Coal producer Gloucester Coal Ltd
(ASX:GCL) has reported a 9% fall in total sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2010, despite a 73% rise in coking coal sales.
Total sales came to 444,000 tonnes, with 149,000 tonnes of coking coal sold during the period.
This follows a decision by the company to focus on coking coal sales in a strengthening market.
Gloucester says the current outlook for coking coal is strong with spot hard coking coal sale prices being reported at substantially higher prices than those seen in the 2009/2010 Japanese financial year driven by strong demand and tight supply.
Total production for the quarter to December rose 13% to 491,000 tonnes compared to the same time the year before. Gloucester Coal earned close to $82 million in fiscal 2009.
