Peabody slumps as production issues, weather crimp revenue

Shares of Peabody Energy slumped after the biggest US coal miner warned that first-quarter sales will be lower than expected due to production issues at mines in Australia and weak demand in the US. The company expects to report revenue of $980-million for the quarter, according to a statement Thursday. Analysts had been expecting revenue of $1.03-billion for the current period. The shares fell 6.4% before the start of regular trading in New York.