ............................................ 479,478 374,187 Loan financing costs, net ................................................. 3,179 1,225 ------------- ------------- Total assets ..................................................... $ 514,664 $ 392,719 ============= ============= LIABILITIES AND PARTNERS' CAPITAL Current liabilities: Accounts payable ...................................................... $ 93 $ 735 Accounts payable - affiliate .......................................... 312 667 Current portion of long-term debt ..................................... 9,350 -- Accrued incentive plan expenses - current portion ..................... 1,223 -- Property and franchise taxes payable .................................. 2,311 1,731 Accrued interest ...................................................... 2,050 200 ------------- ------------- Total current liabilities ....................................... 15,339 3,333 Deferred revenue .......................................................... 13,011 13,252 Accrued incentive plan expenses ........................................... 703 -- Long-term debt ............................................................ 173,650 57,500 Partners' capital: Common units (11,353,658 units outstanding) ......................... 145,826 148,646 Subordinated units (11,353,658 units outstanding) ................... 160,501 163,322 General partners' interest .......................................... 6,551 6,666 Accumulated other comprehensive loss ................................ (917) -- ------------- ------------- Total partners' capital ......................................... 311,961 318,634 ------------- ------------- Total liabilities and partners' capital ......................... $ 514,664 $ 392,719 ============= ============= The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 3 NATURAL RESOURCE PARTNERS L. P. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER UNIT DATA) (UNAUDITED) THREE MONTHS NINE MONTHS ENDED ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 2003 2003 ------------- ------------- Revenues: Coal royalties ........................................................ $ 20,796 $ 55,393 Property taxes ........................................................ 1,330 3,519 Minimums recognized as revenue ........................................ 347 1,606 Override royalties .................................................... 152 813 Other ................................................................. 914 2,117 ------------- ------------- Total revenues .................................................... 23,539 63,448 Operating costs and expenses: Depletion and amortization ............................................ 6,848 19,021 General and administrative ............................................ 2,197 6,504 Taxes other than income ............................................... 1,676 4,257 Override payments ..................................................... -- 386 Coal royalty payments ................................................. 263 576 ------------- ------------- Total operating costs and expenses ................................ 10,984 30,744 ------------- ------------- Income from operations 12,555 32,704 Other income (expense) Interest expense ...................................................... (2,499) (4,096) Interest income ....................................................... 56 159 Loss from interest rate hedge ......................................... -- (499) ------------- ------------- Net income ................................................................ $ 10,112 $ 28,268 ============= ============= General partners' net income .......................................... $ 202 $ 565 ============= ============= Limited partners' net income .......................................... $ 9,910 $ 27,703 ============= ============= Basic and diluted net income per limited partner unit: Common ................................................................ $ .44 $ 1.22 ============= ============= Subordinated .......................................................... $ .44 $ 1.22 ============= ============= Weighted average number of units outstanding: Common ................................................................ 11,354 11,354 ============= ============= Subordinated .......................................................... 11,354 11,354 ============= ============= The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 4 NATURAL RESOURCE PARTNERS L. P. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (IN THOUSANDS) (UNAUDITED) NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2003 ------------- Cash flows from operating activities: Net income .............................................................. $ 28,268 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: Depletion and amortization ........................................... 19,021 Non-cash interest charge ............................................. 14 Change in operating assets and liabilities: Accounts receivable .................................................. (1,105) Other assets ......................................................... (2,068) Accounts payable and accrued liabilities ............................. 3,236 Deferred revenue ..................................................... (241) Accrued incentive plan expenses ...................................... 703 Property and franchise taxes payable ................................. (580) ------------- Net cash provided by operating activities ....................... 47,248 ------------- Cash flows from investing activities: Acquisition of property ................................................. (123,709) ------------- Net cash used in investing activities ........................... (123,709) ------------- Cash flows from financing activities: Proceeds from loans ..................................................... 298,100 Repayment of loans ...................................................... (172,600) Distributions to partners ............................................... (34,024) Settlement of hedge included in other comprehensive loss ................ (931) ------------- Net cash provided by financing activities ....................... 90,545 ------------- Net increase in cash ...................................................... 14,084 Cash at beginning of period ............................................... 7,753 ------------- Cash at end of period ..................................................... $ 21,837 ============= Supplemental cash flow information: Cash paid during the period for interest ................................ $ 1,753 ============= The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 5 NATURAL RESOURCE PARTNERS L. P. NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 1. BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND ORGANIZATION The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2003 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for future periods. The balance sheet at December 31, 2002 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date but does not include all the footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes for the period from commencement of operations (October 17, 2002) through December 31, 2002 included in the Natural Resource Partners L.P. Form 10-K, as filed on March 28, 2003. Natural Resource Partners L.P. (the "Partnership"), a Delaware limited partnership, was formed in April 2002 to own and manage certain coal royalty producing properties contributed to the Partnership by Western Pocahontas Properties Limited Partnership, ("WPP"), Great Northern Properties Limited Partnership, ("GNP"), New Gauley Coal Corporation, ("NGCC") and Arch Coal, Inc. (collectively "predecessors" or "predecessor companies"). The predecessor companies contributed assets to the Partnership on October 17, 2002. There were no operations in the Partnership prior to the contribution of the assets from the predecessor companies. The chief executive officer of the Partnership's managing general partner controls the general partners of WPP and GNP and is the controlling shareholder of NGCC. He also controls the general partner of the Partnership. In accordance with EITF 87-21 , "Change of Accounting Basis in Master Limited Partnership Transactions," the assets of WPP, GNP and NGCC were contributed to the Partnership at historical costs. The assets contributed by Arch Coal, Inc., which consisted solely of land and coal reserves, were recorded at their fair values. The Partnership engages principally in the business of owning and managing coal properties in the three major coal-producing regions of the United States: Appalachia, the Illinois Basin and the Western United States. The Partnership does not operate any mines. The Partnership leases coal reserves through its wholly owned subsidiary, NRP (Operating) LLC, ("NRP Operating"), to experienced mine operators under long-term leases that grant the operators the right to mine the Partnership's coal reserves in exchange for royalty payments. The Partnership's lessees are generally required to make payments to the Partnership based on the higher of a percentage of the gross sales price or a fixed price per ton of coal sold, in addition to a minimum payment. The general partner of the Partnership is NRP (GP) LP, a Delaware limited partnership, whose general partner is GP Natural Resource Partners LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES NEW ACCOUNTING STANDARDS In June 2001, the FASB issued SFAS No. 143, "Accounting for Asset Retirement Obligations." SFAS No. 143 requires that the fair value of a liability for an asset retirement obligation be recognized in the period in which it is incurred, with the associated asset retirement cost being capitalized as a part of the carrying amount of the long-lived asset. SFAS No. 143 also includes disclosure requirements that provide a description of asset retirement obligations and a reconciliation of changes in the components of those obligations. The operators of mines on our leased property are responsible for asset retirement obligations. Therefore, the adoption of SFAS No. 143 on January 1, 2003 did not have a material impact on the Partnership's financial position or results of operations. In April 2002, the FASB issued SFAS No. 145, "Rescission of FASB Statements No. 4, 44 and 62, Amendment of FASB Statement No. 13, and Technical Corrections." Among other things, SFAS No. 145 requires gains and losses on extinguishments of debt to be classified as income or loss from continuing operations rather than as extraordinary items as previously required under 6 SFAS No. 4. The provisions of this Statement related to the rescission of SFAS No. 4 shall be applied in fiscal years beginning after May 15, 2002. Adoption of SFAS No. 145 on January 1, 2003 did not have a material impact on the Partnership's financial position or results of operations. In July 2002, the FASB issued SFAS No. 146, "Accounting for Costs Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities," which supersedes EITF No. 94-3, "Liability Recognition for Certain Employment Termination Benefits and Other Costs to Exit an Activity." SFAS No. 146 requires companies to record liabilities for costs associated with exit or disposal activities to be recognized only when the liability is incurred instead of at the date of commitment to an exit or disposal activity. Adoption of this standard is effective for exit or disposal activities that are initiated after December 31, 2002. The adoption of this standard did not have a significant impact on the Partnership's financial statements. In April 2003, the FASB issued SFAS No. 149, "Amendment of Statement 133 on Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities." SFAS No. 149 amends SFAS No. 133 as a result of: - Decisions previously made as part of the Derivatives Implementation Group (DIG) process, - Changes made in connection with other Board projects dealing with financial instruments, and - Deliberations in connection with issues raised in relation to the application of the definition of a derivative. SFAS No. 149 is effective for contracts entered into or modified after June 30, 2003, and for hedging relationships designated after June 30, 2003. However, the provisions of SFAS No. 149 that merely represent the codification of previous Derivatives Implementation Group decisions are already effective and should continue to be applied in accordance with their prior respective effective dates. Management does not expect SFAS No. 149 to have a material adverse impact on the Partnership's results of operations, financial position or liquidity. SFAS No. 150, "Accounting for Certain Financial Instruments with Characteristics of both Liabilities and Equity" was issued in May 2003. SFAS No. 150 requires certain financial instruments that embody obligations of the issuer and have characteristics of both liabilities and equity to be classified as liabilities. Many of these instruments previously were classified as equity or temporary equity and as such, SFAS No. 150 represents a significant change in practice in the accounting for a number of financial instruments, including mandatorily redeemable equity instruments and certain equity derivatives that frequently are used in connection with share repurchase programs. SFAS No. 150 is effective for public companies for all financial instruments created or modified after May 31, 2003, and to other instruments at the beginning of the first interim period beginning after June 15, 2003 (July 1, 2003 for calendar quarter companies). The adoption of SFAS No. 150 did not have a material impact on the Partnership's results of operations, financial position or liquidity. On January 17, 2003, FASB issued Interpretation No. 46 "Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities"("FIN No. 46"), which addresses consolidation by business enterprises of variable interest entities. FIN No. 46 clarifies the application of Accounting Research Bulletin No. 51, "Consolidated Financial Statements", to certain entities in which equity investors do not have the characteristics of a controlling financial interest or do not have sufficient equity at risk for the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties. FIN No. 46 applies immediately to variable interest entities created after January 31, 2003, and to variable interest entities in which an enterprise obtains an interest after that date. It applies in the first fiscal year or interim period beginning after December 15, 2003, to variable interest entities in which an enterprise holds a variable interest that it acquired before February 1, 2003. Management does not expect FIN No. 46 to have a material adverse impact on the Partnership's results of operations, financial position or liquidity. 