NACCO Industries (NC) 10-Q2024 Q3 Quarterly report

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

Number of shares of Class B Common Stock outstanding at October 25, 2024: 1,565,519

See notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

See notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

See notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

See notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

The Company has items not directly attributable to a reportable segment that are not included in the reported financial results of the operating segment. These items primarily include administrative costs related to public company reporting requirements, including management and board compensation, and the financial results of Bellaire Corporation ("Bellaire"), Mitigation Resources and other developing businesses. Bellaire manages the Company’s long-term liabilities related to former Eastern U.S. underground mining activities. Intercompany accounts and transactions are eliminated in consolidation. See Note 8 for further discussion of segment reporting.

The Company’s operating segments are further described below:

The Coal Mining segment operates surface coal mines under long-term contracts with power generation companies pursuant to a service-based business model. Coal is surface mined in North Dakota and Mississippi. Each mine is fully integrated with its customer's operations.

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, the Coal Mining segment's operating coal mines were: The Coteau Properties Company (“Coteau”), Coyote Creek Mining Company, LLC (“Coyote Creek”), The Falkirk Mining Company (“Falkirk”) and Mississippi Lignite Mining Company (“MLMC”). Each of these mines supply lignite coal for power generation and delivers its coal production to an adjacent power plant or synfuels plant under a long-term supply contract. While MLMC’s coal supply contract contains a take or pay provision, the contract contains a force majeure provision that allows for the temporary suspension of the take or pay provision during the duration of certain specified events beyond the control of either party; all other coal supply contracts are requirements contracts. Certain coal supply contracts can be terminated early, which would result in a reduction to future earnings.

The MLMC contract is the only coal supply contract in which the Company is responsible for all operating costs, capital requirements and final mine reclamation; therefore, MLMC is consolidated within NACCO’s financial statements. MLMC sells coal to its customer's Red Hills Power Plant at a contractually agreed-upon price which adjusts monthly, primarily based on changes in the level of established indices which reflect general U.S. inflation rates. Profitability at MLMC is affected by customer demand for coal and changes in the indices that determine sales price and actual costs incurred. As diesel fuel is heavily weighted among the indices used to determine the coal sales price, fluctuations in diesel fuel prices can result in significant fluctuations in earnings at MLMC. The Red Hills Power Plant supplies electricity to the Tennessee Valley Authority (“TVA”) under a long-term power purchase agreement. MLMC’s contract with its customer runs through April 1, 2032. TVA’s power portfolio includes coal, nuclear, hydroelectric, natural gas and renewables. The decision regarding which power plants to dispatch is determined by TVA. Reduction in dispatch of the Red Hills Power Plant will result in reduced earnings at MLMC.

On December 18, 2023, MLMC received notice from its customer related to a mechanical issue that began on December 15, 2023 and impacted one of two boilers at the Red Hills Power Plant. While this issue has been resolved, it resulted in a reduction in customer demand which had a significant impact on the Company's results of operations during the first nine months of 2024. The Company recognized income of $13.6 million in the third quarter of 2024 related to business interruption insurance recoveries to partially offset losses related to the boiler outage.

The Sabine Mining Company (“Sabine”) operates the Sabine Mine in Texas. All production from Sabine was delivered to Southwestern Electric Power Company's (“SWEPCO”) Henry W. Pirkey Plant (the “Pirkey Plant”). SWEPCO is an American Electric Power (“AEP”) company. As a result of the early retirement of the Pirkey Plant, Sabine ceased deliveries and commenced final reclamation on April 1, 2023. Funding for mine reclamation is the responsibility of SWEPCO, and Sabine receives compensation for providing mine reclamation services. Sabine will provide mine reclamation services through September 30, 2026. On October 1, 2026, SWEPCO is scheduled to acquire all of the capital stock of Sabine and complete the remaining mine reclamation.

At Coteau, Coyote Creek and Falkirk, the Company is paid a management fee per ton of coal or heating unit (MMBtu) delivered. Each contract specifies the indices and mechanics by which fees change over time, generally in line with broad measures of U.S. inflation. The customers are responsible for funding all mine operating costs, including final mine reclamation, and directly or indirectly providing all of the capital required to build and operate the mine. This contract structure eliminates exposure to spot coal market price fluctuations while providing income and cash flow with minimal capital investment. Other than at Coyote Creek, debt financing provided by or supported by the customers is without recourse to the Company. See Note 6 for further discussion of Coyote Creek's guarantees.

