Arch Coal, Inc. today reported net income of $123.2 million in the third quarter of 2018, compared with net income of $68.4 million in the prior-year period. Revenues totaled $633.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018, representing a 3 percent increase from the prior-year quarter.
In the Metallurgical segment, Arch generated strong margins nearly equivalent to those achieved in the previous quarter, despite shipping a higher mix of both High-Vol B coal and North American business fixed in late 2017 at prices well below recent marks.
During the quarter, Arch again demonstrated the highly cost-competitive nature of its metallurgical portfolio. Despite higher material costs stemming from the recent escalation in steel prices, Arch's Metallurgical segment had an average cost of $62.54 per ton, which the company believes is well below the US industry average for coking coal mines.
Looking ahead, Arch anticipates relatively flat coking coal shipments in the fourth quarter relative to the third quarter, as an improving logistics chain is likely to be counterbalanced by a planned longwall move at the Leer mine and typical export vessel slippage at year-end.