Revenue for the six months ended December 31 was $49.9 million, up from $13 million in the corresponding period of 2010.

The company’s gross profit for the period totalled $14.1 million, up from $400,000 in the previous corresponding period.

Operating highlights for the first half of the 2011/12 financial year included increasing total run of mine of thermal coal production by 112% to 937,464 tonnes.

Production of coal from its Ferreira coal mine increasing by 402% while output at its Vlakvarkfontein operation jumped 32%.

Total coal sales for the period reached 1Mt, a 269% jump on the previous corresponding period.

Export thermal coal sales increased by 308% to 309,445t while domestic thermal coal sales were up 235% to 693,665t.

Coal processed through its Delta processing operation totalled a record 532,003t for the period, representing a 352% increase of the 115,676t processed the same time last year.

Continental chief executive officer Don Turvey said the positive operating and financial results for the latter half of 2011 indicated the company was growing at a fast pace.

“The strong operating performances at the Vlakvarkfontein coal mine and the Ferreira coal mine and Delta processing operations over the past six months have now started to flow through into a much improved financial performance for the company, which we now expect to see continue over the remainder of the 2011/12 financial year and well beyond that," Turvey said.

“We have turned this business around, having previously reported a net loss of A$30.8 million in the previous corresponding period.

“It comes in only our second full year of operations in South Africa and is a clear indication of the transformation that this company has recently undergone,” he said.

Development of the Penumbra mine commenced in the reporting period, with mobilization of contractors to the site occurring in September 2011.

First production from the development of the underground mining operation at the Penumbra coal mine is forecast to commence in Q3 2012 with the full production rate of 850,000t targeted within six months of start-up.

Cash at hand as of December 31 totalled $11.3 million.