3. ACQUISITIONS In July 2003, the Partnership completed its acquisition of approximately 78 million tons of proven coal reserves and an overriding royalty interest on additional coal from subsidiaries of PinnOak Resources, LLC for $58 million. The $58 million purchase price had been placed into an escrow account on June 30, 2003 in connection with the execution of the purchase and sale agreement. The transaction was initially funded through the Partnership's existing credit facility. On September 19, 2003, $50 million of the borrowings was converted to long-term debt in connection with the Partnership's commitment to issue additional senior notes under the Note Purchase Agreement dated June 19, 2003. 7 4. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT Property and equipment includes: SEPTEMBER 30, DECEMBER 31, 2003 2002 ------------- ------------- (UNAUDITED) (IN THOUSANDS) Land ...................................................................... $ 13,532 $ 13,532 Coal properties ........................................................... 535,143 411,434 Other ..................................................................... 8,464 8,464 ------------- ------------- $ 557,139 $ 433,430 ============= ============= 5. REVOLVING CREDIT FACILITY In connection with the Partnership's initial public offering, its wholly owned operating subsidiary, NRP Operating, entered into a three-year, $100 million revolving credit facility. On April 4, 2003, NRP Operating increased the borrowing capacity under the credit facility to $175 million. The amended credit facility includes increased commitments from the original bank syndicate, led by PNC Bank, as well as commitments from three new banks. The revolving credit facility includes a $12.0 million distribution loan sub-limit that can be used for funding quarterly distributions. The remainder of the revolving credit facility is available for general limited partnership and limited liability company purposes, including future acquisitions, but may not be used to fund quarterly distributions. On June 19, 2003, simultaneous with NRP Operating's issuance of senior notes, NRP Operating adopted a second amendment to its credit facility. This amendment permitted NRP Operating to issue senior unsecured notes through a private placement in an amount up to $175 million, with a portion of the proceeds to be used to reduce the outstanding balance on the revolving credit facility. This amendment also increased the leverage ratio from 2.75 to 1.00 to 3.50 to 1.00. At September 30, 2003, NRP Operating had $8.0 million outstanding under this credit facility. 6. LONG TERM SENIOR NOTES On June 19, 2003, NRP Operating issued $125 million of senior unsecured notes and on September 19, 2003 issued an additional $50 million of senior notes at the same interest rates. The senior notes include: - $60 million of 5.55% senior notes due 2023, with a 10-year average life; - $80 million of 4.91% senior notes due 2018, with a 7.5-year average life; and - $35 million of 5.55% senior notes due 2013 Proceeds from the private placement were used to repay borrowings under NRP Operating's existing revolving credit facility and for expenses associated with the transaction. In anticipation of the private placement on May 12, 2003, NRP Operating entered into a treasury rate hedge with respect to $50 million of the senior notes. In conjunction with the closing of the private placement, NRP Operating paid $1.4 million to settle this treasury rate hedge. Of the $1.4 million paid for the settlement, approximately $0.9 million will be amortized into expense over 20 years, and the balance of approximately $0.5 million has been expensed currently and classified as other income (expense) in the income statement. 7. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS Quintana Minerals Corporation, a company controlled by Corbin J. Robertson, Jr., Chairman and CEO of the Partnership's general partner, provided certain administrative services to the Partnership and charged it for direct costs related to the administrative services. The total expenses charged to the Partnership under this arrangement were approximately $0.2 million and approximately $0.5 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2003. These costs are reflected in the general and administrative expenses in the accompanying statements of income. Western Pocahontas Properties Limited Partnership provides certain administrative services for the Partnership and allocated a portion of its overhead for the period ending September 30, 2003 to the Partnership. The total expenses charged to the Partnership under this arrangement were approximately $0.5 million and approximately $1.5 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2003. These costs are reflected in the general and administrative expenses in the accompanying statements of income. 8 At September 30, 2003, the Partnership had accounts payable to affiliates of approximately $0.3 million, which includes overhead reimbursements to Quintana Minerals Corporation and Western Pocahontas Properties of approximately $0.1 million and $0.2 million, respectively. 8. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES LEGAL The Partnership is involved, from time to time, in various legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. While the ultimate results of these proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, Partnership management believes these claims will not have a material effect on the Partnership's financial position, liquidity or operations. Environmental Compliance The operations conducted on the Partnership's properties by its lessees are subject to environmental laws and regulations adopted by various governmental authorities in the jurisdictions in which these operations are conducted. As an owner of surface interests in some properties, the Partnership may be liable for certain environmental conditions occurring at the surface properties. The terms of substantially all of the Partnership's coal leases require the lessee to comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including environmental laws and regulations. Lessees post reclamation bonds assuring that reclamation will be completed as required by the relevant permit, and substantially all of the leases require the lessee to indemnify the Partnership against, among other things, environmental liabilities. Some of these indemnifications survive the termination of the lease. Because the Partnership has no employees, Western Pocahontas employees make regular visits to the mines to ensure compliance with lease terms, but the duty to comply with all regulations rests with the lessees. Management believes that the Partnership's lessees will be able to comply with existing regulations and does not expect any lessee's failure to comply with environmental laws and regulations to have a material impact on its financial condition or results of operations. The Partnership has neither incurred, nor is aware of, any material environmental charges imposed on it related to its properties for the period ended September 30, 2003. The Partnership is not associated with any environmental contamination that may require remediation costs. However, lessees do conduct reclamation work on the properties under lease to them. Because the Partnership is not the permittee of the mines being reclaimed, it is not responsible for the costs associated with these reclamation operations. In addition, West Virginia has established a fund to satisfy any shortfall in our lessees' reclamation obligations. The Partnership is also indemnified by WPP, GNP, NGCC and Arch Coal, Inc., jointly and severally, until October 17, 2005 against environmental and tax liabilities attributable to the ownership and operation of the assets contributed to the Partnership prior to the closing of the initial public offering. The environmental indemnity is limited to a maximum of $10.0 million. 9 9. MAJOR LESSEES The Partnership depends on a few lessees for a significant portion of its revenues. Revenues from major lessees that exceed ten percent of total revenues are as follows: THREE MONTHS ENDED NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2003 SEPTEMBER 30, 2003 REVENUES PERCENT REVENUES PERCENT -------- ------- -------- ------- (IN THOUSANDS) (IN THOUSANDS) (UNAUDITED) (UNAUDITED) Lessee A .................................................................. $ 3,757 16% $ 10,570 17% Lessee B .................................................................. $ 2,142 9% $ 7,583 12% Lessee C .................................................................. $ 2,333 10% $ 6,623 10% Lessee D .................................................................. $ 2,288 10% $ 6,536 10% 10. INCENTIVE PLANS Prior to the Partnership's initial public offering, GP Natural Resource Partners LLC adopted the Natural Resource Partners Long-Term Incentive Plan (the "Long-Term Incentive Plan") for employees and directors of GP Natural Resource Partners LLC and its affiliates who perform services for the Partnership. The compensation committee of GP Natural Resource Partners LLC's board of directors administers the Long-Term Incentive Plan. Subject to the rules of the exchange upon which the common units are listed at the time, the board of directors and the compensation committee of the board of directors have the right to alter or amend the Long-Term Incentive Plan or any part of the Long-Term Incentive Plan from time to time. Except upon the occurrence of unusual or nonrecurring events, no change in any outstanding grant may be made that would materially reduce the benefit intended to be made available to a participant without the consent of the participant. On August 19, 2003, the compensation committee amended the Long-Term Incentive Plan to provide only for the issuance of phantom units that are payable solely in cash. In connection with the amendment to the Long-Term Incentive Plan, the compensation committee terminated all of the existing option grants and issued to all of the holders of terminated options a number of phantom units equivalent in value to the terminated options. A phantom unit entitles the grantee to receive the fair market value in cash of a common unit upon the vesting of the phantom unit. The compensation committee may make grants under the Long-Term Incentive Plan to employees and directors containing such terms as the compensation committee determines. The compensation committee will determine the period over which the phantom units granted to employees and directors will vest. In addition, the phantom units will vest upon a change in control of the Partnership, the general partner, or GP Natural Resource Partners LLC. If a grantee's employment or membership on the board of directors terminates for any reason, the grantee's phantom units will be automatically forfeited unless and to the extent the compensation committee provides otherwise. GP Natural Resource Partners LLC adopted the Natural Resource Partners Annual Incentive Compensation Plan (the "Annual Incentive Plan") in October 2002. The Annual Incentive Plan is designed to enhance the performance of GP Natural Resource Partners LLC's and its affiliates' key employees by rewarding them with cash awards for achieving annual financial and operational performance objectives. The compensation committee in its discretion may determine individual participants and payments, if any, for each year. The board of directors of GP Natural Resource Partners LLC may amend or change the Annual Incentive Plan at any time. The Partnership reimburses GP Natural Resource Partners LLC for payments and costs incurred under the Annual Incentive Plan. At September 30, 2003, 155,303 phantom units have been granted under the Long-Term Incentive Plan. The Partnership accrued expenses to be reimbursed to GP Natural Resource Partners LLC of $1.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2003 related to these plans. 11. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS The Pinnacle mine in West Virginia, on the Partnership's reserves under lease to Pinnacle Mining Company, LLC, has been idled since early September. According to Pinnacle's management, the closure of the mine is due to a ventilation disruption most likely caused by a lightning strike to a borehole in a mined out area of the mine. After having established an inert atmosphere in the mine, 10 Pinnacle has now begun to ventilate the mine to determine the current status of the disruption. Pinnacle's management continues to work with the appropriate state and federal agencies, as well as the employees' union, to reopen the mine. However, it is uncertain when the mine can be brought back into production. The idling of the mine had a minimal impact on the Partnership's third quarter results because Pinnacle continued to ship coal from its inventory for several weeks after the mine shut down. Prior to the disruption, the Partnership's estimated fourth quarter 2003 royalty from the mine was approximately $1.6 million. On October 23, 2003, the Partnership declared a quarterly distribution of $0.5375 per unit payable on November 14, 2003 to unitholders of record on November 3, 2003. This distribution represents an increase of $0.015 over the previous quarterly distribution and equates to an annualized distribution of $2.15 per unit. 11 WESTERN POCAHONTAS PROPERTIES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP STATEMENTS OF INCOME (IN THOUSANDS) (UNAUDITED) THREE MONTHS NINE MONTHS ENDED ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 2002 ------------- ------------- Revenues: Coal royalties ....................................................... $ 5,907 $ 16,220 Timber royalties ..................................................... 