Alliance Holdings GP, L.P. Increases Quarterly Distribution by 2.5% to $0.915 Per Unit; Reports Increased Quarterly and Record Annual Financial Results as 2014 Net Income Rises 21.6%

Alliance Holdings GP, L.P. (NASDAQ: AHGP) today announced that the Board of Directors of its general partner declared a quarterly cash distribution for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 (the "2014 Quarter") of $0.915 per unit, or an annualized rate of $3.66 per unit. The declared distribution will be paid on February 19, 2015 to AHGP’s unitholders of record as of the close of trading on February 12, 2015.

The announced quarterly cash distribution represents a 10.6% increase over the $0.8275 per unit distribution (an annualized rate of $3.31 per unit) for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 (the "2013 Quarter") and an increase of 2.5% over the third quarter 2014 distribution of $0.8925 per unit (an annualized rate of $3.57 per unit).

The declared distribution is based on the distribution AHGP will receive from its ownership interests in Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: ARLP). ARLP today announced a quarterly distribution for the 2014 Quarter of $0.65 per unit, or $2.60 per unit on an annualized basis, payable on February 13, 2015 to all unitholders of record as of the close of trading on February 6, 2015. (See ARLP Press Release dated January 28, 2015.)

AHGP also reported net income for the 2014 Quarter of $71.0 million, or $1.19 per basic and diluted limited partner unit, an increase of 21.0% compared to net income for the 2013 Quarter of $58.7 million, or $0.98 per basic and diluted limited partner unit. For the year ended December 31, 2014, AHGP’s net income increased 21.6% to a record $284.4 million, or $4.75 per basic and diluted limited partner unit, compared to net income for the year ended December 31, 2013 of $233.9 million, or $3.91 per basic and diluted limited partner unit. (For a discussion of net income presentation, please see the end of this release.)

AHGP currently has no other operating activities apart from those conducted by the operating subsidiaries of ARLP and reports its financial results on a consolidated basis with the financial results of ARLP. AHGP’s principal sources of cash flow are its ownership of general partner interests, limited partner interests and incentive distribution rights in ARLP. Based on ARLP’s current declared distribution, AHGP expects to receive quarterly cash distributions from ARLP of $55.7 million, or $222.8 million on an annualized basis. AHGP’s primary cash requirements are for working capital, distributions to its unitholders and general and administrative expenses, including for 2015 an estimated $3.6 million in general and administrative expenses.

AHGP and ARLP will discuss their 2014 Quarter financial results during a joint conference call scheduled for today at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. To participate in the conference call, dial (800) 295-4740 and provide pass code 28724896. International callers should dial (617) 614-3925 and provide the same pass code. 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 (888) 286-8010 and provide pass code 73393790. International callers should dial (617) 801-6888 and provide the same pass code.

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 Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: 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 Alliance Holdings GP, L.P. at (918) 295-1415 or via e-mail at investorrelations@ahgp.com.

The statements and projections used throughout this release are based on current expectations. These statements and projections are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially. These projections do not include the potential impact of any mergers, acquisitions or other business combinations that may occur after the date of this release. At the end of this release, we have included more information regarding business risks that could affect our results.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: With the exception of historical matters, any matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results. These risks, uncertainties and contingencies include, but are not limited to, the following: changes in competition in coal markets and the ARLP Partnership's ability to respond to such changes; changes in coal prices, which could affect the ARLP Partnership's operating results and cash flows; risks associated with the ARLP Partnership's expansion of its operations and properties; legislation, regulations, and court decisions and interpretations thereof, including those relating to the environment, mining, miner health and safety and health care; deregulation of the electric utility industry or the effects of any adverse change in the coal industry, electric utility industry, or general economic conditions; dependence on significant customer contracts, including renewing customer contracts upon expiration of existing contracts; changing global economic conditions or in industries in which the ARLP Partnership’s customers operate; liquidity constraints, including those resulting from any future unavailability of financing; customer bankruptcies, cancellations or breaches to existing contracts, or other failures to perform; customer delays, failure to take coal under contracts or defaults in making payments; adjustments made in price, volume or terms to existing coal supply agreements; fluctuations in coal demand, prices and availability; the ARLP Partnership's productivity levels and margins earned on its coal sales; changes in raw material costs; changes in the availability of skilled labor; the ARLP Partnership's ability to maintain satisfactory relations with its employees; increases in labor costs, adverse changes in work rules, or cash payments or projections associated with post-mine reclamation and workers' compensation claims; increases in transportation costs and risk of transportation delays or interruptions; operational interruptions due to geologic, permitting, labor, weather-related or other factors; risks associated with major mine-related accidents, such as mine fires, or interruptions; results of litigation, including claims not yet asserted; difficulty maintaining the ARLP Partnership's surety bonds for mine reclamation as well as workers' compensation and black lung benefits; difficulty in making accurate assumptions and projections regarding pension, black lung benefits and other post-retirement benefit liabilities; the coal industry's share of electricity generation, including as a result of environmental concerns related to coal mining and combustion and the cost and perceived benefits of other sources of electricity, such as natural gas, nuclear energy and renewable fuels; uncertainties in estimating and replacing the ARLP Partnership’s coal reserves; a loss or reduction of benefits from certain tax deductions and credits; difficulty obtaining commercial property insurance, and risks associated with the ARLP Partnership's participation (excluding any applicable deductible) in the commercial insurance property program; and difficulty in making accurate assumptions and projections regarding future revenues and costs associated with equity investments in companies we do not control.

Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in AHGP’s public periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including AHGP's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, filed on February 28, 2014 with the SEC. Except as required by applicable securities laws, AHGP does not intend to update its forward-looking statements.

Presentation of Net Income

Consolidated net income includes earnings attributable to both AHGP and noncontrolling interests. Unless otherwise noted, any reference to net income in this release represents net income attributable to AHGP.