Patriot Coal Announces Results of 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

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

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