Coal's Future Remains Uncertain
A year after Donald Trump was elected president on a promise to revive the ailing U.S. coal industry, the sector’s long-term prospects for growth and hiring remain as bleak as ever. A Reuters review of mining data shows an industry that has seen only modest gains in jobs and production this year - much of it from a temporary uptick in foreign demand for U.S. coal rather than presidential policy changes. U.S. utilities are shutting coal-fired power plants at a rapid pace and shifting to cheap natural gas, along with wind and solar power. And domestic demand makes up about 90 percent of the market for U.S. coal.
Peabody Makes Fresh U.S. Stock Debut After Bankruptcy Exit
U.S. coal miner Peabody Energy Corp returned to the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday after emerging from a year-long $8 billion Chapter 11 bankruptcy with far less debt and an industry champion in the White House. Shares in Peabody, the world's largest private-sector coal producer, were trading at $29.80 in late morning, down from an opening price of $31.50 but still above the $25 per share paid in a recent rights offering open only to the company's creditors. Early market trading put Peabody's market capitalization at around $4 billion, compared to the company's estimated value of $3.1 billion used in its rights offering.
Arch Coal Bullish on Trump Regulatory Promises
Arch Coal Inc, which emerged from bankruptcy in October, said U.S. President Donald Trump's administration should prove to be positive for its coal businesses. The coal miner also said revenue rose 4.6 percent to $575.7 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 from the third, helped by higher prices for metallurgical coal, which is used in steel making. "Arch anticipates that the new Administration will constructively address the regulatory burden that has pressured the industry in recent years, resulting in stabilization in domestic thermal coal demand in the intermediate term," the company said on Wednesday.
Can Trump Make Coal Great Again?
Most of the U.S. coal industry doubts Donald Trump can fulfill his promise to make the ailing industry great again in a country awash in dirt-cheap natural gas, a competing fuel. But a small sub-section of the coal sector that mines metallurgical coal - a variety used by steel makers instead of power plants - is gearing up for a Trump-inspired boom. That's because the Republican president-elect has promised a spending surge for roads, bridges and tunnels after he takes office on Jan. 20, a push to upgrade…
Battered U.S. Coal Industry Hopes for Trump
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has won over the U.S. coal industry by promising to revive the downtrodden sector and scrap regulations if elected. But the industry has a Plan B if the New York businessman loses to his more green-minded Democratic rival Hillary Clinton on Tuesday: carbon capture and storage, a technology that captures carbon dioxide from burning coal and injects it underground, where many scientists are optimistic it cannot contribute to global warming. Coal backers see CCS…
Peabody Energy Cutting 235 in Powder River Basin
Peabody Energy Corp, the largest U.S. coal producer, said it would lay off about 235 employees at a mine in the Powder River basin, two weeks after the company flagged bankruptcy risk. The reductions affect about 15 percent of the workforce at the North Antelope Rochelle mine in the basin straddling Montana and Wyoming, the company said on Thursday. After reduction, Peabody's Powder River basin operations will employ about 1,500 workers, of which about 1,150 will be at North Antelope, the coal miner said.
Obama Administration Offers Aid to Coal Communities
The Obama administration released $65.8 million on Thursday to help communities that are struggling from the decline of the coal industry and bankruptcies of major producers of the fuel. The funds announced by the federal Appalachian Regional Commission and the Economic Development Administration will support projects that help coal-dependent communities in places like West Virginia and Kentucky diversify their economies, retrain the workforce and attract new investment. The funds are coming through the Obama administration's Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization Initiative…
Peabody Skips Interest Payment
Peabody Energy Corp, the largest U.S. coal producer, said it may have to seek bankruptcy protection as it did not have enough funds to continue operations. Falling demand for coal, tough environmental controls and cheaper natural gas have pushed several big coal miners, including industry No. 2 Arch Coal Inc, into bankruptcy in the past year. Peabody, which flagged the bankruptcy risk under the "risk factors" section of a regulatory filing on Wednesday, said it decided to skip a $71.1 million interest payment on its senior notes, kicking off a 30-day grace period.
