HOUSTON, Apr 21, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Natural Resource Partners L.P.
(NYSE: NRP) today declared a quarterly distribution of $0.5225 payable on
May 15, 2003 to unitholders of record on May 1, 2003. This distribution
represents an increase of $0.01 per unit over the minimum quarterly
distribution established at the time of NRP's initial public offering and
equates to an annualized distribution of $2.09 per unit.
Corbin J. Robertson, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said,
"During our six month history as a public company, we have exceeded our
expectations with respect to the assets contributed to NRP as well as the
assets we have acquired since our initial public offering. We formed NRP to
be a growth partnership and we are pleased to share some of the early success
with our unitholders. We will consider further increases in the distribution
after we fully integrate our acquisitions with the contributed properties."
Natural Resource Partners L.P. is headquartered in Houston, TX, with its
operations headquarters in Huntington, WV. NRP is a master limited
partnership that is principally engaged in the business of owning and managing
coal properties in the three major coal producing regions of the United
States: Appalachia, the Illinois Basin and the Powder River Basin.
For additional information, please contact Kathy Hager at 713-751-7555 or
khager@nrplp.com . Further information about NRP is available on the
partnership's website at http://www.nrplp.com .
This press release may include "forward-looking statements" as defined by
the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such statements are those concerning
the increases in distributions in the future and the annualized distribution.
All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this
press release that address activities, events or developments that the
partnership expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future
are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on certain
assumptions made by the partnership based on its experience and perception of
historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other
factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Such statements are
subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are
beyond the control of the partnership. These risks include, but are not
limited to, decreases in demand for coal; changes in operating conditions and
costs; production cuts by our lessees; commodity prices; unanticipated
geologic problems; changes in the legislative or regulatory environment and
other factors detailed in Natural Resource Partners' Securities and Exchange
Commission filings.
SOURCE Natural Resource Partners L.P.
Kathy Hager of Natural Resource Partners L.P., +1-713-751-7555
or khager@nrplp.com