US-based coal producer Massey Energy Company has reported a net loss of $41.4 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2010. The company generated $703.7 million of produced coal revenue in the quarter from the sale of 9.9 million mt of coal. By comparison, Massey reported a net income of $16.5 million on produced coal revenue of $535.5 million in the third quarter of 2009 from the sale of 8.7 million mt of coal.
The results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2010 include pretax charges of $14.5 million and $143.4 million, respectively, in incurred costs, asset impairments and accrued reserves associated with the tragic accident at the Upper Big Branch mine (UBB) that occurred in April 2010.
Commenting on the company's third quarter results, Massey's chairman and chief executive officer Don Blankenship said, "Our operations struggled during the quarter and we are clearly disappointed with the results. Several factors combined to reduce production and increase costs. Notably, our Revolution mine was idled in June for a planned longwall move but remained down throughout the quarter pending Mine Safety and Health Administration's (MSHA) approval of its ventilation plan. Further, as we have noted earlier, increasingly stringent enforcement actions by MSHA resulted in lost shifts and significant loss of productivity."