1,002 2,620 Gain on sale of property ............................................. 7 92 Property taxes ....................................................... 548 1,186 Other ................................................................ 383 1,128 ------------- ------------- Total revenues .................................................. 7,847 21,246 Expenses: General and administrative ........................................... 644 2,193 Taxes other than income .............................................. 610 1,392 Depreciation, depletion and amortization ............................. 1,324 3,337 ------------- ------------- Total expenses .................................................. 2,578 6,922 ------------- ------------- Income from operations .................................................... 5,269 14,324 Other income (expenses): Interest expense ..................................................... (1,591) (4,520) Interest income ...................................................... 33 106 Reversionary interest ................................................ -- (561) ------------- ------------- Net income ................................................................ $ 3,711 $ 9,349 ============= ============= The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 12 WESTERN POCAHONTAS PROPERTIES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (IN THOUSANDS) (UNAUDITED) NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 ------------- Cash flows from operating activities: Net income .............................................................. $ 9,349 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation, depletion and amortization .............................. 3,337 Gain on sale of property .............................................. (92) Change in operating assets and liabilities Accounts receivable ................................................ (2,559) Other assets ....................................................... (67) Accrued liabilities ................................................ (106) Deferred revenues .................................................. 756 Reversionary interest payable ...................................... (865) ------------- Net cash provided by operating activities ........................ 9,753 Cash flows from investing activities: Proceeds from sale of properties ........................................ 92 Capital expenditures .................................................... (35,120) ------------- Net cash used in investing activities ............................ (35,028) Cash flows from financing activities: Proceeds from financing ................................................. 45,000 Deferred financing costs ................................................ (1,287) Repayment of notes payable .............................................. (7,848) Repayment of debt ....................................................... (2,204) Distributions to partners ............................................... (6,800) Cash placed in restricted accounts, net ................................. (45) Cash placed in escrow ................................................... 1,000 ------------- Net cash provided by financing activities ........................ 27,816 ------------- Net increase in cash and cash equivalents ................................. 2,541 Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period .......................... 4,415 ------------- Cash and cash equivalents at end of period ................................ $ 6,956 ============= Supplemental cash flow information: Cash paid during the period for interest ................................ $ 4,520 ============= The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 13 WESTERN POCAHONTAS PROPERTIES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 1. BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND ORGANIZATION The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2002 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for future periods. For further information, refer to the financial statements and footnotes of Western Pocahontas Properties Limited Partnership for the period through October 16, 2002 included in the Natural Resource Partners L.P. Form 10-K, as filed on March 28, 2003. Western Pocahontas Properties Limited Partnership (the "Partnership"), a Delaware limited partnership, was formed in 1986 to own and manage land and mineral rights and timber located in West Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, Maryland and Indiana. Western Pocahontas Corporation ("WPC"), a Texas corporation, serves as the general partner. All items of income and loss of the Partnership are allocated 1% to the general partner and 99% to the limited partners. The Partnership enters into leases with various third-party operators for the right to mine coal reserves and harvest timber on the Partnership's land in exchange for royalty payments. Generally, the coal lessees make payments to the Partnership based on the greater of a percentage of the gross sales price or a fixed price per ton of coal they sell, subject to minimum annual or quarterly payments. The timber lessees make payments to the Partnership based on pre-determined rates per board foot harvested. In connection with the formation of Natural Resource Partners L.P. and its initial public offering of limited partnership units, the Partnership transferred certain coal royalty producing properties that were currently under lease to coal mine operators to Natural Resource Partners L.P. on October 17, 2002, at historical cost. The Partnership also transferred a portion of its deferred revenue and long-term debt to Natural Resource Partners L.P. and retained a coal reserve property that is leased to a third party and is experiencing permitting problems. Additionally, the Partnership retained unleased coal reserve properties, surface land and timberlands. 2. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS A company controlled by the owner of WPC provides certain administrative services to the Partnership and charges the Partnership for the direct costs related to the administrative services. The total expenses charged to the Partnership under this arrangement were approximately $99,000 and $290,000 for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2002, respectively. These costs are reflected in the general and administrative expenses in the accompanying statements of income. The Partnership has a management contract to provide certain management, engineering and accounting services to Great Northern Properties Limited Partnership ("GNP"), a limited partnership which has certain common ownership with the Partnership. The contract provides for a $250,000 annual fee, which is intended to reimburse the Partnership for its expense. The fees for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2002, were $62,500 and $187,500, respectively, and are included in other revenue in the accompanying statement of income. The contract may be canceled upon 90 days advance notice by GNP. 14 GREAT NORTHERN PROPERTIES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP STATEMENTS OF INCOME (IN THOUSANDS) (UNAUDITED) THREE MONTHS NINE MONTHS ENDED ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 2002 ------------- ------------- Revenues: Coal royalties ....................................................... $ 1,928 $ 5,370 Lease and easement income ............................................ 86 468 Other ................................................................ 36 112 ------------- ------------- Total revenues .................................................. 2,050 5,950 Expenses: General and administrative ........................................... 145 418 Taxes other than income .............................................. 24 68 Depletion and amortization ........................................... 662 1,865 ------------- ------------- Total expenses .................................................. 831 2,351 ------------- ------------- Income from operations .................................................... 1,219 3,599 Other income (expenses): Interest expense ..................................................... (591) (1,732) Interest income ...................................................... 37 102 ------------- ------------- Net income ................................................................ $ 665 $ 1,969 ============= ============= The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 15 GREAT NORTHERN PROPERTIES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (IN THOUSANDS) (UNAUDITED) NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 ------------- Cash flows from operating activities: Net income .............................................................. $ 1,969 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: Depletion and amortization ........................................... 1,865 Deferred revenue ..................................................... 33 Change in operating assets and liabilities Accounts receivable ................................................ (90) Other assets ....................................................... (8) Accounts payable and accrued interest .............................. (45) ------------- Net cash provided by operating activities ....................... 3,724 ------------- Cash flows from investing activities: Net cash provided by investing activities ....................... -- ------------- Cash flows from financing activities: Repayment of debt ....................................................... (1,125) Partners' distributions ................................................. (661) Cash placed in restricted accounts, net ................................. (2,269) ------------- Net cash used in financing activities ........................... (4,055) ------------- Net increase in cash and cash equivalents ................................. (331) Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period .......................... 749 ------------- Cash and cash equivalents at end of period ................................ $ 418 ============= Supplemental cash flow information: Cash paid during the period for interest ................................ $ 1,729 ============= The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 16 GREAT NORTHERN PROPERTIES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 1. BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND ORGANIZATION The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2002 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for future periods. For further information, refer to the financial statements and footnotes of Great Northern Properties Limited Partnership for the period through October 16, 2002 included in the Natural Resource Partners L.P. Form 10-K, as filed on March 28, 2003. Great Northern Properties Limited Partnership (the "Partnership"), a Delaware limited partnership, was formed in 1992 to own and manage land and mineral rights located in Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Illinois and Washington. GNP Management Corporation ("GNP"), a Delaware corporation, serves as its general partner. All items of income and loss of the Partnership are allocated 1% to the general partner and 99% to the limited partners. In 1999, a limited partner's interest in the Partnership was redeemed by the partners for $1,000. The Partnership enters into leases with various coal mine operators for the right to mine coal reserves on the Partnership's land in exchange for royalty payments. Generally, the lessees make payments to the Partnership based on the greater of a percentage of the gross sales price or a fixed price per ton of coal they sell, subject to minimum annual or quarterly payments. In connection with the formation of Natural Resource Partners L.P. and its initial public offering of limited partnership units, the Partnership transferred certain coal royalty producing properties that were currently under lease to coal mine operators to Natural Resource Partners L.P. on October 17, 2002, at historical cost. The Partnership also transferred a portion of its deferred revenue and long-term debt to Natural Resource Partners L.P. and retained unleased coal reserve properties and surface land. 2. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS The Partnership has a management contract to receive management, engineering and accounting services from Western Pocahontas Properties Limited Partnership ("WPP"), a limited partnership which has some common ownership with the Partnership. The contract provides for a $250,000 fee to be paid annually, of which $62,500 and $187,500 are reflected in general and administrative expenses in the statements of income for the three and six month periods ended September 30, 2002, respectively. The contract may be canceled upon 90 days advance notice to the Partnership. 17 NEW GAULEY COAL CORPORATION STATEMENTS OF INCOME (IN THOUSANDS) (UNAUDITED) THREE MONTHS NINE MONTHS ENDED ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 2002 ------------- ------------- Revenues: Coal royalties ....................................................... $ 398 $ 1,336 Other ................................................................ 20 72 ------------- ------------- Total revenues .................................................. 