Australian miner Coal & Allied has announced a loss in profits for 2007, with infrastructure constraints and adverse weather stalling production.
The company, managed by Rio Tinto Coal Australia, has announced pre-tax profits of A$79.3m compared with A$270.3m in 2006.
Production of 23.9t was 17 percent lower than 2006 figures, says the company.
The company says it suffered a number of cutbacks last year, leading to production cuts, particularly at its Hunter Valley coal mine in New South Wales.
"Coal & Allied's profit in 2007 was disappointing and was adversely affected by infrastructure constraints and Hunter Valley Coal Chain performance," says Coal & Allied MD Hubie van Dalsen.
"This was exacerbated by severe flooding in the Hunter Valley in June following a severe weather event."
The company is now trying to tackle problems brought about by shipping queues and a rise in demurrage fees using a Capacity Balancing System approved by the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission to manage allocations of port capacity to producers.
By Ozge Ibrahim