Coteau, Coyote Creek, Falkirk and Sabine each meet the definition of a variable interest entity ("VIE"). In each case, NACCO is not the primary beneficiary of the VIE as it does not exercise financial control; therefore, NACCO does not consolidate the results of these operations within its financial statements. Instead, these contracts are accounted for as equity method investments. The Company regularly evaluates if there are reconsideration events which could change the Company's conclusion as to whether these entities meet the definition of a VIE and the determination of the primary beneficiary. The income before income taxes associated with these VIEs is reported as Earnings of unconsolidated operations on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and the Company’s investment is reported on the line Investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The mines that meet the definition of a VIE are referred to collectively as the “Unconsolidated Subsidiaries.” For tax purposes, the Unconsolidated Subsidiaries are included within the NACCO consolidated U.S. tax return; therefore, the Income tax provision (benefit) line on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations includes income taxes related to these entities. See Note 6 for further information on the Unconsolidated Subsidiaries.

The Company performs contemporaneous reclamation activities at each mine in the normal course of operations. Under all of the Unconsolidated Subsidiaries’ contracts, the customer has the obligation to fund final mine reclamation activities. Under certain contracts, the Unconsolidated Subsidiary holds the mine permit and is therefore responsible for final mine reclamation activities. To the extent the Unconsolidated Subsidiary performs such final reclamation, it is compensated for providing those services in addition to receiving reimbursement from customers for costs incurred.

The NAMining segment provides value-added contract mining and other services for producers of industrial minerals. The segment is a platform for the Company’s growth and diversification of mining activities outside of the thermal coal industry. NAMining provides contract mining services for independently owned mines and quarries, creating value for its customers by performing the mining aspects of its customers’ operations. This allows customers to focus on their areas of expertise: materials handling and processing, product sales and distribution. As of September 30, 2024, NAMining operates in Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Virginia and Nebraska. In addition, Sawtooth Mining, LLC ("Sawtooth") has exclusive responsibility for mining and mine closure services for the Thacker Pass lithium project in northern Nevada, including mine design, construction, operation and maintenance.

Certain of the entities within the NAMining segment are VIEs and are accounted for under the equity method as Unconsolidated Subsidiaries. See Note 6 for further discussion.

The Minerals Management segment derives income primarily by leasing its royalty and mineral interests to third-party exploration and production companies, and, to a lesser extent, other mining companies, granting them the rights to explore, develop, mine, produce, market and sell gas, oil, and coal in exchange for royalty payments based on the lessees' sales of those minerals.

The Minerals Management segment owns royalty interests, mineral interests, non-participating royalty interests and overriding royalty interests.

The Company may own more than one type of mineral and royalty interest in the same tract of land. For example, where the Company owns an ORRI in a lease on the same tract of land in which it owns a mineral interest, the ORRI in that tract will relate to the same gross acres as the mineral interest in that tract.

The Minerals Management segment will benefit from the continued development of its mineral properties without the need for investment of additional capital once mineral and royalty interests have been acquired. The Minerals Management segment does not currently have any material investments under which it would be required to bear the cost of exploration, production or development.

The Company's acquisition criteria for building a blended portfolio of mineral and royalty interests includes (i) new wells anticipated to come online within one to two years of investment, (ii) areas with forecasted future development within five years after acquisition and (iii) existing producing wells further along the decline curve that will generate stable cash flow. In addition, acquisitions should extend the geographic footprint to diversify across multiple basins with a preliminary focus on the more oil-rich Permian basin and a secondary focus on other diversifying basins to increase regional exposure. While the current focus is on the acquisition of mineral and royalty interests, the Company would also consider investments in ORRIs, NPRIs or non-operating working interests under certain circumstances. The current acquisition strategy does not contemplate any near-term working interest investments in which the Company would act as the operator.

The Company also manages legacy royalty and mineral interests located in Ohio (Utica and Marcellus shale natural gas), Louisiana (Haynesville shale and Cotton Valley formation natural gas), Texas (Cotton Valley and Austin Chalk formation natural gas), Mississippi (coal), Pennsylvania (coal, coalbed methane and Marcellus shale natural gas), Alabama (coal, coalbed methane and natural gas) and North Dakota (coal, oil and natural gas). The majority of the Company’s legacy reserves were acquired as part of its historical coal mining operations.

The balance sheet at December 31, 2023 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date but does not include all of the information or notes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements.

