The company said that continued merger and operations related expenses, however, make its adjusted income figures a better reflection of its position. The company reported adjusted income for continuing operations of $70.7 million in Q3, up from $52.6 million in the same period of last year.
In the quarter, total sales volume in the Powder River Basin and Eastern coals rose to 21.16 million st, from the 16.46 million st reported year-on-year.
Additional tonnage over the prior-year was driven by the July 2009 merger with Foundation coal which added PRB volumes.
Alpha benefited in Q3 from rising prices across all products. PRB average realized prices/st from continuing operations rose to $11.10 from $10.39 year-on-year, Eastern thermal rose to $67.72 from $64.43, and metallurgical coal rose to $122.24 from $96.94.
Costs for Alpha rose significantly in the quarter, pressured higher by both costs of coal operations, and continued expenses related to the Foundation merger. Alpha reported third quarter costs of $952 million, compared with $742.8 million in the prior-year, with costs of coal production totaling $664.7 million.
Alpha projected cost of coal sales for 2010 to range between $57/st to $58.50/st in the East, and from $8.50/st to $8.90/st in the PRB. The miner tweaked its 2010 average/ton sales realization figures, and coal shipment outlook, but broadly left its guidance midpoints unchanged.
The miner remained mute on merger and acquisition speculation, maintaining its strong demand outlook for met coal and seaborne thermal. Alpha has been linked by analysts both to Massey Energy, and Whitehaven Coal, as a potential bidder.
Top-line revenue at Alpha beat expectations at $1 billion, ahead of the prior-year figure of $729.25 million, street expectations had been just north of $975 million.
