Segment Information

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Segment Information [Abstract]

Segment Information

16. Segment Information

The Company has three reportable business segments, which are based on the major coal producing basins in which the Company operates. Each of these reportable business segments includes a number of mine complexes. The Company manages its coal sales by coal basin, not by individual mine complex. Geology, coal transportation routes to customers, regulatory environments and coal quality are characteristic to a basin. Accordingly, market and contract pricing have developed by coal basin. Mine operations are evaluated based on their per-ton operating costs (defined as including all mining costs but excluding pass-through transportation expenses), as well as on other non-financial measures, such as safety and environmental performance. The Company’s reportable segments are the Powder River Basin (PRB) segment, with operations in Wyoming; the Western Bituminous (WBIT) segment, with operations in Utah, Colorado and southern Wyoming; the Appalachia (APP) segment, with operations in West Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland and Virginia.  The Appalachia segment includes the acquired ICG operations in Appalachia, as well as the Company’s previous Central Appalachia segment. The “Other” operating segment represents primarily the Company’s Illinois operations and ADDCAR subsidiary, which manufactures and sells its patented highwall mining system.

Operating segment results for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011 are presented below. Results for the reportable segments include all direct costs of mining, including all depreciation, depletion and amortization related to the mining operations, even if the assets are not recorded at the operating segment level. See discussion of segment assets below. Corporate, Other and Eliminations includes the change in fair value of coal derivatives and coal trading activities, net; corporate overhead; land management; other support functions; and the elimination of intercompany transactions.

The asset amounts below represent an allocation of assets used in the segments’ cash-generating activities. The amounts in Corporate, Other and Eliminations represent primarily corporate assets (cash, receivables, investments, plant, property and equipment) as well as unassigned coal reserves, above-market acquired sales contracts and other unassigned assets.

				Other	Corporate,
				Operating	Other and
	PRB	APP	WBIT	Segments	Eliminations	Consolidated
Three months ended March 31, 2012
Revenues	$      401,177	$   469,058	$     144,559	$    24,857	$        -	$        1,039,651
Income (loss) from operations	32,543	15,835	31,241	(3,750)	(21,788)	54,081
Total assets	2,263,517	4,640,344	752,197	940,245	1,568,815	10,165,118
Depreciation, depletion and amortization	41,223	76,017	18,600	3,687	439	139,966
Amortization of acquired sales contracts, net	(816)	(13,088)	-	(113)	-	(14,017)
Capital expenditures	3,986	66,303	15,137	5,644	2,201	93,271
Three months ended March 31, 2011
Revenues	$ 393,113	$ 155,439	$ 324,386	-	$ -	$ 872,938
Income from operations	46,874	26,892	54,394	-	(25,922)	102,238
Total assets	2,244,173	683,949	710,324	-	1,261,532	4,899,978
Depreciation, depletion and amortization	41,691	20,529	21,016	-	301	83,537
Amortization of acquired sales contracts, net	5,944	-	-	-	-	5,944
Capital expenditures	2,838	11,777	17,302	-	6,794	38,711

A reconciliation of segment income from operations to consolidated income before income taxes follows:

	Three Months Ended March 31
	2012	2011
Income from operations	$       54,081	$     102,238
Interest expense	(74,772)	(34,580)
Interest income	1,021	746
Income before income taxes	$      (19,670)	$      68,404