At contract inception, the Company assesses the goods and services promised in its contracts with customers and identifies a performance obligation for each promised good or service that is distinct. To identify the performance obligations, the Company considers all of the goods or services promised in the contract regardless of whether they are explicitly stated or are implied by customary business practices.

At MLMC, each MMBtu delivered during the production period is considered a separate performance obligation. Revenue is recognized at the point in time that control of each MMBtu of lignite transfers to the customer. Fluctuations in revenue from period to period generally result from changes in customer demand.

At NAMining, the management service to oversee the operation of the equipment, and delivery of aggregates or other minerals is the performance obligation accounted for as a series. Performance momentarily creates an asset that the customer simultaneously receives and consumes; therefore, control is transferred to the customer over time. Consistent with the conclusion that the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefits provided, an input-based measure of progress is appropriate. As each month of service is completed, revenue is recognized for the amount of actual costs incurred, plus the management fee or fixed fee and the general and administrative fee (as applicable). Fluctuations in revenue from period to period result from changes in customer demand primarily due to increases and decreases in activity levels on individual contracts and variances in reimbursable costs. Revenue from part sales is recognized upon transfer of control of the parts to the customer.

The Minerals Management segment enters into contracts which grant the right to explore, develop, produce and sell minerals controlled by the Company. These arrangements result in the transfer of mineral rights for a period of time; however, no rights to the actual land are granted other than access for purposes of exploration, development, production and sales. The mineral rights revert back to the Company at the expiration of the contract.

Mitigation Resources generates and sells stream and wetland mitigation credits (known as mitigation banking) and provides services to those engaged in permittee-responsible stream and wetland mitigation. Each mitigation credit sale is considered a separate performance obligation. Revenue is recognized at the point in time that control of each mitigation credit transfers to the customer. Fluctuations in revenue from period to period generally result from changes in customer demand. Under the

permittee-responsible stream and wetland mitigation model, the contracts are generally structured as a management fee agreement under which Mitigation Resources is reimbursed for all costs incurred in performing the required mitigation plus an agreed profit percentage or a fixed fee. The mitigation services provided is the performance obligation and is accounted for as a series. Performance momentarily creates an asset that the customer simultaneously receives and consumes; therefore, control is transferred to the customer as work is completed. Consistent with the conclusion that the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefits provided, an input-based measure of progress is appropriate. As each month of service is completed, revenue is recognized for the amount of actual costs incurred, plus the management fee or fixed fee. Fluctuations in revenue from period to period result from changes in customer demand primarily due to increases and decreases in activity levels of individual contracts and variances in reimbursable costs.

The Company’s contracts with its customers in the Coal Mining and NAMining segments contain different types of variable consideration including, but not limited to, management fees that adjust based on volumes or MMBtu delivered. However, the terms of these variable payments relate specifically to the Company's efforts to satisfy one or more, but not all, of the performance obligations (or to a specific outcome from satisfying the performance obligations) in the contract. Therefore, the Company allocates each variable payment (and subsequent changes to that payment) entirely to the specific performance obligation to which it relates. Management fees, as well as general and administrative fees, are also adjusted based on changes in specified indices (e.g., CPI) to compensate for general inflation changes. Index adjustments, if applicable, are effective prospectively.

In the Minerals Management segment, the Company has the right to receive revenues from the sale of oil and natural gas through sales of the third-party lessees in which the Company owns a mineral or royalty interest. Revenue is recognized at the point control of the product is transferred from the operator to the purchaser. Those purchasers remit payment to the operator and the operator, in turn, remits payment to the Company. Receivables from third-party lessees for which the Company did not receive actual production information, either due to timing delays or due to the unavailability of data at the time when revenues are recognized, are estimated using expected sales volumes and estimated prices. The difference between the Company’s estimates and the actual amounts received is recorded in the month that payment is received from the third-party lessee. The Company typically receives payment for oil and natural gas sales within 90 days of the month of delivery. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, differences between the Company’s pricing estimates and the actual amounts received from operators were immaterial. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, any changes in estimates were immaterial.

Certain contracts include reimbursement from customers of actual costs incurred for the purchase of supplies, equipment and services in accordance with contractual terms. Such reimbursable revenue is variable and subject to uncertainty, as the amounts received and timing thereof is highly dependent on factors outside of the Company’s control. Accordingly, reimbursable revenue is fully constrained and not recognized until the uncertainty is resolved, which typically occurs when the related costs are incurred on behalf of a customer. The Company is considered a principal in such transactions and records the associated revenue at the gross amount billed to the customer with the related costs recorded as an expense within cost of sales.

