Orano warns of financial problems at Niger uranium plant
The West African nation increasingly seeks new partners, such as Russia, in its mining sector.
Shares in Alpha Resources (NYSE:ANR) climbed 13% today on news that the company pulled in record revenues this year and beat analyst targets.
The Virginia-based company, which acquired Massey Energy after a deadly blast at one of its coal mines last year, said it posted a record $2.3 billion in the first nine months of the year due in part to the inclusion of a full quarter of Massey’s results, which contributed $805 million.
Net income more than doubled for the third quarter to $66.4 million, compared to $32.4 million during the same period last year. Coal revenues came in at $1.997 billion compared to $896 million during Q3 2010.
Adjusted earnings of 35 cents per share easily beat analysts’ average estimate of 4 cents, according to data from Reuters I/B/E/S.
Despite lower production at some of Alpha’s Eastern U.S. surface mines, “we expect to see improved productivity in the fourth quarter,” CEO Kevin Crutchfield said during a conference call. The company slightly increased its 2012 guidance of Eastern metallurgical coal shipments from 23.5-26.5 million tons compared to a previous range of 23-26 million tons. However it reduced its Eastern steam coal guidance to 46-52 million tons from a previous 49-54 million.
In its news release, Alpha referenced the company’s emphasis on safety since acquiring Massey, which came under intense scrutiny following the April 2010 explosion at its Upper Big Branch Mine that killed 29 people. A probe of Massey’s operations resulted in the mine’s former director of security being convicted last month of impeding the investigation.
“The benefits are already becoming clear: incident rates at the legacy Massey operations are declining; employee feedback is overwhelmingly positive; and the annualized voluntary turnover rate for legacy Massey declined to single digits in the month of September, down from more than 20 percent earlier in the year,” Alpha Resources stated.
Read the full news release here