418 1,408 Expenses: General and administrative ........................................... (5) 54 Taxes other than income .............................................. 27 38 Depletion and amortization ........................................... 48 127 ------------- ------------- Total expenses .................................................. 70 219 ------------- ------------- Income from operations .................................................... 348 1,189 Other income (expenses): Interest expense ..................................................... (31) (95) Interest income ...................................................... 7 22 Reversionary interest ................................................ (69) (103) ------------- ------------- Net income ................................................................ $ 255 $ 1,013 ============= ============= The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 18 NEW GAULEY COAL CORPORATION STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (IN THOUSANDS) (UNAUDITED) NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 ------------- Cash flows from operating activities: Net income .............................................................. $ 1,013 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: Depletion and amortization ........................................... 127 Decrease in deferred revenues ........................................ (251) Change in operating assets and liabilities Accounts receivable ................................................ (23) Other assets ....................................................... (6) Accrued liabilities ................................................ (19) ------------- Net cash provided by operating activities .................................................... 841 ------------- Cash flows from investing activities: Net cash used in investing activities ........................... -- ------------- Cash flows from financing activities: Repayment of debt ....................................................... (74) Dividends ............................................................... (400) ------------- Net cash used in financing activities ........................... (474) ------------- Net increase in cash and cash equivalents ................................. 367 Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period .......................... 399 ------------- Cash and cash equivalents at end of period ................................ $ 766 ============= Supplemental cash flow information: Cash paid during the period for interest ................................ $ 95 ============= The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 19 NEW GAULEY COAL CORPORATION NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 1. BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND ORGANIZATION The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2002 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for future periods. For further information, refer to the financial statements and footnotes of New Gauley Coal Corporation for the period through October 16, 2002 included in the Natural Resource Partners L.P. Form 10-K, as filed on March 28, 2003. New Gauley Coal Corporation (the "Company"), a West Virginia subchapter S corporation, was incorporated in 1918 to own and manage land and mineral rights. The Company owns property in Alabama and West Virginia. The Company enters into leases with various coal mine operators for the right to mine coal reserves on the Company's land in exchange for royalty payments. Generally, the lessees make payments to the Company based on the greater of a percentage of the gross sales price or a fixed price per ton of coal they sell, subject to minimum annual or quarterly payments. In connection with the formation of Natural Resource Partners L.P. and its initial public offering of limited partnership units, the Company transferred certain coal royalty producing properties that were currently under lease to coal mine operators to Natural Resource Partners L.P. on October 17, 2002, at historical cost. The Company transferred a portion of its deferred revenue and long-term debt to Natural Resource Partners L.P. and retained unleased coal reserve properties and surface land. 20 ARCH COAL CONTRIBUTED PROPERTIES STATEMENTS OF REVENUES AND DIRECT COSTS AND EXPENSES (IN THOUSANDS) (UNAUDITED) THREE MONTHS NINE MONTHS ENDED ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 2002 ------------- ------------- Revenues Coal royalties................................. $ 4,971 $ 13,851 Other royalties................................ 369 1,294 Property taxes................................. 268 806 --------- ----------- Total revenues............................ 5,608 15,951 --------- ----------- Direct Costs and Expenses Depletion...................................... 1,634 4,603 Property taxes................................. 268 806 Other expense.................................. 101 512 --------- ----------- Total expenses............................ 2,003 5,921 --------- ----------- Excess of revenue over direct costs and expenses.... $ 3,605 $ 10,030 ========= =========== The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 21 ARCH COAL CONTRIBUTED PROPERTIES NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 1. BASIS OF PRESENTATION Ark Land Company ("Ark Land") is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arch Coal, Inc. ("Arch Coal"). Ark Land owns and manages land and mineral rights primarily located in the Western, Central Appalachian and the Illinois Basins. In conjunction with the formation of Natural Resource Partners L.P. ("NRP"), Ark Land contributed a number of owned land and coal interests on which coal leasing activity occurs ("Contributed Properties") to NRP. Ark Land retained owned land and mineral reserves with no leasing activity as well as other land and mineral reserves controlled through leasing arrangements. The Contributed Properties was not a legal entity and, except for revenues earned from the properties and certain direct costs and expenses of the properties and assets acquired and liabilities assumed, no separate financial information was maintained. The Contributed Properties did not maintain stand-alone corporate treasury, legal, tax, human resources, general administration and other similar corporate support functions. Corporate general and administrative expenses have not been allocated to the Contributed Properties, nor were they allocated in connection with the preparation of the accompanying statement because there was not sufficient information to develop a reasonable cost allocation. The accompanying Statement of Revenues and Direct Costs and Expenses is not intended to be a complete presentation of the results of operations of the Contributed Properties. The accompanying statement has been prepared to comply with the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission for inclusion in the quarterly report on Form 10-Q of NRP. For further information, refer to the financial statements and footnotes of Arch Coal Contributed Properties for the period through October 16, 2002 included in Natural Resource Partners L.P. Form 10-K, as filed on March 28, 2003. In connection with the formation of Natural Resource Partners L.P. and the consummation of its initial public offering of limited partnership units, Arch Coal transferred certain coal royalty producing properties that were currently under lease to coal mine operators to Natural Resource Partners L.P. on October 17, 2002 at fair market value. 2. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS Certain of the Contributed Properties were leased to affiliates of Arch Coal that mine on the properties. Contracted royalty rates from these affiliates ("affiliate royalties") for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2002 were 6.5% of the gross sales price of coal sold from the property using underground mining methods and 7.5% of the gross sales price of coal sold from the property using surface mining methods, which are similar to those that are received from third parties. Affiliate royalties amounted to $2.5 and $7.3 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2002. 22 ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS The following discussion of the financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the historical financial statements and notes thereto included elsewhere in this filing and the financial statements and footnotes included in the Natural Resource Partners L.P. Form 10-K, as filed on March 28, 2003. For more detailed information regarding the basis of presentation for the following financial information, see the notes to the historical financial statements. After the Introduction, there is a separate section for each of Natural Resource Partners L.P., Western Pocahontas Properties Limited Partnership, Great Northern Properties Limited Partnership, New Gauley Coal Corporation (collectively, the "WPP Group") and the Arch Coal Contributed Properties. The Arch Coal Contributed Properties include the properties contributed to us by Ark Land Company, a subsidiary of Arch Coal, Inc. INTRODUCTION Natural Resource Partners L.P. is a master limited partnership formed by the WPP Group and Arch Coal, Inc. We engage principally in the business of owning and managing coal properties in the three major coal-producing regions of the United States: Appalachia, the Illinois basin and the Western United States. We completed our initial public offering in October 2002. We lease coal reserves to experienced mine operators under long-term leases that grant the operators the right to mine our coal reserves in exchange for royalty payments. As of September 30, 2003, our reserves were located on 49 separate properties and were subject to 107 leases with 46 lessees. For the nine months ended September 30, 2003, approximately 62% of the coal produced from our properties came from underground mines and 38% came from surface mines. As of September 30, 2003, approximately 64% of our reserves were low sulfur coal. Included in our low sulfur reserves is compliance coal, which meets the standards imposed by the Clean Air Act and constitutes at least 20% of our reserves. Coal produced from our properties is burned in electric power plants located east of the Mississippi River and in Montana and Minnesota. In the nine months ended September 30, 2003, our lessees produced 33.4 million tons of coal from our properties and our coal royalty revenues totaled $55.4 million. We also recognized $1.6 million in minimum royalties from our lessees. Our revenue and profitability are almost entirely dependent on our lessees' ability to mine and market our coal reserves. Coal royalties are paid to us on the basis of a percentage of the sales price of the coal, subject to a minimum royalty per ton. In addition, our leases specify minimum monthly, quarterly or annual royalties. These minimum royalties are generally recoupable over a specified period of time (usually three to five years) if sufficient royalties are generated from coal production in future periods. We do not recognize these minimum coal royalties as revenue until the applicable recoupment period has expired or they are recouped through production. Until recognized as revenue, these minimum royalties are carried as deferred revenue, a liability on the balance sheet. The majority of our coal is produced by nine publicly held companies with professional and sophisticated sales departments. We estimate that 80% of our coal is sold by our lessees under coal supply contracts that have terms of one year or more. Coal supply contracts with terms of one year or more are becoming increasingly rare. Thus, our coal royalty revenue stream is increasingly affected by changes in market price of coal. Coal prices are based on supply and demand, specific coal characteristics, economics of alternative fuel, and overall domestic and international economic conditions. During the first nine months of 2003, approximately 23% of our coal royalty revenues were from metallurgical coal. Prices of metallurgical coal have remained relatively stable in the past two years. Metallurgical coal, because of its unique chemical characteristics, is usually priced higher than steam coal. Metallurgical coal can also be used as steam coal. However, some metallurgical coal mines on our properties may only operate profitably if all or a portion of their production is sold as metallurgical coal. If the operators of these mines are unable to sell metallurgical coal, these mines may not be economically viable and may close. In addition to coal royalty revenue, we generate nominal revenue from rentals, royalties on oil and gas and coalbed methane leases, an overriding royalty arrangement and wheelage payments, which are toll payments for the right to transport third-party coal over or through our property. Most lessees are required to reimburse us for property taxes paid on the leased property. These property tax reimbursements are shown as revenue in the financial statements. The corresponding property tax expenses are included as "taxes other than income." Property tax expenses are higher than property tax revenue because certain properties are unleased and, therefore, no reimbursements are received. 