Arch Coal expects lower Q4 results owing to reduced shipments, output
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – US coal producer Arch Coal this week said it expected that lower-than-planned shipments in the Powder River basin (PRB) and reduced production levels at the Mountain Laurel complex, in Appalachia, would impact on its fourth-quarter financial results.
In the PRB, Arch said shipment levels fell by more than 15% from third-quarter levels owing to rail service issues on the joint line. Arch pointed out that shipments for the three months ended December 31 were impacted as its current mix of sales contracts were skewed more heavily toward customers using the rail operator with the majority of the shortfall.
Arch also noted that this shipment shortfall, predictably, increased fourth-quarter unit costs in the region. Further, the lower-than-expected shipments in the fourth quarter caused thermal volumes for 2013 to be below the company's previous expectations.
"Although rail disruptions impacted our PRB operations in the fourth quarter, we would expect to make up a majority of those shipments during 2014 as rail service improves throughout the year," Arch president and CEO John Eaves said on Tuesday.
Arch previously reported that it had encountered challenging geologic conditions in the current longwall panel at the Mountain Laurel complex. Owing to these conditions, output at the mine decreased by 40% quarter-on-quarter and as a result, the company's full-year 2013 metallurgical coal sales volumes were slightly below the low-end of its previous expectations.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, Arch said its eastern US operations president Charles Snavely would retire following a 35-year career in the coal industry. Gary Bennett would succeed Snavely as president of eastern operations taking up responsibility for all aspects of Arch's eastern subsidiary operations as well as the eastern engineering group.
Both Bennett and Snavely would report to Arch's senior VP of operations Kenneth Cochran.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation

















