Prior year revenues totaled $1.07 billion on 57Mt, reflecting a growth of both higher prices per ton and increased shipments across all of its business regions. Its continuing operations income was also on a tremendous upswing, 143% over last year to $242.6 million.

The producer highlighted Australia as a great performer, reporting a 15% increase in coal shipments over 2007 and an 84% jump per ton on the country’s revenues thanks to higher prices on new contracts. Average revenues per ton in the US were up 22%.

"Our investments in recent years have created an outstanding global platform. We have significant volumes of Australian met and thermal coal and the largest Powder River Basin and Illinois Basin position in the industry," Peabody chief Gregory Boyce said.

"The structural changes driving demand much higher than supply, across all coal markets, look to be very long-lived. We are just beginning to benefit from the repricing of legacy coal supply contracts at higher levels, which could drive significant earnings increases for many years to come."

Looking at its Australian business contracts, Peabody priced about 11Mt of output through March 2009, but has left unpriced met coal volumes of 6-7Mt for next year’s final three quarters and 10-11Mt for 2010 and thermal coal volumes of 6-7Mt the last three-quarters of next year and 12-13Mt in 2010.

In the US, the producer said a trio of drivers were working to create an overall beneficial coal market: rising exports, a solid steel marker and a rise in generation requirements by the entire nation.

While coal production has only jumped 5Mt, consumption has risen by approximately 13Mt this year. Exports are also up by an estimated 10Mt at current, all of which are working together to reduce stockpiles at generators by about 2-3Mt each week.

Peabody officials said that trend is likely to continue through the next quarter and even accelerate due to seasonal need and export demand.

Just as with its Australian operations, some US coal has also remained unpriced, including about 35-40Mt in 2009. Unpriced coal for 2010 totals about 90-100Mt, it added, with more than 90% percent of unpriced volumes located in the Illinois Basin or in the Powder River Basin region.

Moving forward, Peabody said it celebrated some production milestones and has commenced a number of projects to enhance productivity. One announced just this week is the completed expansion of its Wambo coal preparation facility in New South Wales,

Australia.

“The North Wambo underground mine was commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2007 and is ramping up to a 3Mtpa production level, while the Wambo surface mine

produced more than 4 million tons last year,” officials for the producer said.

Also, its new El Segundo operation in New Mexico began shipping output in June. The fourth major mine project the operator has completed in the last year, it is anticipated to be a 6Mtpa mine at full production levels.