RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — James River Coal Co. said Thursday it posted a $25.8 million second-quarter loss, hurt by weak coal demand and prices.
Despite the loss, the results were better than Wall Street expected. The stock has lost about two-thirds of its value in 2012 on a broad slump in coal demand.
Richmond, Va.-based James River mines thermal coal used for power generation and metallurgical coal, used to produce steel.
The coal industry has been battered this year as U.S. utilities switch to cheap natural gas to generate electricity instead of coal, mild weather in the U.S. hurt demand and the recession in many European countries, combined with a slowdown in Asia, stifled exports.
The company said it remains cautious on steelmaking coal because of the weak global economy, while it believes the market for thermal coal is just beginning to show signs of recovery.
Its loss amounted to 74 cents per share in the April-June quarter, compared with a profit of $789, 000, or 2 cents per share, in the same period last year.
Revenue tumbled 21 percent to $277.4 million from $352 million, as coal sales dropped 21 percent to $259.6 million. Coal shipments fell 11 percent to 2.9 million tons.
Analysts polled by FactSet, on average, expected a loss of 80 cents per share on $276 million in revenue.
CEO Peter Socha said in a news release that the company continues to be “pleased with our balanced approach to operating assets, customer markets, and financial stability.”
James River Coal, which has operations in Kentucky, West Virginia and Indiana, also said Thursday it has received five new surface mine permits from state and federal regulators that will allow the company to extend existing operations for several years.
