VANCOUVER, Dec. 16 /CNW/ - Westshore Terminals Income Fund (TSX: WTE.UN) (the "Fund") announced today that a cash distribution of $39,352,508 (representing $0.53 per trust unit) will be paid on or before January 15, 2009 to unitholders of record on December 31, 2008, as compared to $26,730,005 (representing $0.36 per trust unit) for the same period in 2007.
For 2008, total cash distributions will be $1.80 per unit as compared to $1.16 per unit in 2007.
For the fourth quarter of 2008, Westshore anticipates that its tonnage throughput will be approximately 5.3 million tonnes, roughly the same volume levels shipped in Q4 2007. Tonnage throughput to December 31, 2008 is anticipated to be approximately the same levels as those shipped in 2007 at 21.2 million tonnes.
On December 4, 2008, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed Elk Valley Coal Partnership's leave to appeal application of the BC Court of Appeal decision issued in favour of Westshore in April 2008. This decision supports the arbitrator's decision, rendered in July 2006, in favour of Westshore, which determined that there was no basis to order a revision to the coal loading rates under the contract for coal shipped from the Elkview mine. Accordingly, the formula of determining the loading rate which has been in force under the contract since 2000, continues for the remaining term of the contract to March 2010.
