July 25, 2008 at 1:00 pm by Tom Lydon
Arch Coal (ACI) reported that its profits tripled in the second quarter, stoking the coal exchange traded fund (ETF).
The company attributed the profits to soaring global coal prices and tighter supplies, reports Jim Suhr for the Associated Press. Arch Coal also raised its earnings forecast for this year.
In the most recent quarter, the company sold 34.4 million tons of coal, up from 33.3 million tons in the same period last year. The reports are just the latest numbers showing signs of strength in the sector. Peabody Energy (BTU) also announced this week that their profits in the second quarter doubled.
Coal demand is on fire: China has idled more than 60 plants, because inventories have fallen to less than a three-day supply. The demand for the fuel has also given new life to U.S. coal exports.
Two other coal companies are readying to making their earnings announcements: Massey (MEE), on Aug. 1, and Walter (WLT) on July 28.
Market Vectors Coal (KOL) is up 11.3% since its Jan. 15 inception. Arch is 4.9% of its holdings; Peabody is 7.8%; Walter is 4.4% and Massey is 5.6%.
Tags | China, Coal, Emerging Markets, Energy, KOL
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July 26th, 2008 at 2:52 am
I told a co-worker of mine about this thread and he wrote to me he truly prized it. Thanks for sharing this blog post!
July 26th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Wouldn’t it be interesting to find out if the “financials” are using any of their newfound taxpayer-paid bailout billions from the FED for shorting commodities the past three weeks? Their short-selling makes them millions, the government can claim inflation’s “under control” &, to boot, the FED can then keep its free money window open to the financials even longer. Nah, stinks too much of conspiracy theories.