23 General and administrative expenses include salary and benefits, rent, expenses and other costs related to managing the properties. An affiliate charges the WPP Group for certain finance, tax, treasury and insurance expenses. The Arch Coal Contributed Properties did not maintain stand-alone corporate treasury, legal, tax, human resources, general administration or other similar corporate support functions. Corporate general and administrative expenses were not previously allocated to the Arch Coal Contributed Properties because there was not sufficient information to develop a reasonable cost allocation. We reimburse the general partner and its affiliates for direct and indirect expenses they incur on our behalf, including general and administrative expenses. Depletion and amortization consist primarily of depletion on the coal properties. Depletion of coal reserves is calculated on a unit-of-production basis on each property and thus fluctuates from period to period depending on where coal is produced during the period. ACQUISITIONS PinnOak Acquisition. In July 2003, the Partnership completed its acquisition of approximately 78 million tons of proven coal reserves and an overriding royalty interest on additional coal from subsidiaries of PinnOak Resources, LLC for $58 million. The $58 million purchase price had been placed into an escrow account on June 30, 2003 in connection with the execution of the purchase and sale agreement. The transaction was initially funded through the Partnership's existing credit facility. On September 19, 2003, $50 million of the borrowings was converted to long-term debt in connection with the Partnership's commitment to issue additional senior notes under the Note Purchase Agreement dated June 19, 2003. CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES Coal Royalties. We recognize coal royalty revenues on the basis of tons of coal sold by our lessees and the corresponding revenue from those sales. Generally, the lessees make payments to us based on the greater of a percentage of the gross sales price or a fixed price per ton of coal they sell, subject to minimum monthly, quarterly or annual payments. These minimum royalty payments are generally recoupable over certain time periods. We initially record minimum payments as deferred revenue and recognize them as coal royalty revenues either when the lessee recoups the minimum payment through production or when the period during which the lessee is allowed to recoup the minimum payment expires. Depletion. We deplete coal properties on a unit-of-production basis by lease, based upon coal mined in relation to the net cost of the mineral properties and estimated proved and probable tonnage in those properties. We estimate proven and probable coal reserves with the assistance of third-party mining consultants and involve the use of estimation techniques and recoverability assumptions. Our estimates of coal reserves are updated periodically and may result in adjustments to coal reserves and depletion rates that are recognized prospectively. NEW ACCOUNTING STANDARDS In June 2001, the FASB issued SFAS No. 143, "Accounting for Asset Retirement Obligations." SFAS No. 143 requires that the fair value of a liability for an asset retirement obligation be recognized in the period in which it is incurred with the associated asset retirement cost being capitalized as a part of the carrying amount of the long-lived asset. SFAS No. 143 also includes disclosure requirements that provide a description of asset retirement obligations and a reconciliation of changes in the components of those obligations. The operators of mines on our leased property are responsible for asset retirement obligations. Therefore, the adoption of SFAS No. 143 on January 1, 2003 did not have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations. In August 2001, the FASB issued SFAS No. 144, "Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets." SFAS No. 144 addresses the accounting and reporting for the impairment or disposal of long-lived assets and supersedes SFAS No. 121, "Accounting for the Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and for Long-Lived Assets to be Disposed Of" and APB Opinion No. 30, "Reporting the Results of Operations -- Reporting the Effects of the Disposal of a Segment of a Business, and Extraordinary, Unusual and Infrequently Occurring Events and Transactions." The objective of SFAS No. 144 is to establish one accounting model for long-lived assets to be disposed of by sale as well as resolve implementation issues related to SFAS No. 121. The adoption of SFAS No. 144, effective January 1, 2002, did not have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations. In April 2002, the FASB issued SFAS No. 145, "Rescission of FASB Statements No. 4, 44 and 62, Amendment of FASB Statement No. 13, and Technical Corrections." Among other things, SFAS No. 145 requires gains and losses on extinguishments of debt to be classified as income or loss from continuing operations rather than as extraordinary items as previously required under SFAS No. 4. The provisions of this Statement related to the rescission of SFAS No. 4 shall be applied in fiscal years beginning after May 15, 2002. Adoption of SFAS No. 145 on January 1, 2003 did not have a material impact on our financial position or results of 24 operations. In July 2002, the FASB issued SFAS No. 146 "Accounting for Costs Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities", which supercedes EITF No. 94-3, "Liability Recognition for Certain Employment Termination Benefits and Other Costs to Exit an Activity". SFAS No. 146 requires companies to record liabilities for costs associated with exit or disposal activities to be recognized only when the liability is incurred instead of at the date of commitment to an exit or disposal activity. Adoption of this standard is effective for exit or disposal activities that are initiated after December 31, 2002. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a significant impact on our financial statements. In April 2003, the FASB issued SFAS No. 149, "Amendment of Statement 133 on Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities." SFAS 149 amends SFAS 133 as a result of: - Decisions previously made as part of the Derivatives Implementation Group (DIG) process, - Changes made in connection with other Board projects dealing with financial instruments, and - Deliberations in connection with issues raised in relation to the application of the definition of a derivative. SFAS No. 149 is effective for contracts entered into or modified after June 30, 2003, and for hedging relationships designated after June 30, 2003. However, the provisions of SFAS No. 149 that merely represent the codification of previous Derivatives Implementation Group decisions are already effective and should continue to be applied in accordance with their prior respective effective dates. Management does not expect SFAS No. 149 to have a material adverse impact on the Partnership's results of operations, financial position or liquidity. SFAS No. 150, "Accounting for Certain Financial Instruments with Characteristics of both Liabilities and Equity" was issued in May 2003. SFAS No. 150 requires certain financial instruments that embody obligations of the issuer and have characteristics of both liabilities and equity to be classified as liabilities. Many of these instruments previously were classified as equity or temporary equity and as such, SFAS No. 150 represents a significant change in practice in the accounting for a number of financial instruments, including mandatorily redeemable equity instruments and certain equity derivatives that frequently are used in connection with share repurchase programs. SFAS No. 150 is effective for public companies for all financial instruments created or modified after May 31, 2003, and to other instruments at the beginning of the first interim period beginning after June 15, 2003 (July 1, 2003 for calendar quarter companies). The adoption of SFAS No. 150 did not have a material impact on the Partnership's results of operations, financial position or liquidity. On January 17, 2003, FASB issued Interpretation No. 46 ("FIN 46") "Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities "FIN No. 46"", which addresses consolidation by business enterprises of variable interest entities. FIN No. 46 clarifies the application of Accounting Research Bulletin No. 51, "Consolidated Financial Statements", to certain entities in which equity investors do not have the characteristics of a controlling financial interest or do not have sufficient equity at risk for the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties. FIN No. 46 applies immediately to variable interest entities created after January 31, 2003, and to variable interest entities in which an enterprise obtains an interest after that date. It applies in the first fiscal year or interim period beginning after December 15, 2003, to variable interest entities in which an enterprise holds a variable interest that it acquired before February 1, 2003. Management does not expect FIN No. 46 to have a material adverse impact on the Partnership's results of operations, financial position or liquidity. 25 RESULTS OF OPERATIONS NATURAL RESOURCE PARTNERS L.P. THREE MONTHS NINE MONTHS ENDED ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 2003 2003 ------------- ------------- (IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER TON DATA) (UNAUDITED) Revenues: Coal royalties....................................... $ 20,796 $ 55,393 Property taxes....................................... 1,330 3,519 Minimums recognized as revenue....................... 347 1,606 Override royalties................................... 152 813 Other................................................ 914 2,117 ----------- ----------- Total revenues....................................... 23,539 63,448 Expenses: Depletion and amortization........................... 6,848 19,021 General and administrative........................... 2,197 6,504 Taxes other than income.............................. 1,676 4,257 Override payments.................................... -- 386 Coal royalty payments................................ 263 576 ----------- ----------- Total expenses....................................... 10,984 30,744 ----------- ----------- Income from operations................................. 12,555 32,704 Other income (expense): Interest expense..................................... (2,499) (4,096) Interest income...................................... 56 159 Loss from interest rate hedge........................ -- (499) ----------- ----------- Net income............................................. $ 10,112 $ 28,268 =========== =========== Other Data: Coal royalties Appalachia........................................... $ 18,247 $ 47,846 Illinois Basin....................................... 938 2,773 Northern Powder River Basin.......................... 1,611 4,774 ----------- ----------- Total............................................. $ 20,796 $ 55,393 =========== =========== Production Appalachia........................................... 10,081 27,041 Illinois Basin....................................... 818 2,368 Northern Powder River Basin.......................... 1,292 3,976 ----------- ----------- Total............................................. 12,191 33,385 =========== =========== Average gross royalty per ton Appalachia........................................... $ 1.81 $ 1.77 Illinois Basin....................................... 1.15 1.17 Northern Powder River Basin.......................... 1.25 1.20 ----------- ----------- Total $ 1.71 $ 1.66 =========== =========== THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2003 Revenues. For the three month period ending September 30, 2003, coal royalty revenues were $20.8 million on 12.2 million tons of coal produced. Approximately 83% of the coal tonnage produced came from the Appalachian region, 11% from the Northern Powder River Basin and 6% from the Illinois Basin. The results include coal royalty revenues generated from our acquisition of 78 million tons of coal reserves from PinnOak Resources in June 2003. Expenses. For the three month period ending September 30, 2003, total expenses were $11.0 million, including depletion and amortization of $6.8 million, or 62%, general and administrative expense of $2.2 million, or 20%, taxes other than income of $1.7 million, or 15%, and coal royalty payments of $0.3 million, or 3%. General and administrative expenses consist of compensation 26 expense of $1.5 million, including $0.7 million for accrued incentive plan expenses, all of which will be reimbursed to the general partner. Also contributing to general and administrative expense were charges relating to the year-end audit, tax returns and annual report expense. Taxes other than income include property taxes of $1.2 million and state franchise taxes of $0.2 million. NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2003 Revenues. For the nine months ended September 30, 2003, coal royalty revenues were $55.4 million on 33.4 million tons of coal produced. Approximately 81% of the coal tonnage produced came from the Appalachian region, 12% from the Northern Powder River Basin and 7% from the Illinois Basin. The results include coal royalty revenues generated from our acquisition of an overriding interest from Alpha Natural Resources in February 2003, over 300 million tons of coal reserves from Alpha Natural Resources in April 2003, and 78 million tons of coal reserves from PinnOak Resources in July 2003. Expenses. For the nine months ended September 30, 2003, total expenses were $30.7 million, including depletion and amortization of $19.0 million, or 62%, general and administrative expense of $6.5 million, or 21%, and taxes other than income of $4.3 million, or 14%, and coal royalty payments of $0.6 million, or 3%. General and administrative expenses consist of compensation expense of $4.0 million, including $1.5 million for accrued incentive plan expenses, all of which will be reimbursed to the general partner. THREE AND NINE MONTH COMPARISON OF OPERATING STATISTICS The following table sets forth coal royalty revenues, production, and average gross royalty per ton from our properties for the three and nine months ending September 30, 2003 and 2002, respectively. The coal royalty revenues and production for 2002 are from properties that were contributed to us on October 17, 2002. Coal royalty revenues were generated from the properties in each of the following areas: Appalachia, Illinois Basin and Northern Powder River Basin. OPERATING STATISTICS (IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER TON DATA) (UNAUDITED) THREE MONTHS THREE MONTHS NINE MONTHS NINE MONTHS ENDED ENDED ENDED ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 2003 2002 2003 2002 ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- Coal Royalties Appalachia ................... $ 18,247 $ 10,333 $ 47,846 $ 28,859 Illinois Basin ............... 