Weekly coal news highlights: 27 – 31 July 2015

A round-up news from 27 – 31 July 2015

Quarterly results

• Vale’s coal business reported a US$102 million loss in 2Q15, improving on the US$128 million loss in the previous quarter.
• Cloud Peak Energy announces its 2Q15 results. Adjusted EBITDA stands at US$10.6 million and shipments decline to 16 million short t.
• Consol Energy has announced a second quarter loss of US$603 million following a writedown of its oil and gas assets
• Peabody Energy has announced a quarterly loss of US$1.01 billion on writedowns of US$900.8 billion on its Australian metallurgical coal operations and US assets for sale.
• US rail operator, Norfolk Southern, has suffered a 33% drop in its coal business in 2Q15.
• Allison Transmission Holdings reports net sales for 2Q15 of US$511 million. This is a 5% decrease from the same period in 2014 and is attributed to lower demand in the global Off-Highway and Defense end markets.
• Vinacomin subsidiaries have swung back to profit in 2Q15, according to reports from the Vietnamese state-owned coal mining company.
• Westmoreland losses were down to US$36.6 million in 2Q15 from US$63.4 million in the previous year.

Business acquisitions

• McGraw Hill Financial signs a definitive agreement to acquire SNL Financial for approximately US$2.225 billion. The transaction is expected to complete in 3Q15, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
• Constellation Software acquires CAE’s Datamine mining division.

Coal-fired power projects

• A joint venture between Aspire Mining and Noble Group: the Ekhgoviin Chuluu Joint Venture has commenced 2015 exploration programme at the Nuurstei metallurgical coal project.
• Foresight Energy resumes longwall mining operations at its Deer Run Mine.
• The Indonesian government will postpone its plan to raise royalties for the country’s coal mines due to the difficult times companies are facing with low global coal prices.

Impacts on coal operations

• Despite the wind industry’s job-creation claims, the impact of the EPA regulation of coal-fired power plants will result in far more job losses.
• China remains oversupplied with coal on significantly lower consumption that the last two years.
• The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that would pass coal ash regulation to the states, bypassing the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Not to be missed …

• Enforcement and liability risk reduction tips and knowledge to keep your company at low risk of adverse DOL/MSHA/OSHA actions.
• A recent survey by Timetric’s Mining Intelligence Center finds over half of the respondents in Asia and 39% of respondents in Africa are likely to switch OEMS within the next five years.
• A 153% y/y increase in solar PV electricity supply has had a significant impact on the UK’s power industry with coal’s share of the energy mix dropping to just 23%.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/31072015/weekly-coal-news-highlights-27-31-july-2015-2662/