Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Arch Resources (ARCH) Q1 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates

Read MoreHide Full Article

Arch Resources (ARCH - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2024 operating earnings per share of $2.98, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.79 by 6.8%. However, the bottom line declined from the year-ago quarter’s figure of $10.02.

Revenues

Total revenues were $680 million, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $551 million by 24.5%. However, the top line decreased 21.8% from $870 million in the year-ago quarter.

Segment Details

In the Metallurgical segment, ARCH sold 2.2 million tons of coal, which was on par with the prior-year quarter’s figure. Cash margins were $55.67 per ton compared with $121.15 in the year-ago quarter.

In the Thermal segment, the company sold 12.8 million tons of coal, down 24.7% from the prior-year quarter’s figure of 17 million tons. Cash margins were (0.05 cents) per ton compared with $2.7 in the prior-year period.

Arch Resources Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Arch Resources Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Arch Resources Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Arch Resources Inc. Quote

Highlights of the Release

Arch Resources' Thermal segment broke even in the first quarter. Its West Elk longwall mine operated efficiently and generated a solid cash margin.

During the quarter, ARCH’s subsidiary operations achieved an aggregated total lost-time incident rate of 0.62 incidents per 200,000 employee-hours worked, which was more than three times better than the industry average.

Arch Resources continues to buyback share to improve shareholders value. In addition to 315,721 shares retired in concert with the previously announced unwinding of the capped call instrument, it deployed $15.7 million during the quarter to repurchase 94,701 shares at an average price of $166.3 per share. As of Mar 31, 2024, it had $202.0 million of remaining authorization under its existing $500 million share repurchase program.

Financial Highlights

Cash and cash equivalents were $285.5 million as of Mar 31, 2024, compared with $287.8 million as of Dec 31, 2023.

Long-term debt was nearly $108 million as of Mar 31, 2024, compared with $105.2 million as of Dec 31, 2023.

Cash provided by operating activities was $128.3 million compared with $126.1 million in the year-ago period.

Guidance

Arch Resources expects coking coal sales in the band of 8.6-9 million tons for 2024. Management reiterates total thermal coal sales volume of 58.6-65 million tons. It estimates to ship 1.9-2.2 million tons of coking coal to international and domestic customers in second-quarter 2024.

ARCH expects corporate capital expenditure to be between $160 million and $170 million in 2024.

Zacks Rank

Arch Resources currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Upcoming Releases

Warrior Met Coal (HCC - Free Report) is scheduled to release first-quarter 2024 earnings on May 1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HCC’s first-quarter earnings is pinned at $2.02 per share.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HCC’s 2024 earnings is pegged at $6.83, implying a decline of 28.8% from a year ago.

Alliance Resource Partners LP (ARLP - Free Report) will report first-quarter 2024 earnings  on April 29. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ARLP’s first-quarter earnings is pinned at $1.01.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ARLP’s 2024 earnings is pegged at $4.05, implying a decline of 15.8% from the year-earlier levels.

Peabody Energy (BTU - Free Report) will report first-quarter 2024 earnings on May 2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings is pegged at 30 cents.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BTU’s 2024 earnings is pegged at $3.07, implying a decline of 38.6% from the year-earlier levels.

 

Published in