Alliance Holdings GP, L.P. (NASDAQ:AHGP) today reported strong financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 (the “2016 Quarter”) and announced that the Board of Directors of its general partner (the “Board”) approved a distribution to unitholders of $0.55 per unit (an annualized rate of $2.20 per unit) for the 2016 Quarter, payable on November 18, 2016 to AHGP’s unitholders of record as of the close of trading on November 10, 2016.  The announced distribution is equal to that declared for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 (the “Sequential Quarter”) and compares to the unitholder distribution of $0.96 per unit for the quarter ended September 30, 2015 (the “2015 Quarter”).

AHGP’s principal sources of cash flow are its ownership of general partner interests, limited partner interests and incentive distribution rights in Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ:ARLP).  The declared distribution is based on the distribution AHGP will receive from its ownership interests in ARLP, which today announced a quarterly distribution for the 2016 Quarter of $0.4375 per unit, or $1.75 per unit on an annualized basis, payable on November 14, 2016 to all unitholders of record as of the close of trading on November 7, 2016.  (See ARLP Press Release dated October 28, 2016.)

AHGP also reported net income for the 2016 Quarter of $48.5 million, or net income per basic and diluted limited partner interest of $0.81 per unit, compared to net income for the 2015 Quarter of $56.1 million, or $0.94 per basic and diluted limited partner unit.  AHGP’s net income for the 2016 Quarter increased approximately 6.9% compared to net income for the Sequential Quarter of $45.4 million, or net income per basic and diluted limited partner interest of $0.76 per unit.

Operating results for AHGP reflect those of the operating subsidiaries of ARLP and, as a result, AHGP reports its financial results on a consolidated basis with the financial results of ARLP.  Consolidated net income includes earnings and losses attributable to both AHGP and non-controlling interests.  Unless otherwise noted, any reference to net income in this release represents Net Income Attributable to AHGP.

Based on ARLP’s current declared distribution, AHGP expects to receive quarterly cash distributions from ARLP of $33.4 million, or $133.6 million on an annualized basis. AHGP’s primary cash requirements are for working capital, distributions to its unitholders and, for the 2016 full year, an estimated $3.0 million in general and administrative expenses.

AHGP and ARLP will discuss their 2016 Quarter financial results during a joint conference call scheduled for today at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.  To participate in the conference call, dial (855) 793-3259 and provide conference number 42634095.  International callers should dial (631) 485-4928 and provide the same conference number.  Investors may also listen to the call via the “investor information” section of ARLP’s website at http://www.arlp.com or AHGP’s website at http://www.ahgp.com.

An audio replay of the conference call will be available for approximately one week.  To access the audio replay, dial (855) 859-2056 and provide conference number 42634095.  International callers should dial (404) 537-3406 and provide the same conference number.

This announcement is intended to be a qualified notice under Treasury Regulation Section 1.1446-4(b), with 100% of the partnership’s distributions to foreign investors attributable to income that is effectively connected with a United States trade or business.  Accordingly, AHGP’s distributions to foreign investors are subject to federal income tax withholding at the highest applicable tax rate.

About Alliance Holdings GP, L.P.

AHGP is a limited partnership formed to own and control Alliance Resource Management GP, LLC, the managing general partner of ARLP, through which it holds a 1.98% general partner interest and the incentive distribution rights in ARLP.  In addition, AHGP owns 31,088,338 common units of ARLP.

News, unit prices and additional information about AHGP including filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, are available at http://www.ahgp.com.  For more information, contact the investor relations department of AHGP at (918) 295-1415 or via e-mail at [email protected].