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Gold/Mining/Energy : Coal -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dennis Roth who wrote (55)	9/7/2005 11:20:14 AM
From: Dennis Roth	Respond to of 2058

Massey warns of shortfall due to Katrina biz.yahoo.com RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Massey Energy Company (NYSE: MEE - News) commented today that its third quarter results are expected to be disappointing versus current analyst estimates. "The combination of several issues with our longwall operations, the continued escalation of diesel fuel and explosives costs, and less than projected room and pillar mine productivity are all contributing to lower shipping volumes and higher costs," said Don L. Blankenship, Massey Energy Chairman and CEO. Massey reported that its operations use about 55 million gallons of diesel fuel annually. Due in part to the impact of Hurricane Katrina, the Company is experiencing significant increases in fuel and explosive prices, increases that are beyond its budgeted costs. Results in July and August were disappointing and while September is expected to be stronger, the third quarter will clearly not meet previous expectations. Third quarter shipments are now projected to be approximately 1 million tons less than previously estimated and cash costs per ton estimated at between 7% and 10% higher. The Company does expect to return to more normalized production, shipping and cost levels in the fourth quarter, due in large part to improvement in longwall geological conditions and resulting productivity. Blankenship went on to say that, "The current coal marketplace remains strong and the gap between the cost of coal versus natural gas continues to widen. Coal is increasingly becoming the energy of choice for fueling the future electricity needs of the U.S." [ snip ]