At the Thacker Pass lithium project, in addition to management fee income, the customer will reimburse Sawtooth for certain capital expenditures. Sawtooth will recognize revenue over the estimated useful life of the asset on a straight-line basis as the performance obligation is satisfied over time. In prior years, the customer received a $3.5 million advance from Sawtooth, which is included in the long-term contract asset. The customer will either pay a $4.7 million success fee to Sawtooth upon achieving commercial mining milestones or repay the $3.5 million advance if such commercial mining milestones are not met.

As discussed above, the Company records royalty income in the month production is delivered to the purchaser. The expected sales volumes and prices for these properties are estimated and recorded in "Trade accounts receivable" in the accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The difference between the Company’s estimates and the actual amounts received is recorded in the month that payment is received from the third-party lessee. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, royalty income recognized in the reporting period related to production satisfied in prior reporting periods was immaterial. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, royalty income recognized in the reporting period related to production satisfied in prior reporting periods was immaterial and $1.4 million, respectively.

In accordance with ASC 606-10-50, the Company disaggregates revenue from contracts with customers into major goods and service lines and timing of transfer of goods and services. The Company determined that disaggregating revenue into these categories achieves the disclosure objective of depicting how the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows are affected by economic factors. The Company’s business consists of the Coal Mining, NAMining and Minerals Management segments as well as Unallocated Items. See Note 8 to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion of segment reporting.

The following table disaggregates revenue by major sources as of September 30:

The opening and closing balances of the Company’s current and long-term contract assets and liabilities and receivables are as follows:

The Company expects to recognize an additional $0.4 million in the remainder of 2024 and 2025, $1.1 million in 2026, less than $0.1 million in 2027 and $2.9 million in the years after 2028 related to the contract liability remaining at September 30, 2024. The difference between the opening and closing balances of the Company’s contract balances results from the timing difference between the Company’s performance and the customer’s payment.

The Company has no contract assets recognized from the costs to obtain or fulfill a contract with a customer.

Inventories are summarized as follows:

The timing and amount of any repurchases under the 2023 Stock Repurchase Program are determined at the discretion of the Company's management based on a number of factors, including the availability of capital, other capital allocation alternatives, market conditions for the Company's Class A Common Stock and other legal and contractual restrictions. The 2023 Stock Repurchase Program does not require the Company to acquire any specific number of shares and may be modified, suspended, extended or terminated by the Company without prior notice and may be executed through open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions or otherwise. All or part of the repurchases under the 2023 Stock Repurchase Program may be implemented under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, which would allow repurchases under pre-set terms at times when the Company might otherwise be restricted from doing so under applicable securities laws.

Bellaire Corporation (“Bellaire”) is a non-operating subsidiary of the Company with legacy liabilities relating to closed mining operations, primarily former Eastern U.S. underground coal mining operations. Prior to 2023, Bellaire contributed $5.0 million to establish a mine water treatment trust (the "Mine Water Treatment Trust") to assure the long-term treatment of post-mining discharge. Bellaire's Mine Water Treatment Trust invests in equity securities that are reported at fair value based upon quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets; therefore, they are classified as Level 1 within the fair value hierarchy. The fair value of the Mine Water Treatment Trust was $12.3 million and $11.2 million at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively, and is included in Other non-current assets in the accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company recognized a gain of $0.6 million and $1.5 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, respectively, and a loss of $0.4 million and a gain of $0.7 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, respectively, related to the Mine Water Treatment Trust.

Prior to 2023, the Company invested $2.0 million in equity securities of a public company with a diversified portfolio of royalty producing mineral interests. The investment is reported at fair value based upon quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets; therefore, it is classified as Level 1 within the fair value hierarchy. The fair value of this investment was $5.7 million and $6.0 million at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively, and is included in Other non-current assets in the accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company recognized a loss of $0.1 million and $0.3 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, respectively, and a loss of $0.2 million during both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 related to the investment in these equity securities.

The change in fair value of equity securities is reported on the line (Gain) loss on equity securities in the Other expense (income) section of the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

There were no transfers into or out of Levels 1, 2 or 3 during the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023.

