Arch Coal, Inc. today reported second quarter 2017 net income of $37.2 million, compared with $51.7 million in the first quarter of 2017. Revenues totaled $549.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2017, compared to $420.3 million in the same period of 2016.
In the metallurgical segment, Arch Coal sold 1.5 million tons in Q2, with an average sales price of $103.44 per ton. This compares with 1.5 million tons sold in Q2 2016, at an average sales price of $105.51 per ton.
In a statement, the company said the metallurgical segment “delivered solid cash margins despite limited spot buying activity in seaborne metallurgical markets during much of the quarter. Average coking coal realizations continued to benefit from strong pricing on index-linked tons that priced in the second quarter, but were offset to some degree by an increased percentage of annual fixed-priced tons that shipped during the period.”
Based on the company's current expectations regarding the outlook for metallurgical coal markets, Arch Coal has raised its coking coal volume guidance for 2017. The company now expects to sell between 6.9 million tons and 7.1 million tons of coking coal. At the midpoint of its volume guidance level, Arch is now more than 90-percent committed on coking coal sales for the full year, with more than 20 percent of that committed volume exposed to index-based pricing. At the midpoint of guidance, Arch's thermal sales are 95-percent committed for the full year 2017.