BRIEF: Arch Coal profit tumbles in third quarter

Fri. October 30, 2009; Posted: 10:29 PM

Oct 30, 2009 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- ACI | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Arch Coal Inc., the nation's No. 2 coal producer, said third-quarter profit tumbled 74 percent as coal output and prices declined.

Net income declined to $25.2 million, or 16 cents a share, from $97.8 million, or 68 cents a share, in the same period last year, the Creve Coeur-based company said in a statement. Sales fell 20 percent to $615 million.

Results exceeded the average estimate of analysts, who expected the company to earn 4 cents a share. Arch said coal sales volumes dropped 16 percent because of previously announced production cuts. The company was paid an average of $20.05 per ton, slightly less than a year ago.

Coal miners, including Arch and St. Louis-based Peabody Energy Corp., have seen energy use and prices decline over the past year because of the recession and a mild summer across much of the country.

But Arch CEO Steven F. Leer said he's seeing signs that demand for coal used by steelmakers has begun to rebound. Accelerating growth in Asia, a decline in natural gas drilling and declining coal output in Appalachia also bode well for coal markets, he said.

"We are poised to capitalize when markets recover," Leer told analysts and investors during a conference call.

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For full details on Arch Coal Inc (ACI) click here. Arch Coal Inc (ACI) has Short Term PowerRatings of 6. Details on Arch Coal Inc (ACI) Short Term PowerRatings is available at This Link.

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