1 Aug 2018debt financing● Neutral
Noble adds up to US$2.5m, drawn August to October 2018, taking the facility to US$37.2m at 10.75%. Repayments on the original US$20m now start 1 November 2018, and termination moves to 31 March 2025.
Announcements, explained
Each one in plain English, with the numbers worked through for a shareholder.
1 Aug 2018contract award▲ GoodMajor
Ledjadja executes the three Sedgman contracts: CHPP construction and ancillary works at US$210m, and four-year plant operation at US$100m. This resolves the long-pending execution thread, but the contracts depend on project finance being drawn down.
30 July 2018quarterly activities report▼ BadMajor
June quarter: the lender accepted the company's responses, but its credit submission is now held up by an internal review of its ESG investment criteria, so a contingency plan is triggered. Noble's offtake received regulatory approval. Resources are updated with no material change.
4 June 2018joint venture update● Neutral
Company is still working on a response to the concerned lender, with a meeting contemplated within a fortnight, and will publish no further key dates. It plans to ask Noble for extra working capital because of the delay.
10 May 2018joint venture update▼ BadMajor
One of the two remaining lenders wants more information before proceeding, on credit risk while Noble restructures and on ramp-up working capital. Board aims to resolve this by end of May; no timetable beyond that. Noble is willing to consider covering any shortfall.
16 Apr 2018debt financing▲ GoodMajor
The IDC, the first of three lenders to approve, signs a binding R540m senior loan facility with Ledjadja for Boikarabelo, at JIBAR plus 6% during construction. It still depends on conditions, including board and shareholder approval and rail link financing.
29 Mar 2018debt financing● NeutralMajor
Noble adds up to US$2.5m, drawn May to July 2018, taking the facility to US$34.7m. Repayments on the original US$20m now start 1 August 2018. One lender's credit approval slips to end April, so the board meeting on term sheets moves to 10 May.
16 Mar 2018half year report● Neutral
Half-year to 31 December 2017: net loss $1.2m, same as the prior year, including a $1.5m unrealised foreign exchange gain. The report repeats that the funding needs shareholder approval and that the rail link (R650m) and ramp-up costs are separate.
8 Mar 2018director officer appointment▼ BadMajor
CEO Rob Lowe stands down immediately to focus on financial close, staying until his contract ends 31 December 2018. Director Papi Molotsane becomes interim CEO. Funding is slower than hoped: board meets 11 April on term sheets, with an EGM now targeted for late June 2018.
11 Dec 2017material agreement▲ GoodMajor
Subsidiary Ledjadja signs the Noble offtake for additional uncontracted coal, resolving the first-right-of-refusal thread: 800,000t a year plus up to 300,000t for years 1-3, then up to 200,000t. It needs regulatory and possibly shareholder approvals.
7 Dec 2017debt financing● NeutralMajor
Noble extends its facility by up to US$3.8m, drawn monthly to 31 March 2018, taking the total to US$32.2m at 10.75%. The new money is repayable from the first project-finance drawdown. The original US$20m repayments now start 30 April 2018.
23 Nov 2017director officer appointment● NeutralMajor
Peter Watson, former Sedgman managing director, joins as non-executive director after Gately's resignation, keeping the required Australian-resident directors. Lulamile Xate now signs as Chairman, completing the succession flagged in October.
22 Nov 2017investor presentation● Neutral
AGM presentation by the CEO repeats known facts: funding credit approvals underway, Sedgman and rail contracts completed but unexecuted. Timeline: finance documents and EGM in Q1/Q2 2018, financial close Q2 2018, first saleable coal Q4 2020.
15 Nov 2017joint venture update▼ Bad
The alternative lenders have finished due diligence but credit approvals and term sheets have no firm date, slipping again past early November. The facility would fund mine construction to commissioning, excluding the rail link and roughly R300m (A$27.5m) ramp-up costs. Shareholder approval will be required.
26 Oct 2017director officer appointment● Neutral
CEO Rob Lowe's contract, due to expire 31 December 2017, is extended by at least 12 months on unchanged terms, with fixed pay of A$800,000. The board cites the current state of financing negotiations; his main bonus target is securing project finance.
