Peabody Energy Cuts Production At Burton Mine; Raises Q3 Forecast

(RTTNews) - Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) Monday said it is dropping metallurgical coal production by nearly 1.5 million tons per year from the Burton Mine in Queensland, Australia, which is the company's highest unit-cost operation. The company said that the production levels are not sustainable in the current market environment. In addition, the group lifted its third-quarter outlook. Production levels are expected to be reduced to about 1 million tons per year, as the operation targets lower-cost reserves using reduced fleets of equipment. The company now expects third quarter adjusted EBITDA in the range of $150 million-$200 million, compared with the prior target of $140 million -$190 million, and adjusted loss per share of $0.49 - $0.36. The company also reduced annual targeted metallurgical coal sales from the Australian platform by 1 million tons to 15 to 16 million tons, with new Australian sales targets of 34 to 36 million tons.