Each of the Company's wholly owned Unconsolidated Subsidiaries, within the Coal Mining and NAMining segments, meet the definition of a VIE. The Unconsolidated Subsidiaries are capitalized primarily with debt financing provided by or supported by their respective customers, and generally without recourse to the Company. Although the Company owns 100% of the equity and manages the daily operations of the Unconsolidated Subsidiaries, the Company has determined that the equity capital provided by the Company is not sufficient to adequately finance the ongoing activities or absorb any expected losses without additional support from the customers. The customers have a controlling financial interest and have the power to direct the activities that most significantly affect the economic performance of the entities. As a result, the Company is not the primary beneficiary and therefore does not consolidate these entities' financial positions or results of operations. See Note 1 for a discussion of these entities.

The Investment in the unconsolidated subsidiaries and related tax positions totaled $16.7 million and $12.4 million at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. The Company's maximum risk of loss relating to these entities is limited to its invested capital, which was $4.7 million and $5.0 million at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. Earnings of unconsolidated operations were $15.2 million and $42.1 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, respectively, and $12.8 million and $37.7 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, respectively.

NACCO Natural Resources Corporation ("NACCO Natural Resources"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NACCO, is a party to certain guarantees related to Coyote Creek. Under certain circumstances of default or termination of Coyote Creek’s Lignite Sales Agreement (“LSA”), NACCO Natural Resources would be obligated for payment of a "make-whole" amount to Coyote Creek’s third-party lenders. The “make-whole” amount is based on the excess, if any, of the discounted value of the remaining scheduled debt payments over the principal amount. In addition, in the event Coyote Creek’s LSA is terminated by Coyote Creek’s customers, NACCO Natural Resources is obligated to purchase Coyote Creek’s dragline and rolling stock for the then net book value of those assets. To date, no payments have been required from NACCO Natural Resources since the inception of these guarantees. The Company believes that the likelihood NACCO Natural Resources would be required to perform under the guarantees is remote, and no amounts related to these guarantees have been recorded.

Various legal and regulatory proceedings and claims have been or may be asserted against NACCO and certain subsidiaries relating to the conduct of their businesses. These proceedings and claims are incidental to the ordinary course of business of the Company. Management believes that it has meritorious defenses and will vigorously defend the Company in these actions. Any costs that management estimates will be paid as a result of these claims are accrued when the liability is considered probable

and the amount can be reasonably estimated. If a range of amounts can be reasonably estimated and no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other amount, then the minimum of the range is accrued. The Company does not accrue liabilities when the likelihood that the liability has been incurred is probable but the amount cannot be reasonably estimated or when the liability is believed to be only reasonably possible or remote. For contingencies where an unfavorable outcome is probable or reasonably possible and which are material, the Company discloses the nature of the contingency and, in some circumstances, an estimate of the possible loss. 

These matters are subject to inherent uncertainties, and unfavorable rulings could occur. If an unfavorable ruling were to occur, there exists the possibility of an adverse impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the period in which the ruling occurs, or in future periods.

The Company’s operating segments are: (i) Coal Mining, (ii) NAMining and (iii) Minerals Management. The Company determines its reportable segments by first identifying its operating segments, and then by assessing whether any components of these segments constitute a business for which discrete financial information is available and where segment management regularly reviews the operating results of that component. The Company’s Chief Operating Decision Maker utilizes operating profit to evaluate segment performance and allocate resources.

The Company has items not directly attributable to a reportable segment that are not included as part of the measurement of segment operating profit. These items primarily include administrative costs related to public company reporting requirements at the parent company and the financial results of Mitigation Resources and Bellaire. Mitigation Resources provides stream and wetland mitigation solutions as well as comprehensive reclamation and restoration construction services. Bellaire manages the Company’s long-term liabilities related to former Eastern U.S. underground mining activities.

All financial statement line items below operating profit (other income including interest expense and interest income, the provision (benefit) for income taxes and net income) are presented and discussed within this Form 10-Q on a consolidated basis.

The following table presents Revenues, Cost of sales, Earnings of unconsolidated operations, Operating expenses, Operating profit (loss), Expenditures for property, plant and equipment and acquisition of mineral interests and Depreciation, depletion and amortization expense:

*Operating expenses (income) consist of Selling, general and administrative expenses, Amortization of intangible assets and (Gain) loss on sale of assets.

Asset information by segment is not discretely maintained for internal reporting or used in evaluating performance.

The Company has items not directly attributable to a reportable segment that are not included in the reported financial results of the operating segment. These items primarily include administrative costs related to public company reporting requirements, including management and board compensation, and the financial results of Bellaire Corporation ("Bellaire"), Mitigation Resources and other developing businesses. Bellaire manages the Company’s long-term liabilities related to former Eastern U.S. underground mining activities.

