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 Friday in a statement. Sales fell 20 percent to $615 million.
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 Chief Executive 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.
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