Peabody earnings hurt by Patriot Coal spin off
FROM WIRE REPORTS
Peabody Energy Corp. this morning reported that its fourth-quarter profit dropped 79.5 percent as its earnings were hurt by the spin off of Patriot Coal Corp.
The St. Louis-based company reported a profit of $35.8 million, or 13 cents a share, on $1.2 billion in revenue for the quarter that ended Dec. 31. A year ago, the company reported a fourth-quarter profit of $175 million, or 65 cents a share, on $1.1 billion in sales.
Chief Executive Officer Gregory Boyce, 53, shed Peabody’s eastern mines to focus on expanding production in the U.S. West and Australia to profit from surging demand in Asia. Production rose for the quarter even without coal from Patriot.
Peabody recorded an after-tax loss of $157 million, or 58 cents, for charges related to the discontinued operations of Patriot, which was spun off as of Oct. 31. Excluding that, the company was expected to earn 79 cents a share, the average estimate of 15 analysts compiled by Bloomberg News.
Peabody sold 63.3 million tons of coal in the fourth quarter, up from 59 million tons a year earlier. Prices for its U.S. coal under long-term contracts rose to an average of $15.63 a ton from $13.90. Australian coal fell to $54.09 a ton from $64.31.
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