Peabody Beats Analyst Estimates as China Demand Soars

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Peabody said it plans to sell between 240 million and 260 million tons of coal this year, compared with 243.6 million in 2009, driven by demand in India and China.

“We’ve seen Asian markets become red hot,” President Rick Navarre said on a conference call with analysts and investors. Some customers have accelerated deliveries, and on the spot market the company recently sold metallurgical coal for more than $200 a ton, he said.

The company plans between $600 million and $650 million in capital expenditures, mostly for its Bear Run Mine in the U.S. Midwest and for its Australian operations that serve the Asian markets. It spent $317.4 million in 2009.

“The tone of their comments was quite bullish for a global coal recovery in 2010,” said Michael Dudas, an analyst at Jeffries & Co. in New York.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01-26/peabody-beats-analyst-estimates-as-china-demand-soars-update2-.html