938 818 2,773 2,102 Northern Powder River Basin .. 1,611 1,555 4,774 4,214 -------- -------- -------- -------- Total ................... $ 20,796 $ 12,706 $ 55,393 $ 35,175 ======== ======== ======== ======== Production Appalachia ................... 10,081 5,730 27,041 16,065 Illinois Basin ............... 818 678 2,368 1,696 Northern Powder River Basin .. 1,292 1,454 3,976 3,836 -------- -------- -------- -------- Total ................... 12,191 7,862 33,385 21,597 ======== ======== ======== ======== Average gross royalty per ton Appalachia ................... $ 1.81 $ 1.80 $ 1.77 $ 1.80 Illinois Basin ............... 1.15 1.21 1.17 1.24 Northern Powder River Basin .. 1.25 1.07 1.20 1.10 -------- -------- -------- -------- Total ................... $ 1.71 $ 1.62 $ 1.66 $ 1.63 ======== ======== ======== ======== THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2003 COMPARED WITH THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 Coal royalty revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2003 were $20.8 million compared to $12.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2002, an increase of $8.1 million, or 64%. Production increased by 4.3 million tons, or 54%, from 7.9 million tons to 12.2 million tons. The increases in production and coal royalties were primarily due to: 27 Appalachia. Production from the properties we acquired from El Paso in December 2002, Alpha Natural Resources in February and April 2003, and PinnOak in July 2003 resulted in production of 4.6 million tons and coal royalty revenues of $8.1 million. Production from our Eunice property increased from 384,000 tons to 726,000 tons and coal royalty revenues increased from $650,000 to $1.2 million due to a longwall mine moving onto the property from adjacent property. On our West Fork property, production increased from 626,000 tons to 792,000 tons, and coal royalty revenues increased from $1.4 to $1.7 million due to higher shipments from inventory during the current quarter. On our Campbells Creek property, production decreased from 286,000 tons to 145,000 tons and royalty revenues decreased from $519,000 to $304,000 due to the idling of one production unit in the mine. On our Pardee property, production decreased from 332,000 tons to 202,000 tons, and coal royalty revenues decreased from $614,000 to $429,000 due to a lower proportion of the underground mine tonnage being produced from our property. Illinois Basin. On our Cummings/Hocking Wolford property, production increased from 280,000 tons to 470,000 tons, and coal royalty revenues increased from $281,000 to $467,000 due to a higher proportion of production being on our property instead of adjacent property. Northern Powder River. Production from our Western Energy property increased from 994,000 tons to 1.1 million tons, and coal royalty revenues increased from $982,000 to $1.1 million. This increase was due to a higher proportion of the production coming from our property instead of adjacent property, which is typical of the variations in production resulting from the checkerboard ownership of this mine. This was offset by lower production at our Big Sky property from 461,000 tons to 145,000 tons and coal royalty revenues decreased from $427,000 to $135,000. This was also due to a higher proportion of tonnage being mined from adjacent property. NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2003 COMPARED WITH THE NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 Coal royalty revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2003 were $55.4 million compared to $35.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2002, an increase of $20.2 million, or 57%. Production increased by 11.8 million tons, or 55%, from 21.6 million tons to 33.4 million tons. The increases in production and coal royalties were primarily due to: Appalachia. Production from the properties we acquired from El Paso in December 2002, Alpha Natural Resources in February and April 2003, and PinnOak in June 2003 resulted in production of 9.9 million tons and coal royalty revenues of $16.4 million. Production from our West Fork property increased from 1.3 million tons to 2.1 million tons, and coal royalty revenues increased from $3.0 million to $4.6 million because a longwall mine moved onto our property from adjacent property. On our Davis Lumber property, production increased from zero tons to 458,000 tons, and coal royalty revenues increased from $0 to $623,000 due to the resumption of mining at a temporarily idled mine. Illinois Basin. On our Cummings/Hocking Wolford property, production increased from 706,000 tons to 1.3 million tons, and coal royalty revenues increased from $704,000 to $1.4 million due to a higher proportion of production being on our property instead of adjacent property. Northern Powder River. Production from our Western Energy property increased from 2.4 million tons to 3.3 million tons, and coal royalty revenues increased from $2.9 million to $4.1 million. This increase was due to a higher proportion of the production coming from our property instead of adjacent property, which is typical of the variations in production resulting from the checkerboard ownership of this mine. This was partially offset by a decrease in production at our Big Sky property where production decreased from 1.4 million tons to 713,000 tons, and coal royalty revenues decreased from $1.3 million to $660,000. This decrease was due to a higher proportion of the production coming from adjacent property, which is typical of the variations in production resulting from the checkerboard ownership of this mine. 28 WESTERN POCAHONTAS PROPERTIES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP THREE MONTHS NINE MONTHS ENDED ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 2002 ------------- ------------- (IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER TON DATA) (UNAUDITED) Revenues: Coal royalties....................................... $ 5,907 $ 16,220 Timber royalties..................................... 1,002 2,620 Gain on sale of property............................. 7 92 Property taxes....................................... 548 1,186 Other................................................ 383 1,128 ---------- ----------- Total revenues.................................. 7,847 21,246 Expenses: General and administrative........................... 644 2,193 Taxes other than income.............................. 610 1,392 Depreciation, depletion and amortization............. 1,324 3,337 ---------- ----------- Total expenses.................................. 2,578 6,922 ---------- ----------- Income from operations.................................... 5,269 14,324 Other income (expenses): Interest expense..................................... (1,591) (4,520) Interest income...................................... 33 106 Reversionary interest................................ -- (561) ---------- ----------- Net income................................................ $ 3,711 $ 9,349 ========== =========== Production................................................ 3,280 9,008 Average gross royalty per ton............................. $ 1.80 $ 1.80 THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 Revenues. Total revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2002 were $7.8 million, of which coal royalty revenues were $5.9 million, or 76%. Coal production during the period was 3.3 million tons, with an average gross royalty rate per ton of $1.80. The following properties were the major contributors to revenue: Appalachia. Production from our West Fork property was 626,000 tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $1.4 million. Production from our Evans-Laviers property was 890,000 tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $1.1 million. Production from our Eunice property was 384,000 tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $650,000. Production from our Dorothy property was 380,000 tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $767,000. Fourteen other properties contributed 1.0 million tons generating $1.9 million in revenue. Timber revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2002 were $1.0 million. Other revenues were $0.4 million, including $0.1 million for wheelage income. Expenses. Aggregate expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2002 were $2.6 million, including $0.6 million of general and administrative expenses and $1.3 million of expenses related to depletion and amortization. Other Income (Expense). Interest expense was $1.6 million for three months ended September 30, 2002. Net Income. Net income was $3.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2002. NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 Revenues. Total revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2002 were $21.2 million, of which coal royalty revenues were 29 $16.2 million, or 76%. Coal production during the period was 9.0 million tons, with an average gross royalty rate per ton of $1.80. The following properties were the major contributors to revenue: Appalachia. Production from our Eunice property was 1.7 million tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $3.0 million. Production from our Evans-Laviers property was 2.5 million tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $3.2 million. Production from our West Fork property was 1.3 million tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $3.0 million. Fifteen other properties contributed 2.7 million tons generating $5.4 million in coal royalty revenues. Production from our Eunice property was 1.7 million tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $3.0 million. Production from our Dorothy property was 776,000 tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $1.6 million. Timber revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2002 were $2.6 million. Other revenues were $2.4 million, including $1.2 million in property tax revenues for amounts reimbursed by our lessees. Other income was $1.2 million, of which $0.4 million was from wheelage income, $0.3 million was attributable to lease and easement income and another $0.2 million was from management fees charged to Great Northern Properties Limited Partnership for the nine months ended September 30, 2002. Expenses. Aggregate expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2002 were $6.9 million, including $2.2 million of general and administrative expenses and $3.3 million of expenses related to depletion and amortization. Other Income (Expense). Interest expense was $4.5 million for nine months ended September 30, 2002. Reversionary Interest. The previous owner of Western Pocahontas Properties Limited Partnership's coal and timber properties (CSX Corporation and certain of its affiliates) retained a reversionary interest in those properties whereby it received either a 25% or 28% interest in the properties and the net revenues of the properties after July 1, 2001, and in the net proceeds of any property sale occurring prior to July 1, 2001. Western Pocahontas purchased the reversionary interest related to its Kentucky properties in December 2001 and the remainder of the interest in March 2002. For the nine months ended September 30, 2002, Western Pocahontas incurred $0.6 million of expenses related to the reversionary interest. Net Income. Net income was $9.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2002. 30 GREAT NORTHERN PROPERTIES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP THREE MONTHS NINE MONTHS ENDED ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 2002 ------------- ------------- (IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER TON DATA) (UNAUDITED) Revenues: Coal royalties...................................... $ 1,928 $ 5,370 Lease and easement income........................... 86 468 Other............................................... 36 112 ----------- ----------- Total revenues................................. 2,050 5,950 Expenses: General and administrative.......................... 145 418 Taxes other than income............................. 24 68 Depletion and amortization.......................... 662 1,865 ----------- ----------- Total expenses................................. 831 2,351 ----------- ----------- Income from operations................................... 1,219 3,599 Other income (expenses): Interest expense.................................... (591) (1,732) Interest income..................................... 37 102 ----------- ----------- Net income............................................... $ 665 $ 1,969 =========== =========== Production............................................... 1,832 5,422 Average gross royalty per ton............................ $ 1.05 $ .99 THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 Revenues. Total revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2002 were $2.1 million, of which coal royalty revenues were $1.9 million, or 90%. Coal production for the period was 1.8 million tons, with average gross royalty rate per ton of $1.05. Coal royalty revenues were attributed to the following: Northern Powder River. Production from our Western Energy property was 994,000 tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $1.1 million. Production from our Big Sky property was 461,000 tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $427,000. Expenses totaled $0.8 million of which includes $0.1 million of general and administrative expenses that primarily consist of $62,500 of fees paid to Western Pocahontas Properties under a management agreement and $0.7 million of depletion and amortization. Other Income (Expense). Interest expense was $0.