ST. LOUIS, May 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Patriot Coal
Corporation (NYSE: PCX) announced the re-election of three members
of its board of directors at the Company's annual meeting of
stockholders held in St. Louis
today. Additionally, Ernst & Young was ratified as the
Company's independent registered public accounting firm for the
fiscal year ending December 31,
2012. Finally, stockholders approved the compensation of
Patriot's named executive officers as outlined in the Company's
proxy statement.
Stockholders re-elected B.R.
Brown, retired chairman, president and chief executive
officer of CONSOL Energy; Irl F.
Engelhardt, chairman of the Company and former chairman and
chief executive officer of Peabody Energy; and John E. Lushefski, former chief financial
officer of Millennium Chemicals. Each of these directors will
serve a three-year term.
During the meeting, Patriot President and Chief Executive
Officer Richard M. Whiting outlined
to stockholders the key strengths that allow Patriot to react
quickly to the evolving global coal markets.
"We are focused on growth markets, including metallurgical coal
production and our worldwide exports," stated Whiting.
"Underpinning our efforts are an experienced management team, a
strong culture of safety and environmental stewardship, and a
disciplined approach to planning and execution. In addition,
we have flexibility in products and transportation to best serve
our customers and a modular mine portfolio that provides the
versatility to dial production up or down in a timely manner in
response to market conditions."
During his remarks, Mr. Whiting reported that Patriot achieved
record safety results again in 2011 and highlighted the Company's
nine first-place awards received at the 2011 National Mine Rescue
Contest sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Shareholders were encouraged to visit Patriot's new website for
updates on the Company at www.patriotcoal.com.
About Patriot Coal
Patriot Coal Corporation is a leading producer and marketer of
coal in the eastern United States,
with 13 active mining complexes in Appalachia and the Illinois
Basin. The Company ships to domestic and international
electricity generators, industrial users and metallurgical coal
customers, and controls approximately 1.9 billion tons of proven
and probable coal reserves. The Company's common stock trades
on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PCX.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking as
defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These statements involve certain risks and
uncertainties that may be beyond our control and may cause our
actual future results to differ materially from expectations.
We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.
Factors that could affect our results include, but are not limited
to: price volatility and demand, particularly in higher margin
products; geologic, equipment and operational risks associated with
mining; changes in general economic conditions, including coal,
power and steel market conditions; coal mining laws and
regulations; the availability and costs of competing energy
resources; legislative and regulatory developments; risks
associated with environmental laws and compliance, including
selenium-related matters; developments in greenhouse gas emission
regulation and treatment; negotiation of labor contracts, labor
availability and relations; the outcome of pending or future
litigation; the impact of the restatement for the years ended
December 31, 2011 and 2010 and the
related material weakness associated with the accounting treatment
for the Apogee and Hobet water treatment facilities; changes in the
costs to provide healthcare to eligible active employees and
certain retirees under postretirement benefit obligations;
increases to contribution requirements to multi-employer retiree
healthcare and pension plans; reductions of purchases or deferral
of shipments by major customers; availability and costs of credit;
customer performance and credit risks; inflationary trends;
worldwide economic and political conditions; downturns in consumer
and company spending; supplier and contract miner performance and
the availability and cost of key equipment and commodities;
availability and costs of transportation; the Company's ability to
replace coal reserves; the outcome of commercial negotiations
involving sales contracts or other transactions; our ability to
respond to changing customer preferences; failure to comply with
debt covenants; the effects of mergers, acquisitions and
divestitures; and weather patterns affecting energy demand or
disrupting coal supply. The Company undertakes no obligation
(and expressly disclaims any such obligation) to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. For additional
information concerning factors that could cause actual results to
materially differ from those projected herein, please refer to the
Company's Form 10-K and Form 10-Q reports.
SOURCE Patriot Coal Corporation
