Arch Coal Inc. said that it may file for bankruptcy in the “near term” as the company’s cash flow can’t sustain its $5.1 billion in debt, Bloomberg reported yesterday. The company is in talks with creditors over a "significant restructuring" of its balance sheet, St. Louis-based Arch said in a filing Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said that it may file for chapter 11 relief whether or not it strikes a deal with creditors. Arch, the second-largest U.S. coal producer by volume, has been running out of options since it terminated a debt-exchange offer last month that would have enabled it to cut its debt. Coal miners are reeling from the industry’s worst slump in decades as power plants use less of the fuel. Arch posted a third-quarter net loss that widened to $93.91 a share from $4.58 a year earlier. Adjusting for one-time items, the loss was $3.38, beating the $5.70 average of 10 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