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2002. Net Income. Net income was $0.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2002. NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 Revenues. Total revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2002 were $6.0 million, of which coal royalty revenues were $5.4 million or 90%. Coal production for nine months ended September 30, 2002 was 5.4 million tons, with average gross royalty rate per ton of $0.99. Coal royalty revenues were attributed to the following: Northern Powder River. Production from our Western Energy property was 2.4 million tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $2.8 million. Production from our Big Sky property was 1.4 million tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $1.3 million. 31 Expenses totaled $2.4 million, which includes $0.4 million of general and administrative expenses that primarily consist of $187,500 of fees paid to Western Pocahontas Properties under a management agreement and $1.9 million of depletion and amortization. Other Income (Expense). Interest expense was $1.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2002. Net Income. Net income was $2.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2002. 32 NEW GAULEY COAL CORPORATION THREE MONTHS NINE MONTHS ENDED ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 2002 ------------- ------------- (IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER TON DATA) (UNAUDITED) Revenues: Coal royalties....................................... $ 398 $ 1,336 Other................................................ 20 72 --------- --------- 418 1,408 Expenses: General and administrative........................... (5) 54 Taxes other than income.............................. 27 38 Depletion and amortization........................... 48 127 --------- --------- Total expenses.................................. 70 219 --------- --------- Income from operations.................................... 348 1,189 Other income (expenses): Interest expense..................................... (31) (95) Interest income...................................... 7 22 Reversionary interest................................ (69) (103) --------- --------- Net income................................................ $ 255 $ 1,013 ========= ========= Production................................................ 134 445 Average gross royalty per ton............................. $ 2.97 $ 3.00 THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 Revenues. Total revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2003 was $418,000, of which coal royalty revenues were $398,000, or 95%, on production of 134,000 tons. New Gauley has producing properties on two leases. The Alabama property produced 79,000 tons, generating coal royalty revenues of $273,000. Production from our West Virginia property was 55,000 tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $125,000. Expenses. Aggregate expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2002, were $70,000 of which $48,000, or 69%, was from depletion and amortization. Net Income. Net income was $255,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2002. NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 Revenues. Total revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2003 was $1,408,000, of which coal royalty revenues were $1,336,000, or 95%, on production of 445,000 million tons. New Gauley has producing properties on two leases. The Alabama property produced 233,000 tons, generating coal royalty revenues of $802,000. Production from our West Virginia property was 212,000 tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $519,000. Expenses. Aggregate expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2002, were $219,000 of which $127,000, or 58%, was from depletion and amortization. Net Income. Net income was $1,013,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2002. 33 ARCH COAL CONTRIBUTED PROPERTIES THREE MONTHS NINE MONTHS ENDED ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 2002 ------------- ------------- (IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER TON DATA) (UNAUDITED) Revenues Coal royalties................................. $ 4,971 $ 13,851 Other royalties................................ 369 1,294 Property taxes................................. 268 806 --------- --------- Total revenues............................ 5,608 15,951 --------- --------- Expenses Depletion...................................... 1,634 4,603 Property taxes................................. 268 806 Other expense.................................. 101 512 --------- --------- Total expenses............................ 2,003 5,921 --------- --------- Excess of revenue over direct costs and expenses.... $ 3,605 $ 10,030 ========= ========= Production.......................................... 2,961 8,278 Average gross royalty per ton....................... $ 1.68 1.68 THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 Revenues. Revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2002 were $5.6 million, of which coal royalty revenues were $5.0 million, or 89%, on production of 3.0 million tons. Appalachia. Production from our Lone Mountain property was 666,000 tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $1.3 million. Production from our Lynch property was 756,000 tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $1.2 million. Production from our Pardee property was 332,000 tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $614,000. Production from our Campbells Creek property was 286,000 tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $519,000. Direct costs and expenses. Direct costs and expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2002 were $2.0 million, consisting of depletion of $1.6 million, property taxes of $268,000 and other expense of $101,000. NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 Revenues. Revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2002 were $16.0 million, of which coal royalty revenues were $13.9 million, or 86%, on production of 8.3 million tons. Appalachia. Production from our Lone Mountain property was 2.0 million tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $3.7 million. Production from our Lynch property was 2.3 million tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $3.6 million. Production from our Pardee property was 978,000 tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $1.8 million. Production from our Campbells Creek property was 832,000 tons, which generated coal royalty revenues of $1.5 million. Direct costs and expenses. Direct costs and expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2002 were $5.9 million, consisting of depletion of $4.6 million, property taxes of $806,000 and other expense of $512,000. 34 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT Our general partner does not receive any management fee or other compensation for its management of Natural Resource Partners. However, in accordance with the partnership agreement, our general partner and its affiliates are reimbursed for expenses incurred on our behalf. All direct general and administrative expenses are charged to us as incurred. Indirect general and administrative costs, including certain legal, accounting, treasury, information technology, insurance, administration of employee benefits and other corporate services incurred by our general partner and its affiliates are also reimbursed. Cost reimbursements due our general partner may be substantial and will reduce our cash available for distribution to unitholders. For the nine months ended September 30, 2003, we have incurred expenses totaling $2.0 million for services performed by Western Pocahontas Properties Limited Partnership and Quintana Minerals Corporation, affiliates of our general partner. AGREEMENTS WITH ARK LAND COMPANY Concurrently with our initial public offering in October 2002, we entered into four coal mining leases with Ark Land Company, a subsidiary of Arch Coal, Inc. The Ark Land leases grant Ark Land the right to mine our coal on the following properties: - Lone Mountain located in Kentucky, which contains 47.1 million tons of proven and probable reserves as of December 31, 2002; - Pardee located in Kentucky and Virginia, which contains 20.4 million tons of proven and probable reserves as of December 31, 2002; - Boone/Lincoln located in West Virginia, which contains 18.5 million tons of proven and probable reserves as of December 31, 2002; and - Campbell's Creek located in West Virginia, which contains 9.8 million tons of proven and probable reserves as of December 31, 2002. Coal royalty revenues payable under these leases for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2003 were $2.3 and $7.6 million, respectively, representing 11% and 14% of our total coal royalty revenues. If no production had taken place during the nine months ended September 30, 2003, minimum royalties of $4.5 million would have been payable under the leases. The Ark Land leases have an initial term of either eight or ten years, each with an automatic year-to-year extension until the earlier to occur of (1) delivery of notice by Ark Land that it will not renew the lease or (2) the mining of all mineable and merchantable coal. The leases provide for payments to us based on the higher of a percentage of the gross sales price or a fixed minimum per ton of coal sold from our properties, with minimum annual royalty payments. Under the Ark Land leases, minimum royalty payments are credited against future production royalties. The leases are intended to retain some of the legal rights Ark Land possessed when it owned the properties. For this reason, the leases contain some terms and provisions that are different from our third-party coal leases negotiated at arm's length. Some of the more significant differences include: - Ark Land has the ability to sublease the leased property without our prior approval, although it remains responsible for sublessee performance; - minimum royalty payments from Ark Land continue to be payable during the initial lease term even if all mineable and merchantable coal has been mined from the property; - royalties for coal sold to any affiliates may be based on a gross selling price below the market value of the coal; - the indemnities provided by Ark Land to us do not survive the termination of the leases; - we only have a limited ability to terminate the leases; 35 - Ark Land has royalty-free wheelage rights on the leased properties; and - the leases do not impose a legal duty to diligently mine the maximum amount of coal possible from the leased property. We believe that the production and minimum royalty rates contained in the Ark Land leases are consistent with current market royalty rates. On November 20, 2002 we amended the Pardee lease to include in that lease a requirement that Ark Land pay us a non-recoupable quarterly rental payment equal to quarterly minimums under a previous agreement that was simultaneously terminated. LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES CASH FLOWS AND CAPITAL EXPENDITURES We satisfied our working capital requirements with cash generated from operations. Funds for property acquisitions were obtained through borrowings. We believe that cash generated from operations and our borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facility will be sufficient to meet our working capital requirements and anticipated capital expenditures, other than for acquisitions, for the next several years. We are actively pursuing additional property acquisitions; accordingly, in April of 2003, we increased our revolving credit facility from $100 million to $175 million to provide for additional acquisitions. We intend to fund any acquisitions with borrowings under our revolving credit facility and proceeds from the issuance of common units and debt. A minimal portion of our capital expenditures will be maintenance capital expenditures. Our ability to satisfy any debt service obligations, fund planned acquisitions and pay distributions to our unitholders will depend upon our future operating performance, which will be affected by prevailing economic conditions in the coal industry, changes in capital markets and financial, business and other factors, some of which are beyond our control. For a more complete discussion of factors that will affect cash flow we generate from our operations, please read "Risks Related to Our Business." Our capital expenditures, other than for acquisitions, have historically been minimal. Net cash provided by operations during the nine months ended September 30, 2003 was $47.2 million, substantially all of which was from coal royalty revenues. Net cash used in investing activities during the nine months ended September 30, 2003 was $123.7 million in connection with the acquisition of the overriding interest in February for $11.9 million, the acquisition of 290,000 mineral acres from two subsidiaries of Alpha Natural Resources, LLC for $53.8 million, and $58 million for the acquisition of 78 million tons of proven coal reserves from PinnOak Resources. These acquisitions were initially funded primarily from our revolving credit facility, with the balance paid in cash. Cash provided by financing activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2003 was $90.6 million. During the first nine months we received proceeds from additional borrowings of $298.1 million, which includes $123.1 million under our revolving credit facility and $175.0 million from the issuance of our senior unsecured debt. These borrowings were partially offset by repayments of debt on our revolving credit facility of $172.6 million. We paid $0.9 million to settle an interest rate hedge entered into in connection with issuance of our senior notes. For the nine months ended September 30, 2003, we also paid cash distributions of $34.0 million to our partners. CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS AND COMMERCIAL COMMITMENTS Credit Facility and Senior Notes. Our debt currently consists of: - a $175 million revolving credit facility that matures in October 2005 and under which $8.0 million was outstanding at September 30, 2003; - $60 million of 5.55% senior notes due 2023, with a 10-year average life; - $80 million of 4.91% senior notes due 2018, with a 7.5-year average life; and - $35 million of 5.55% senior notes due 2013. 