Patriot Coal Announces Results of 2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

ST. LOUIS, May 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- 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, 2009. The Company's 2007 Long-Term Equity Incentive Plan and the Company's Management Annual Incentive Compensation Plan were also approved for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Re-elected directors include B. R. Brown, former chairman, president and chief executive officer of CONSOL Energy, Inc., John F. Erhard, principal of ArcLight Capital Holdings, LLC, and John E. Lushefski, former chief financial officer of Millennium Chemicals, Inc. Each of these directors will serve three-year terms through 2012.

Patriot Chief Executive Officer Richard M. Whiting told stockholders that management is building a stronger Patriot Coal, as a proven developer and consolidator in the coal space. Whiting kicked off the meeting with an overview of the benefits the Company has realized from its acquisition of Magnum Coal. With Magnum, the Company significantly increased its portfolio of mining operations and the size of its reserve base. The Company also further diversified its production by adding important surface mining capabilities.

"Coal provides nearly 50 percent of the nation's electricity and will remain an important U.S. energy source for decades to come. We believe that longer-term fundamentals in global coal markets remain strong," stated Whiting. "Patriot is a solid company with the right team and the right strategies. When the markets rebound, we will be ready to respond and resume our growth strategy."

Patriot Chairman Irl F. Engelhardt also reported that the Board of Directors formed a Finance Committee to review the Company's financial strategies, budgets, cost controls, tax planning and insurance strategies on a routine basis. The Board established the Committee in light of global economic conditions and the issues facing the banking industry. John E. Lushefski will Chair the Committee. Other Finance Committee members are John F. Erhard and Michael M. Scharf, chief financial officer of Bunge North America.

About Patriot Coal

Patriot Coal Corporation is the third largest producer and marketer of coal in the eastern United States, with 15 mining complexes in Appalachia and the Illinois Basin. The Company ships to domestic and international electric utilities, industrial users and metallurgical coal customers, and controls approximately 1.8 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: geologic, equipment and operational risks associated with mining; changes in general economic conditions, including coal and power market conditions; availability and costs of credit; reductions of purchases or deferral of deliveries by major customers; customer performance and credit risks; the outcome of commercial negotiations involving sales contracts or other transactions; legislative and regulatory developments; risks associated with environmental laws and compliance; coal mining laws and regulations; economic strength and political stability of countries in which we serve customers; 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; worldwide economic and political conditions; labor availability and relations; the Company's ability to replace coal reserves; the effects of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; our ability to respond to changing customer preferences; price volatility and demand, particularly in higher margin products; failure to comply with debt covenants; the outcome of pending or future litigation; weather patterns affecting energy demand; changes in postretirement benefit obligations; changes in contribution requirements to multi-employer benefit funds; and the availability and costs of competing energy resources. 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