NATURAL RESOURCE PARTNERS L.P. [GRAPHIC OMITTED]
601 JEFFERSON ST., SUITE 3600, HOUSTON, TX 77002
NEWS RELEASE
[GRAPHIC OMITTED]
NATURAL RESOURCE PARTNERS L.P.
ISSUES 2004 GUIDANCE
HOUSTON, JANUARY 8, 2004 - NATURAL RESOURCE PARTNERS L.P. (NYSE: NRP) today
indicated that it expects to generate between $64.1 and $66.6 million in
distributable cash flow in 2004. This distributable cash flow is net of
scheduled principal payments on NRP's senior notes. NRP anticipates generating
net income between $39.5 and $41.5 million.
Due to the uncertainty as to when production from the Pinnacle mine will resume,
the 2004 guidance does not include any production or revenue from the mine. In
addition, production volumes are projected to be slightly higher in the second
and third quarters than in the first and fourth quarters.
The following table includes further details regarding guidance for 2004.
Natural Resource Partners L.P. is headquartered in Houston, TX, with its
operations headquarters in Huntington, WV. NRP is a master limited partnership
that is principally engaged 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 Powder River Basin.
For additional information, please contact Kathy Hager at 713-751-7555 or
khager@nrplp.com. Further information about NRP is available on the
partnership's website at http://www.nrplp.com.
This press release may include "forward-looking statements" as defined by the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Such statements include the anticipated coal
royalty revenue, coal production, overriding royalty revenue and operating
expenses. All statements included in this press release that address activities,
events or developments that the partnership expects, believes or anticipates
will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These statements
are based on certain assumptions made by the partnership based on its experience
and perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future
developments and other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances.
Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties,
many of which are beyond the control of the partnership. These risks include,
but are not limited to, decreases in demand for coal; changes in operating
conditions and costs; production cuts by our lessees; commodity prices;
unanticipated geologic problems; changes in the legislative or regulatory
environment and other factors detailed in Natural Resource Partners' Securities
and Exchange Commission filings. Natural Resource Partners L.P. has no
obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
04-02 - table follows-
NATURAL RESOURCE PARTNERS L.P.
GUIDANCE
(DOLLARS AND TONS IN MILLIONS EXCEPT PER UNIT AMOUNTS)
<Table>
<Caption>
FULL YEAR 2004
----------------------------
(RANGE)
Coal royalty production (tons)
Appalachia 43.0 - 44.0
Illinois Basin 2.4 - 2.8
Northern Powder River Basin 3.4 - 3.8
------- -------
Total 48.8 - 50.6
Coal royalty revenue
Appalachia $ 85.7 - $ 86.2
Illinois Basin 3.0 - 3.2
Northern Powder River Basin 4.1 - 4.5
------- -------
Total $ 92.8 - $ 93.9
Revenues
Coal royalty revenue $ 92.8 - $ 93.9
Other revenues (1) 11.8 - 12.3
Expenses
Depletion and amortization $ 34.0 - $ 34.5
General and administrative 9.2 - 9.3
Other expenses (2) 8.6 - 9.0
Other expenses
Interest expense (net) $ 12.7 - $ 13.1
Net Income $ 39.5 $ 41.5
Net income per unit $ 1.70 - $ 1.80
Scheduled principal payments $ 9.4 - $ 9.4
Distributable cash flow (3) $ 64.1 - $ 66.6
</Table>
(1) Other revenues consist of property taxes, minimums, oil & gas, timber,
overrides, wheelage and rentals.
(2) Other expenses include taxes other than income, override payments, coal
royalty payments, and non-participating royalty interests.
(3) Distributable cash flow represents net income plus depletion and
amortization minus scheduled principal payments on NRP senior notes.
Distributable cash flow is a "non-GAAP financial measure" that is presented
because management believes it is a useful adjunct to net cash provided by
operating activities under (GAAP). Distributable cash flow is a significant
liquidity metric which is an indicator of NRP's ability to generate cash flows
at a level that can sustain or support an increase in quarterly cash
distributions paid to its partners. Distributable cash flow is also the
quantitative standard used throughout the investment community with respect to
publicly-traded partnerships. Distributable cash flow is not a measure of
financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative
to cash flows from operating, investing or financing activities. We believe that
"net cash provided by operating activities" would be the most comparable
financial measure to distributable cash. However, due to the substantial
uncertainties associated with forecasting future changes to operating assets and
liabilities, we cannot provide guidance on forward-looking net cash provided by
operating activities or provide reconciliations of distributable cash flow to
that measure.
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