The conditions precedent for the sale of Wesfarmers Premier Coal business which was announced on 27 September 2011 has now been satisfied. Completion of the sale is expected to occur in the coming weeks.

In line with previous guidance, Wesfarmers Resources division is expected to report a pre-tax profit of approximately USD 90 million from the sale. Assuming the sale completes as expected, the pre-tax profit will be included in the financial results for the first half of the 2012 financial year. The final sale proceeds and profit impact are subject to finalization of the completion accounts in the next few weeks.

Wesfarmers said it expects to book USD 90 million pre-tax profit on the sale of its Premier Coal business to Chinese owned Yancoal after the deal was given regulatory approval on Friday.

The diversified Perth based company announced the sale of the asset, in Western Australia South West region in September for a sale price of USD 296.8 million. The deal needed approval from Australia Foreign Investment Review Board and Chinese government authorities which has now been received.

The transaction trims Wesfarmers coal business to two mines, the Curragh metallurgical and thermal coal project in Queensland and the Bengalla thermal coal operation in NSW.