Westshore Terminals Invest. Corp. 2020 Earnings, Price Target Update

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Westshore Terminals(WTE:TSX) operates a coal storage and loading facility at Roberts Bank, British Columbia that is the largest coal loading facility in North America. Westshore receives handling charges from its customers on a per ton basis. Westshore does not take title to the coal it handles. Market conditions for coal affect the competitiveness of Westshore's customers and, therefore, may affect the volume of coal handled by Westshore. Westshore has contracts to ship coal from mines in British Columbia, Alberta and Montana. Coal is delivered to the Terminal in unit trains operated by Canadian Pacific Railway, BNSF Railway, and Canadian National Railway. The product is unloaded and either directly loaded onto a ship or stockpiled for future ship loading. The loaded ships are destined around the globe to 18 different countries, with the largest volumes being shipped to Asia. The Terminal's unique location provides strategic advantages with rail access, storage capacity and vessel handling. These advantages are capable of being utilized for handling other bulk commodities. Westshore continues to evaluate the feasibility of proposals to handle other commodities as opportunities arise.

During 2020, 66% of Westshore's volume was steel making coal (64 % in 2019) and 34% was thermal coal (36% in 2019). Steel making coal typically provides the larger shipping volume. Westshore's customers compete with other coal miners throughout the world. The major competitors for Westshore's customers are producers with mines in Australia, Indonesia, South Africa and Columbia. Westshore operates under term contracts with its customers. Most of the contracts entered into in the last five years have terms in the range of five to seven years. In certain cases, Westshore has made short term contracts with new customers in anticipation it will lead to longer term arrangements, as has usually happened. Contracts are often renegotiated and extended prior to their expiry.

Westshore has a 50 year lease with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority for the Roberts Bank property where their facilities are located. Coal is delivered to the Terminal in unit trains operated primarily by Canadian Pacific and BNSF Railways and is then unloaded and either directly transferred onto a ship or stockpiled for future ship loading.

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