Westmoreland expects to produce 28 million tons in 2014.

Moreover, as reportable incidents fell from 78.1% to 56.4% year-on-year, representatives voiced enthusiasm over balance sheet prospects. “Our strong operating cash flows set the stage for the transaction,” said Executive Chairman Keith E. Alessi, referring to the Colorado miner’s Sherritt purchase for $465 million.

CEO Robert P. King attributed 2013 growth to strong power demand, low hydro generation, and favorable weather conditions. “We are also very pleased that the Kemmerer mine, (acquired in Q1 2012), continued to perform beyond expectations” in safety terms, while Westmoreland’s incidence rate remained significantly lower than the national average for surface mines, he added.

A new customer and Sherco Unit 3’s resuming operations at the Absaloka mine further enhanced revenues. North Carolina’s ROVA power plant also experienced improved performance with fewer outages. Both factors overrode impacts of significant unplanned customer outages last year.