Tulsa’s Alliance Holdings GP, L.P. released financial results for the quarter and the year ending Dec. 31, 2017 resulting in a 35 percent increase in its 2017 shareholders distribution compared to 2016. But the results also reflect a continued decline for the coal industry.
The Board of Directors for the national coal-mining firm okayed a distribution of 74 cents for the quarter which translated into an annualized rate of $2.97 per unit. At the end of 2016, the quarterly distribution was only 55 cents. Compared to the third quarter of 2017, the fourth quarter distribution saw a one percent increase.
Net income for the quarter totaled $49.3 million, a more than 19 percent decline compared to the same quarter a year earlier when it totaled more than $61 million. However, the fourth quarter income represented a 26.1 percent increase compared to the third quarter of 2017. For the year, the 2017 net income was $186 million.
In announcing the financial results, the company also said it will move forward with its structural simplification of the Alliance Partnerships. With the new lower federal corporate income tax rate in place, the board recommended streamlining the Alliance Partnerships’ structure into a single reporting and trading entity.