Miner ATH confirms it is in talks on possible bid

ATH Resources, one of Scotland's biggest coal mine operators, yesterday said it was in discussions over a possible offer for the company.

Shares in Aim-listed ATH, which is headquartered in Doncaster but has all its open cast mining operations in East Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway and Fife, have risen strongly over the past week, prompting the company to confirm the approach.

"The board of ATH notes the recent rise in the share price and announces that it is in preliminary discussions with a third party which may or may not lead to an offer being made for the entire issued share capital of the company," it said.

ATH is one of the largest producers of coal in the UK, with an output of two million tonnes a year.

Last month it posted pre-tax losses of 3.6 million for the first six months of its financial year due to lower-than-expected coal reserves at its Glenmuckloch site in Dumfries and Galloway and issues with old workings at Muir Dean in Fife.

Shares in ATH rose by 7p to 56.5p yesterday valuing the company at 22.6m.

l Howden, the Renfrew-based engineering firm, said yesterday that profits were ahead of expectations in the first half of the year and reported a record order book.

The company, owned by potential takeover target Charter International, made an adjusted operating profit of 38.9m, up by more than 35 per cent on the first half of 2010.

The contribution from Howden, which specialises in air and gas handling equipment, helped Charter report a 3.1 per cent increase in first half pre-tax profits.to 75.6m.

On Monday predator Melrose had urged Charter to open its books and said it would consider improving its proposed 840p-a-share offer which Charter has rejected. Following the results Emilson declined to comment on either what price the company would consider acceptable or whether it had received alternative approaches. Shares in Charter closed up 1p at 798p.