James River Coal Digs Deeper Into Loss, Operations Hampered by Production Slowdowns

Coal miner James River Coal Co. on Wednesday said its third-quarter loss widened, due largely to production slowdowns.

The company’s quarterly loss increased to $8.4 million, or 53 cents per share, versus a loss of $2.2 million, or 14 cents per share, during the same period last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast a loss of 25 cents per share.

Revenue grew 12 percent to $138.1 million from $122.9 million during the same period a year ago.

James River Chairman and Chief Executive Peter T. Socha said production in the quarter started slowly, as miners took a traditional July 4 vacation and the company implemented new safety measures and replaced mine seals. The items affected cash mining costs by about $1.50 per ton, he said.

Heavy rainfall and a continued shortage of haul trucks slowed company operations in the Illinois Basin.

The coal miner also lowered its 2007 production guidance to 10.4 million tons from a previously estimate of 11.8 million tons. The guidance includes the company’s decision to defer the development of two surface mines and the expansion of one underground mine, as well as the sale of Bell County Coal Corp. to Weston Holdings Inc. — an affiliate of Saber Mining Co. — for $24.4 million.

Shares of James River Coal sank to a new 52-week low of $9.75 in morning trading on the Nasdaq, down 42 cents, or about 3.5 percent.