February 10, 2024 - Peabody Energy’s quarterly coal shipments from the Powder River Basin at the end of 2023 were the highest they’ve been since 2019, with the coal giant reporting year-end revenues of over $4.9 billion from all segments. 

In the fourth quarter of 2019, 23.6 million tons of coal were shipped from within the PRB at $13.58 per ton, which after factoring in costs left Peabody Energy with an adjusted EBITDA of $37.6 million, according to the company’s quarterly earnings and year-end results report for 2023. 

Peabody Energy Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mark Spurbeck said in a Feb. 8 earnings call that the quarterly results for the PRB at the end of 2023 came in higher than expected. A previous forecast had called for quarterly PRB shipping volumes to come in at around 21 million tons in 4Q2023, around 2.6 million less than the final quarterly results. 

Spurbeck said the results are a testament to the PRB team’s full recovery from a mid-year tornado disruption, with the segment putting themselves in a position to seize an opportunity to load additional trains. 

Throughout 2023, Peabody Energy shipped 87.2 million tons of coal from within the PRB, which reported an annual adjusted EBITDA of $153.7 million, more than doubling the segment’s year-end financial results for 2022, according to Spurbeck. 

Moving into 2024, Peabody Energy anticipates the PRB to ship 21 million tons of coal in the first quarter at $13.55 per ton, the earnings report states.