All financial statement line items below operating profit (other income, including interest expense and interest income, the provision (benefit) for income taxes and net income) are presented and discussed within this Form 10-Q on a consolidated basis.

The Company’s operating segments are further described below:

The Coal Mining segment operates surface coal mines under long-term contracts with power generation companies pursuant to a service-based business model. Coal is surface mined in North Dakota and Mississippi. Each mine is fully integrated with its customer's operations.

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, the Coal Mining segment's operating coal mines were: The Coteau Properties Company (“Coteau”), Coyote Creek Mining Company, LLC (“Coyote Creek”), The Falkirk Mining Company (“Falkirk”) and Mississippi Lignite Mining Company (“MLMC”). Each of these mines supply lignite coal for power generation and delivers its coal production to an adjacent power plant or synfuels plant under a long-term supply contract. While MLMC’s coal supply contract contains a take or pay provision, the contract contains a force majeure provision that allows for the temporary suspension of the take or pay provision during the duration of certain specified events beyond the control of either party; all other coal supply contracts are requirements contracts. Certain coal supply contracts can be terminated early, which would result in a reduction to future earnings.

The MLMC contract is the only coal supply contract in which the Company is responsible for all operating costs, capital requirements and final mine reclamation; therefore, MLMC is consolidated within NACCO’s financial statements. MLMC sells coal to its customer's Red Hills Power Plant at a contractually agreed-upon price which adjusts monthly, primarily based on changes in the level of established indices which reflect general U.S. inflation rates. Profitability at MLMC is affected by customer demand for coal and changes in the indices that determine sales price and actual costs incurred. As diesel fuel is heavily weighted among the indices used to determine the coal sales price, fluctuations in diesel fuel prices can result in significant fluctuations in earnings at MLMC. The Red Hills Power Plant supplies electricity to the Tennessee Valley Authority (“TVA”) under a long-term power purchase agreement. MLMC’s contract with its customer runs through April 1, 2032. TVA’s power portfolio includes coal, nuclear, hydroelectric, natural gas and renewables. The decision regarding which power plants to dispatch is determined by TVA. Reduction in dispatch of the Red Hills Power Plant will result in reduced earnings at MLMC.

On December 18, 2023, MLMC received notice from its customer related to a mechanical issue that began on December 15, 2023 and impacted one of two boilers at the Red Hills Power Plant. While this issue has been resolved, it resulted in a reduction

in customer demand which had a significant impact on the Company's results of operations during the first nine months of 2024. The Company recognized income of $13.6 million in the third quarter of 2024 related to business interruption insurance recoveries to partially offset losses related to the boiler outage.

The Sabine Mining Company (“Sabine”) operates the Sabine Mine in Texas. All production from Sabine was delivered to Southwestern Electric Power Company's (“SWEPCO”) Henry W. Pirkey Plant (the “Pirkey Plant”). SWEPCO is an American Electric Power (“AEP”) company. As a result of the early retirement of the Pirkey Plant, Sabine ceased deliveries and commenced final reclamation on April 1, 2023. Funding for mine reclamation is the responsibility of SWEPCO, and Sabine receives compensation for providing mine reclamation services. Sabine will provide mine reclamation services through September 30, 2026. On October 1, 2026, SWEPCO is scheduled to acquire all of the capital stock of Sabine and complete the remaining mine reclamation.

At Coteau, Coyote Creek and Falkirk, the Company is paid a management fee per ton of coal or heating unit (MMBtu) delivered. Each contract specifies the indices and mechanics by which fees change over time, generally in line with broad measures of U.S. inflation. The customers are responsible for funding all mine operating costs, including final mine reclamation, and directly or indirectly providing all of the capital required to build and operate the mine. This contract structure eliminates exposure to spot coal market price fluctuations while providing income and cash flow with minimal capital investment. Other than at Coyote Creek, debt financing provided by or supported by the customers is without recourse to the Company. See Note 6 to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion of Coyote Creek's guarantees.

