Coal Companies In Financial Trouble - Arch Shares Down 31% In Sep., Peabody Off 22%
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Early this year, conventional wisdom said the industry would see a reprieve due to an exceptionally cold winter that led to more coal and electricity usage, drawing down utility stockpiles. Instead, it was so cold that some railroads were damaged, compounding the already strained network that now carries fuels competing with coal: shale oil and gas. The mild summer let natural gas producers replenish supplies, while utilities eschewed coal because of rail delivery problems, Inton said.
Then China announced last week that it would ban imports of dirty coal, putting further pressure on the global coal market. While some reports suggest it won’t affect Chinese power plants and that many imports already met the standards, markets punished coal stocks nonetheless. “It’s been a string of bad luck,” he said. “You add up all these factors, and it’s just been a difficult year for the coal guys so far.”
The Stowe Global Coal Index of coal and coal-related stocks has declined 12.7 percent this year, with most of that lost coming over the past month. Creve Coeur-based Arch Coal’s share price is down 31 percent over the last month.
The negative sentiment also has hit the company’s debt. On Thursday, the price of Arch Coal’s 7 percent bonds that mature in 2019 tumbled to 53.75 cents on the dollar, its lowest price ever, according to Bloomberg News.
Newly public Foresight Energy, which focuses on Illinois Basin coal and is headquartered in St. Louis, closed on Thursday at $17.37, down 13 percent from its June initial public offering price of $20 and its lowest price since going public.
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http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/coal-companies-having-tough-year-so-far/article_8529f5f6-ec6f-5bc9-aaea-027fb7c4e4e2.html
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