36 On April 4, 2003, we increased the borrowing capacity under our credit facility to $175 million, and the other terms of the credit facility remained unchanged. The amended credit facility includes increased commitments from the original bank syndicate, led by PNC Bank, as well as commitments from three new banks. The revolving credit facility includes a $12.0 million distribution loan sub-limit that can be used for funding quarterly distributions. The remainder of the revolving credit facility is available for general limited partnership and limited liability company purposes, including future acquisitions, but may not be used to fund quarterly distributions. On June 19, 2003 and simultaneous with NRP Operating's issuance of senior notes, we adopted a second amendment to the credit facility. This amendment permitted NRP Operating to issue unsecured notes through a private placement in an amount up to $175 million, with a portion of the proceeds to be used to reduce the outstanding balance on the revolving credit facility. Among other items, this amendment increased the maximum leverage ratio from 2.75 to 1.00 to 3.50 to 1.0. Indebtedness under the revolving credit facility bears interest, at our option, at either: - the higher of the federal funds rate plus an applicable margin ranging from 0.25% to 0.75% or the prime rate as announced by the agent bank; or - a rate equal to LIBOR plus an applicable margin ranging from 1.25% to 2.25%. At September 30, 2003, we had $8 million outstanding under the revolving credit facility bearing interest at a LIBOR rate of 3.15%. We incur a commitment fee on the unused portion of the revolving credit facility at a rate of 0.50% per annum. We incurred interest expense of $2.5 million and $4.1 million for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2003, respectively. Interest expense for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2003 included credit facility fees of $157,000 and $292,000, respectively. The following table reflects our long-term non-cancelable contractual obligations as of September 30, 2003 (in millions): PAYMENTS DUE BY PERIOD ---------------------------------------------------------------- CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 THEREAFTER ----------------------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---------- Long-term debt (including current maturities) $ -- $ 9.35 $ 17.35 $ 9.35 $ 9.35 $ 137.6 ======== ======== ======== ======== ======== ========== ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK We are exposed to market risk, which includes adverse changes in commodity prices and interest rates as discussed below: COMMODITY PRICE RISK We are dependent upon the efficient marketing of the coal mined by our lessees. Our lessees sell the coal under various long-term and short-term contracts as well as on the spot market. In previous years, a large portion of these sales were under long term contracts. Current conditions in the coal industry may make it difficult for our lessees to extend existing contracts or enter into supply contracts with terms of one year or more. Our lessees' failure to negotiate long-term contracts could adversely affect the stability and profitability of our lessees' operations and adversely affect our coal royalty revenues. As more coal is sold on the spot market, coal royalty revenues may become more volatile due to fluctuations in spot coal prices. INTEREST RATE RISK Our exposure to changes in interest rates results from our current borrowings under our revolving credit facility, which may be subject to variable interest rates based upon LIBOR. In anticipation of the private placement on May 12, 2003, we entered into a treasury rate hedge with respect to $50 million of the senior notes. In conjunction with the issuance of the senior notes, we paid $1.4 million to settle this treasury rate hedge. Of the $1.4 million paid for the settlement, approximately $0.9 million will be amortized into 37 expense over 20 years and the balance of $0.4 million, will be expensed currently and classified as other income (expense) in the income statement. At September 30, 2003, we had outstanding approximately $8.0 million in variable interest rate debt. If LIBOR rates were to increase by 100 basis points, annual interest expense would increase by $80,000, assuming the same principal amount remained outstanding over the next twelve months. INFLATION Inflation in the United States has been relatively low in recent years and did not have a material impact on operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2003. ENVIRONMENTAL The operations of our lessees are subject to environmental laws and regulations adopted by various governmental authorities in the jurisdictions in which these operations are conducted. The terms of substantially all of our leases impose liability on the relevant lessees for all environmental and reclamation liabilities arising under those laws and regulations. All of our lessees are required to post bonds to cover reclamation costs. In the event these bonds are insufficient, some states, such as West Virginia, have established funds to cover these shortfalls. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Statements included in this Form 10-Q are forward-looking statements. In addition, we and our representatives may from time to time make other oral or written statements which are also forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding capital expenditures, acquisitions and dispositions, expected commencement dates of coal mining, projected quantities of future coal production by our lessees producing coal from our reserves leased, projected demand or supply for coal that will affect sales levels, prices and royalties realized by us. These forward-looking statements are made based upon management's current plans, expectations, estimates, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events affecting us and therefore involve a number of risks and uncertainties. We caution that forward-looking statements are not guarantees and that actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Please read "Risks Related to Our Business" below for important factors that could cause our actual results of operations or our actual financial condition to differ. RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS - We may not have sufficient cash from operations to pay the minimum quarterly distribution following establishment of cash reserves and payment of fees and expenses, including payments to our general partner. - A substantial or extended decline in coal prices could reduce our coal royalty revenues. - Our lessees' coal mining operations are subject to operating risks that could result in lower coal royalty revenues to us. - We depend on a limited number of primary operators for a significant portion of our coal royalty revenues, and the loss of or reduction in production from any of our operators could reduce our coal royalty revenues. - The increasing cost and lack of availability of reclamation bonds that were purchased by our lessees could make it uneconomic or impossible to mine our coal. - We may not be able to terminate our leases if any of our lessees declare bankruptcy, and we may experience delays and be unable to replace lessees that do not make royalty payments. - If our lessees do not manage their operations well, their production volumes and our coal royalty revenues could decrease. - Adverse developments in the coal industry could reduce our coal royalty revenues and, due to our lack of asset diversification, 38 also substantially reduce our total revenues. - Any decrease in the demand for metallurgical coal could result in lower coal production by our lessees, which would thereby reduce our coal royalty revenues. - We may not be able to expand and our business will be adversely affected if we are unable to replace or increase our reserves or obtain other mineral reserves through acquisitions. - Any change in fuel consumption patterns by electric power generators resulting in a decrease in the use of coal could result in lower coal production by our lessees, which would reduce our coal royalty revenues. - Current conditions in the coal industry may make it difficult for our lessees to extend existing contracts or enter into supply contracts with terms of one year or more, which could adversely affect the stability and profitability of their operations and adversely affect our coal royalty revenues. - Competition within the coal industry may adversely affect the ability of our lessees to sell coal, and excess production capacity in the industry could put downward pressure on coal prices. - Lessees could satisfy obligations to their customers with coal from properties other than ours, depriving us of the ability to receive amounts in excess of minimum royalty payments. - Fluctuations in transportation costs and the availability or reliability of transportation could reduce the production of coal mined from our properties. - Our reserve estimates depend on many assumptions that may be inaccurate, which could materially adversely affect the quantities and value of our reserves. - Our lessees' work forces could become increasingly unionized in the future. - We may be exposed to changes in interest rates because our current borrowings under our revolving credit facility may be subject to variable interest rates generally based upon LIBOR. - Our lessees are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations that may limit their ability to produce and sell coal from our properties. ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES NRP carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of its disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 of the Securities Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this report. This evaluation was performed under the supervision and with the participation of NRP management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the general partner of the general partner of NRP. Based upon that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that these disclosure controls and procedures are effective in producing the timely recording, processing, summarizing and reporting of information and in accumulating and communicating of information to management as appropriate to allow for timely decisions with regard to required disclosure. No changes were made to NRP's internal control over financial reporting during the last fiscal quarter that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, NRP's internal control over financial reporting. 39 PART II. OTHER INFORMATION ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS We are in the ordinary course of business, a party to various legal proceedings. We do not believe the outcome of these proceedings, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. ITEM 2. CHANGES IN SECURITIES None. ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES None. ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS None. ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION None. 40 ITEM 6. EXHIBITS AND REPORTS ON FORM 8-K A. Exhibits Exhibit Number Description - -------------- ----------- 10.1* Guaranty by Arch Coal, Inc. for the benefit of Natural Resource Partners L.P., dated October 21, 2003. 31.1* Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of Sarbanes-Oxley. 31.2* Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of Sarbanes-Oxley. 32.1** Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350. 32.2** Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350. *Filed herewith ** Furnished herewith B. Reports on Form 8-K A current report on Form 8-K was filed on July 1, 2003 in connection with the execution of an Asset Purchase Agreement with PinnOak Resources. A current report on Form 8-K was filed on July 14, 2003 in connection with our acquisition of coal reserves from PinnOak Resources. A current report on Form 8-K was furnished on August 7, 2003 in connection with disclosure of second quarter earnings and our outlook for 2003. A current report on Form 8-K was furnished on September 12, 2003 in connection with a presentation made by management to the RBC Capital Markets North American Energy and Power Conference. A current report on Form 8-K was filed on September 22, 2003 in connection with our issuance of senior notes. 41 SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned and thereunto duly authorized. NATURAL RESOURCE PARTNERS L.P. By: NRP (GP) LP, its general partner By: GP NATURAL RESOURCE PARTNERS LLC, its general partner Date: November 12, 2003 By: /s/ CORBIN J. ROBERTSON, JR. ---------------------------------------- Corbin J. Robertson, Jr., Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) Date: November 12, 2003 By: /s/ DWIGHT L. DUNLAP ---------------------------------------- Dwight L. Dunlap, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer (Principal Financial Officer) Date: November 12, 2003 By: /s/ KENNETH HUDSON ---------------------------------------- Kenneth Hudson Controller (Principal Accounting Officer) EXHIBIT INDEX Exhibit Number Description - -------------- ----------- 10.1* Guaranty by Arch Coal, Inc. for the benefit of Natural Resource Partners L.P., dated October 21, 2003. 31.1* Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of Sarbanes-Oxley. 31.2* Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of Sarbanes-Oxley. 32.1** Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350. 32.2** Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350. *Filed herewith ** Furnished herewith 41