Coteau, Coyote Creek, Falkirk and Sabine each meet the definition of a variable interest entity ("VIE"). In each case, NACCO is not the primary beneficiary of the VIE as it does not exercise financial control; therefore, NACCO does not consolidate the results of these operations within its financial statements. Instead, these contracts are accounted for as equity method investments. The Company regularly evaluates if there are reconsideration events which could change the Company's conclusion as to whether these entities meet the definition of a VIE and the determination of the primary beneficiary. The income before income taxes associated with these VIEs is reported as Earnings of unconsolidated operations on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and the Company’s investment is reported on the line Investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The mines that meet the definition of a VIE are referred to collectively as the “Unconsolidated Subsidiaries.” For tax purposes, the Unconsolidated Subsidiaries are included within the NACCO consolidated U.S. tax return; therefore, the Income tax provision (benefit) line on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations includes income taxes related to these entities. See Note 6 to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for further information on the Unconsolidated Subsidiaries.

The Company performs contemporaneous reclamation activities at each mine in the normal course of operations. Under all of the Unconsolidated Subsidiaries’ contracts, the customer has the obligation to fund final mine reclamation activities. Under certain contracts, the Unconsolidated Subsidiary holds the mine permit and is therefore responsible for final mine reclamation activities. To the extent the Unconsolidated Subsidiary performs such final reclamation, it is compensated for providing those services in addition to receiving reimbursement from customers for costs incurred.

The NAMining segment provides value-added contract mining and other services for producers of industrial minerals. The segment is a platform for the Company’s growth and diversification of mining activities outside of the thermal coal industry. NAMining provides contract mining services for independently owned mines and quarries, creating value for its customers by performing the mining aspects of its customers’ operations. This allows customers to focus on their areas of expertise: materials handling and processing, product sales and distribution. As of September 30, 2024, NAMining operates in Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Virginia and Nebraska. In addition, Sawtooth Mining, LLC ("Sawtooth") has exclusive responsibility for mining and mine closure services for the Thacker Pass lithium project in northern Nevada, including mine design, construction, operation and maintenance.

Certain of the entities within the NAMining segment are VIEs and are accounted for under the equity method as Unconsolidated Subsidiaries. See Note 6 to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion.

The Minerals Management segment derives income primarily by leasing its royalty and mineral interests to third-party exploration and production companies, and, to a lesser extent, other mining companies, granting them the rights to explore, develop, mine, produce, market and sell gas, oil, and coal in exchange for royalty payments based on the lessees' sales of those minerals.

The Minerals Management segment owns royalty interests, mineral interests, non-participating royalty interests and overriding royalty interests.

The Company may own more than one type of mineral and royalty interest in the same tract of land. For example, where the Company owns an ORRI in a lease on the same tract of land in which it owns a mineral interest, the ORRI in that tract will relate to the same gross acres as the mineral interest in that tract.

The Minerals Management segment will benefit from the continued development of its mineral properties without the need for investment of additional capital once mineral and royalty interests have been acquired. The Minerals Management segment does not currently have any material investments under which it would be required to bear the cost of exploration, production or development.

The Company's acquisition criteria for building a blended portfolio of mineral and royalty interests includes (i) new wells anticipated to come online within one to two years of investment, (ii) areas with forecasted future development within five years after acquisition and (iii) existing producing wells further along the decline curve that will generate stable cash flow. In addition, acquisitions should extend the geographic footprint to diversify across multiple basins with a preliminary focus on the more oil-rich Permian basin and a secondary focus on other diversifying basins to increase regional exposure. While the current focus is on the acquisition of mineral and royalty interests, the Company would also consider investments in ORRIs, NPRIs or non-operating working interests under certain circumstances. The current acquisition strategy does not contemplate any near-term working interest investments in which the Company would act as the operator.

The Company also manages legacy royalty and mineral interests located in Ohio (Utica and Marcellus shale natural gas), Louisiana (Haynesville shale and Cotton Valley formation natural gas), Texas (Cotton Valley and Austin Chalk formation natural gas), Mississippi (coal), Pennsylvania (coal, coalbed methane and Marcellus shale natural gas), Alabama (coal, coalbed methane and natural gas) and North Dakota (coal, oil and natural gas). The majority of the Company’s legacy reserves were acquired as part of its historical coal mining operations.

Review of the newly established carbon dioxide emission guidelines for existing coal-fired, steam generating electric generating units ("EGUs") indicate that the compliance deadline for coal-fired plants planning to install carbon capture and sequestration/storage technology has been extended to January 1, 2032 in order to operate beyond 2039. If a coal-fired plant intends to close prior to 2032, no controls will be required and if a plant plans to close between 2032 and 2039, they must begin co-firing with natural gas by January 1, 2030.