Arch Coal files for bankruptcy
Arch Coal Inc, the second-largest coal miner in the United States, and its domestic subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to facilitate a restructuring with a group of lenders that hold more than 50 percent of its debt, the company said. Arch Coal said on Monday it reached an agreement with its lenders that will eliminate more than $4.5 billion in debt from the company's balance sheet. The company said it has sufficient capital to run its operations smoothly throughout the restructuring process, and expects mining operations and customer shipments to continue uninterrupted.
Arch Coal Noteholders Reject Debt Swap Deal
Arch Coal Inc moved closer to bankruptcy after noteholders rejected a debt exchange proposal aimed at boosting the coal miner's liquidity. Heavily-indebted Arch Coal has been hit by weak demand and stricter regulation, factors that have already pushed Alpha Natural Resources and Patriot Coal into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Arch Coal said on Tuesday it is currently working with creditors to restructure its balance sheet. Arch's debt restructuring plan includes swapping existing debt for longer-term securities with the aim of reducing total debt and annual interest expenses by around 20 percent.
Creditor Sues Arch Coal's Lenders
A creditor of Arch Coal Inc has sued a group of lenders alleging they are trying to use the struggling U.S. miner's credit agreement to block its out-of-court restructuring efforts and push it into bankruptcy. GSO Special Situations Master Fund LP, which holds some of Arch Coal's unsecured notes, has sought a temporary restraining order against the lenders. Arch Coal's restructuring plan includes a private debt exchange offer to swap existing senior notes for longer term securities. The company had announced the exchange offer in July and had extended, multiple times, the deadline for completion, which is now Sept. 23.
Arch Coal's Loss Narrows
U.S. miner Arch Coal Inc reported a smaller quarterly loss as the company kept a tight leash on costs amid falling prices. The company's net loss narrowed to $113.2 million, or 53 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, from $124.1 million, or 59 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 8 percent to $677 million. Reporting by Anet Josline Pinto
US Plans to Shut Royalty Loophole on Coal Exports
U.S. coal companies will no longer be able to settle royalties at low domestic prices when they make lucrative sales to Asia according to reforms proposed by the Interior Department on Friday. American taxpayers by law are due a 12.5 percent royalty on the sales of millions of tons of coal pulled each year from federal land that mining companies lease. In past years of strong global demand, U.S. miners have been able to avoid a royalty hit on lucrative exports by first selling to affiliated traders at low domestic prices.
Arch Coal Revenue, Coal Demand Falls
Arch Coal Inc reported a 6.2 percent drop in quarterly revenue as coal sales dropped by about 2 million tons. Revenue fell to $742.2 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, from $791.3 million a year earlier. However, the company's net loss narrowed to $97.2 million, or 46 cents per share, from $128.4 million, or 61 cents per share. In the year-earlier quarter, the company took a charge of about $200 million. Reporting by Anannya Pramanick and Shubhankar Chakravorty
Arch Coal Loss Widens, Prices Weak
Arch Coal Inc reported a bigger quarterly loss as it continued to face transport issues and low prices for steel-making coal. The company's loss widened to $97 million, or 46 cents per share, in the second quarter ended June 30 from $72.2 million, or 34 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 7 pct to $713.8 million. Reporting By Kanika Sikka
Weak Markets Spike Arch Coal Loss
U.S. coal miner Arch Coal Inc's net loss grew 77 percent in the first quarter due to weak demand and prices for steel-making metallurgical coal and disruptions in rail service. The net loss rose to $124.1 million, or 59 cents per share, in the quarter ended Mar. 31, from $70 million, or 33 cents per share, a year ago. Revenues was nearly flat at $736 million. Reporting by Swetha Gopinath
