The price of this stock at the start of the third trading week of July 2008 was about 50% below the 52-week high of $10.83. The Earnings per Share have disappointed investors at -1.49. However, no coal industry stock should be “written off” at the stage. Indeed, a careful review will show that the corporation has excellent future business prospects.

Annual sales growth during the Most Recent Quarter has exceeded 85%. The company owns and leases about 100,000 acres of coal-rich lands, which are supported by extensive infrastructure for logistics. It has top electricity utility companies on its rolls of customers. The company is strongly positioned to ramp up production as demand for coal grows. It has retained mining rights to some of the properties it sold in the recent past.

The corporation is of relatively recent origin, but the key executive team has decades of relevant business and management experience. The company is focused on superior grades of coal. It is known for professional land operation and for safe mining procedures. Investors can expect it to evolve as a responsible and dynamic member of the industry.

Influential investors have recently bought blocks of this company’s shares. This has added to the prestige of the stock, apart from the useful cash inflow. Retail stock investors would do well to follow suit. Emerging clean coal technologies and runaway crude oil inflation suggest that every portfolio should include stocks of this category.

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