The MATS rules finalize changes for the filterable particulate matter surrogate emission standard for non-mercury metal hazardous air pollutants for existing coal-fired EGUs, the filterable particulate matter emission standard compliance demonstration requirements, and the mercury emission standard for lignite-fired EGUs. Review of the MATS rules indicate that the EPA significantly reduced the fine particulate matter emission standard for all existing coal-fired EGUs and will require continuous monitoring equipment to demonstrate compliance. Furthermore, the EPA elected to remove the lignite subcategory for mercury limits and will require lignite-fired EGUs to meet the same standard as other types of coal.

Substantially all of the Coal Mining segment's profits are derived from long-term mining contracts. These new rules may raise the cost of fossil fuel generated energy, making coal-fired power plants less competitive, and/or result in early closure of the coal-fired EGU's operated by the Company's customers which could have an adverse impact on demand for coal and ultimately result in the early closure of the mines servicing these plants, including closure of the Company's coal mines. The Company cannot predict the full impact of the MATS and GHG rules on the operations of the coal-fired EGUs operated by its customers and any early closure of the Company's mines could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

The EPA promulgated a regional haze program designed to protect and to improve visibility at and around Class I Areas, which are generally National Parks, National Wilderness Areas and International Parks. State implementation of the EPA’s Regional Haze Rule could require Coyote Creek’s customers to incur significant new costs at the Coyote Station power plant, which could result in the premature closure of the power plant and the Coyote Creek mine. The North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality (“NDDEQ”) finalized its state implementation plan and submitted it to the EPA for approval in August 2022. The NDDEQ determined that visibility progress was being made and did not require significant emissions controls at Coyote Station power plant. Notwithstanding NDDEQ’s determination, the EPA may require additional costly emission controls and it may not be economically feasible for Coyote Creek's customers to invest in such equipment, which could result in early retirement of Coyote Station and the Coyote Creek mine. In July 2024, the EPA issued a proposed partial denial of the state implementation plan. The Company submitted comments to the EPA on the proposed partial denial during the third quarter of 2024.

Refer to the discussion of the Company's Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates as disclosed on pages 52 through 53 in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. The Company's Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates have not materially changed since December 31, 2023.

The results of operations for NACCO were as follows for the three and nine months ended September 30:

The components of the change in revenues and operating profit are discussed below in "Segment Results."

Interest expense increased in the third quarter of 2024 and the first nine months of 2024 compared with the respective 2023 periods due to higher average borrowings as well as an increase in interest rates.

Interest income decreased in the third quarter of 2024 and the first nine months of 2024 compared with the respective 2023 periods due to lower earnings on reduced cash balances.

On December 1, 2022, the Company transferred its ownership interest in Midwest AgEnergy Group, LLC (“MAG”), a North Dakota-based ethanol business to HLCP Ethanol Holdco, LLC (“HLCP”). The Company received a payment of $1.2 million in the first quarter of 2023 in connection with a post-closing purchase price adjustment, which is included on the line Other, net within the accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

The Company evaluates and updates its estimated annual effective income tax rate on a quarterly basis based on current and forecasted operating results and tax laws. Consequently, based upon the mix and timing of actual earnings compared to projections of earnings between entities that benefit from percentage depletion and those that do not, the effective tax rate may vary quarterly and may make quarterly comparisons not meaningful. The benefit of percentage depletion is not directly related to the amount of consolidated pre-tax income recorded in a period. Accordingly, in periods where income before tax is relatively small, the proportional effect of the benefit from percentage depletion on the effective tax rate may be significant. In addition, as a result of a forecasted full-year 2023 loss before income tax as of September 30, 2023, the effect of the benefit from percentage depletion resulted in a negative forecasted effective tax rate. Each quarter, the Company updates its estimate of the annual effective tax rate, and the cumulative impact of the change in the estimated annual tax rate is recorded, which can make quarterly comparisons not meaningful.

The following tables detail NACCO's changes in cash flow for the nine months ended September 30:

The $65.9 million change in net cash (used for) provided by operating activities was primarily due to a net unfavorable change in working capital as well as a decrease in net income adjusted for non-cash items, primarily the $13.6 million receivable related to business interruption insurance recoveries at MLMC. The unfavorable change in working capital was mainly the result of:

In addition, the Company entered into an Accounts Receivable Financing Program with a third-party banking institution on March 14, 2024 for the sale of certain accounts receivables. Accounts receivable sold under the Accounts Receivable Financing Program for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 were $16.6 million and $33.7 million, respectively. The net proceeds received were included in Net cash (used for) provided by operating activities in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.