Total revenue was $US88.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2013, a decrease of $9.2 million, or 9.3%, from $97.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

Adjusted EBITDA was $9 million for the March 2013 quarter, a decrease of $2 million from $11 million for the previous corresponding period.

Quarterly coal sales revenue was $84.8 million, a decrease of $10 million, or 10.6%, from $94.8 million in the March 2012 quarter.

“The decrease was primarily attributable to a 13.3% reduction in sales tons with a value of $12.6 million that was a result of the lower sales volume from the Illinois Basin operations, partially offset by a $1.55 per ton increase in coal sales revenue, or a $2.6 million increase, for the three months ended March 31, 2013,” the company said.

The cost of coal sales was $74 million for the quarter, a decrease of $9.1 million, or 11%, from $83.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

The decrease was primarily attributable to a reduction of 300,000 in tons sold, which corresponds to an $11.1 million decrease in the cost of coal sales.

Cost of coal sales per ton was $44.25 for the quarter, an increase of $1.16, or 2.7%, per ton from $43.09 per ton for the previous corresponding quarter.

The $1.16 per ton increase corresponds to a $1.9 million increase in cost of coal sales, primarily attributable to a rise in cost of $3.8 million for purchased coal, partially offset by a decrease in diesel fuel cost of $1.8 million.

For the three months ended March 31, 137,000t of coal was purchased at an average price of $48.08/t, which represented increases of 66,000t and $2.92/t, compared to 71,000t of coal purchased at an average price of $45.16/t for the March 2012 quarter.

Diesel fuel expense decreased $4.4 million due to lower spot prices in 2013 resulting in $1.8 million in diesel fuel expense savings.