Peabody Energy Sees Wider Loss In Q3, But Lifts Adjusted EBITDA Outlook

(RTTNews) - Coal producer Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) on Tuesday forecast a wider adjusted loss for the third quarter, citing the impact of expenses due to the repeal of a mining tax in Australia. However, the company raised its outlook for adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, for the quarter.

For the third quarter, Peabody now forecasts adjusted loss in a range of $0.69 to $0.63 per share, primarily reflecting the effects of non-cash tax expense following the repeal of the Minerals Resource Rent Tax in Australia. Earlier, the company forecast adjusted loss for the third quarter of $0.49 to $0.36 per share.

On average, twenty analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report loss of $0.40 per share for the third quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

However, Peabody now expects third-quarter adjusted EBITDA in a range of $190 million to $210 million, compared with its prior guidance range of $150 million to $200 million.

Gregory Boyce, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Peabody Energy said, "Peabody is pleased that strong cost improvements and operating results are leading to increased Adjusted EBITDA expectations even in the face of market challenges. Our operations are performing well as we experienced higher-than-expected results from the Western United States, improved performance from Australian metallurgical coal mines and continued cost reductions across the platform."

Peabody Energy expects to announce its third-quarter results on Monday, October 20.

In August, Peabody Energy 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 noted that the production levels were not sustainable in the current market environment.

BTU is trading at $13.13, up $0.48 or 3.79 percent on a volume of 5.43 million shares.