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Arch Resources (ARCH) Q4 Earnings Lag Estimates on Lower Volumes

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Arch Resources (ARCH - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2023 operating earnings per share (EPS) of $6.07, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.90 by 12%. The bottom line also declined 73.81% from the year-ago quarter’s figure of $23.18.

Revenues

Total revenues were $774 million, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $654 million by 18.3%. However, the top line decreased 9.9% from $859 million in the year-ago quarter.

ARCH reported total revenues of $3.14 billion for 2023 compared with $3.72 billion in 2022, which reflects a year-over-year decline of 15.6%.

Arch Resources Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Arch Resources Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Highlights of the Release

In the Metallurgical segment, ARCH sold 2.3 million tons of coal, which was on par with the prior-year quarter’s figure. Cash margins were $82.91 per ton compared with $93.15 in the year-ago quarter.

In the Thermal segment, the company sold 15.5 million tons of coal, down 3.7% from the prior-year quarter’s figure of 16.1 million tons. Cash margins were $1.64 per ton compared with $3.85 in the prior-year period.

Arch Resources used $3 million in the reported quarter to repurchase approximately 20,000 shares at an average price of $151.96 per share. As of Dec 31, 2023, ARCH has $217.7 million of remaining authorization under its existing $500-million share repurchase program.

Arch Resources continues to extend the market reach of its metallurgical segment, securing a total of six large, new Asian steelmaking customers during 2023. The company shipped nearly 40% of its total coking coal output into the Asian market during 2023 and expects the percentage to grow markedly in the years ahead.

Financial Highlights

Cash and cash equivalents were $287.8 million as of Dec 31, 2023 compared with $236.1 million as of Dec 31, 2022.

Long-term debt was $105.2 million as of Dec 31, 2023 compared with $116.3 million as of Dec 31, 2022.

Cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 2023 was $635.3 million compared with $1.2 billion in the year-ago period.

Guidance

Arch Resources expects coking coal sales in the band of 8.6-9 million tons for 2024. The company projects a total thermal coal sales volume of 58.6-65 million tons.

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

Zacks Rank

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

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