13 Nov 2013 09:32
Amsterdam, 13 November 2013
OKD signs collective agreement
Further to the announcement on 11 November 2013, New World Resources Plc ('NWR' or the 'Company'), announces today that its wholly owned subsidiary, OKD a.s. ('OKD') has signed with the trade unions a new collective agreement for the years 2014 - 2018.
The key features of the agreement are:
· The base tariff wages remain unchanged for 2014 and are only corrected for inflation in 2015; thereafter the wages will be renegotiated on a yearly basis.
· The holiday and Christmas bonuses have decreased from 14 and 16 days equivalent wage to 6 and 6 day equivalent.
The agreement leads to around 8 per cent decrease in personnel expenses at OKD in 2014 compared with 2013 in CZK terms. This expected decrease consists of around 4 per cent decrease in total remuneration and around 4 per cent expected headcount reduction, not taking into account redundancies in relation to the Paskov mine closure.
Gareth Penny, Executive Chairman: "We are pleased to have reached a solid outcome for the Company and its employees. Reaching the new collective agreement is another important step forward in addressing our cost base. We are committed to deliver on our business optimisation strategy in a socially responsible manner to become a much more sustainable business."
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Contacts:
Investor Relations Media relations
Tel: +31 20 570 2244 Tel: +31 20 570 2229
Email: ir@nwrgroup.eu Email: pr@nwrgroup.eu
Website: www.newworldresources.eu
Notes for editors:
New World Resources Plc is one of Central Europe's leading hard coal and coke producers. NWR produces quality coking and thermal coal for the steel and energy sectors in Central Europe through its subsidiary OKD, the largest hard coal mining company in the Czech Republic. NWR's coke subsidiary OKK, is Europe's largest producer of foundry coke. NWR currently has several development projects in Poland and the Czech Republic, which form part of NWR's regional growth strategy.
In 2013 the Company announced a strategic outlook to reposition NWR into Europe's leading miner and marketer of coking coal by 2017.
NWR is listed in London, Prague and Warsaw. It is a constituent of FTSE Small Cap index.
Disclaimer and cautionary note on forward looking statements and notes on certain other matters
Certain statements in this announcement are not historical facts and are or are deemed to be "forward-looking". The Company's prospects, plans, financial position and business strategy, and statements pertaining to the capital resources, future expenditure for development projects and results of operations, may constitute forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology including, but not limited to; "may", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "plan", "foresee", "will", "could", "may", "might", "believe" or "continue" or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other facts that may cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future and may be beyond NWR's ability to control or predict. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performances.
Factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to be materially different from those projected include, but are not limited to, the following: risks relating to changes in political, economic and social conditions in the Czech Republic, Poland and the CEE region; future prices and demand for the Company's products, and demand for the Company's customers' products; coal mine reserves; remaining life of the Company's mines; coal production; trends in the coal industry and domestic and international coal market conditions; risks in coal mining operations; future expansion plans and capital expenditures; the Company's relationship with, and conditions affecting, the Company's customers; competition; railroad and other transportation performance and costs; availability of specialist and qualified workers; and weather conditions or catastrophic damage; risks relating to Czech or Polish law, regulations and taxation, including laws, regulations, decrees and decisions governing the coal mining industry, the environment and currency and exchange controls relating to Czech and Polish entities and their official interpretation by governmental and other regulatory bodies and by the courts; and risks relating to global economic conditions and the global economic environment. Additional risk factors are as described in the Company's annual report.
Forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this announcement. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release, publicly or otherwise, any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained in this announcement to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which any such statement is based unless so required by applicable law.