17 Oct 2017director officer appointment● NeutralMajor
Chairman Denis Gately will resign at the end of the 22 November 2017 AGM, and directors propose Lulamile Xate as successor. This is a chair change, coming shortly after the lender setback.
26 Sept 2017annual report● Neutral
2017 annual report: loss before tax narrowed to $2.0m from $7.7m, while total debt rose to $46.8m from $39.6m and net debt to $42.1m. Net assets were $134.5m. It restates the 995Mt resource.
26 Sept 2017admin correction● Neutral
Appendix 4G governance disclosure form for the year to 30 June 2017, pointing to the governance statement on the company website. Administrative; no new business information.
26 Sept 2017annual report● Neutral
Corporate governance statement for FY17. It reports the board did not conduct a formal performance review after the 2015 board change, and executive reviews are deferred to June 2018. Administrative, with no new business information.
31 Aug 2017listing compliance notice● Neutral
Replying to an ASX query, the company says it learned of the lenders' position on 22-23 August and announced on 25 August. It confirms compliance with disclosure rules. ASX noted the share price fell 31% from $0.07 to $0.048 after the update.
30 Aug 2017annual report▲ Good
FY17 financial statements released. Noble agreed to push the start of repayments on its 2014 facility from September 2017 to April 2018, easing near-term pressure. The release text provided does not show other financial figures.
25 Aug 2017debt financing▼ BadMajor
Debt Club lenders declined to proceed without more certainty on the Eskom coal supply terms, so the board considers that funding source no longer viable. Management is pursuing an alternative lender group with no committed Eskom supply, with first approvals expected around end September or early October.
21 June 2017joint venture update● Neutral
The 14 June lenders' meeting was positive, but a few items remain (financial model, term sheet, rail link funding terms), now due by 31 July. Credit approvals would take about two months after that. Noble's second drawdown of US$2.75m was received.
31 May 2017joint venture update▼ Bad
The lenders' all-party meeting slips from 25 May to 14 June 2017, delaying contract finalisation and credit approvals by about a month. Mining and ancillary contracts are ready for lenders. Transnet approved the rail stabilising facility, and Noble's second drawdown was approved early.
17 May 2017director officer appointment● NeutralMajor
Manish Dahiya, Noble's global head of energy coal and LNG, joins as a non-executive director under the Noble loan extension. Gregory Hunter, a Noble employee, is his alternate and the third representative on the Ledjadja Coal board. Noble gains more board influence.
4 May 2017investor presentation● Neutral
Chairman says most major contracts are substantially agreed, with an all-party meeting in mid-May. Contracts are to be reported complete to lenders by end May, so credit approvals would run June/July 2017. This is another slip from the April hope for approvals.
14 Mar 2017debt financing● NeutralMajor
Noble agrees to lend up to a further US$8.4m in three tranches to September 2017 at 10.75%, on top of the US$20m facility. Noble gains a board nominee, and its domestic offtake and 35-year marketing agreements are restated. Terms are subject to approvals; this continues the working capital pressure.
2 Mar 2017investor presentation▼ BadMajor
Board update pushes the funding target to mid-2017, a clear slip from March 2017 financial close. Transnet says it cannot fund the roughly R550m rail link, so other funders are being sought. Lender credit approvals are now hoped for by end April.
23 Jan 2017resource reserve update● NeutralMajor
Coal estimate updated to JORC 2012 for the Ledjadja #1 and #3 areas. Measured and indicated resource rises from 664.2Mt to 994.8Mt, but marketable reserves fall from 430.6Mt to 267.1Mt under the new dual export/domestic plan. This revises the earlier 744.8Mt probable reserve basis.
23 Nov 2016investor presentation▼ Bad
Chairman tells the AGM he had hoped to report the mine funded and under construction, but it is not. Lender credit approvals are now expected by February 2017, financial close March 2017, first coal Q1 2019. About $208m has been invested in the South African assets since 2008.