Zen,they indicated that the first half may actually show a loss,...

Zen,
they indicated that the first half may actually show a loss, and have rated eps down to 40 c, so l think your estimate of about $2.80 was about right.
however we will have to await further announcements of mine improvement and productivity output.
they have been cagey with Tahmoor, l think in part because it was a shambles when they took over and it will take time to change the work culture there.
You are correct that they are thermal oriented and sheltered with long term contracts, but once they get Tahmoor going it should add $2 - 3 to value.
The advantage of Anvil Hill will be the huge capacity and cheap open cut operation which will enable cut back on less profitable mines. it is inevitable to expect underground problems but l view these as buy opportunity.
CEY should be able to get a steady 80 - 90 eps in a few years and other opportunities will present. with increasing mechanization coal mining costs should come down and the locked in thermal prices should be more profitable.
As an aside l note that the proposed de salinization plant in Sydney will account for an increased 2% in electricity demand and guess where that will come from. [ let us not mention the 1 mil tons of CO2 equivalent to an extra 200,000 cars on the road ]. these increments will be a bonus to CEY bottom line.
When l was looking to buy Austral earlier when they had mine problems l waited too long and then CEY came along. As you can see, Austral sold at US$50/ton which certainly did not help their cause. Coking coal will hold up as China does not produce much. Australia being an old continent has nice , mature coal whilst China has a lot of polution concerns due to sulphur etc. For this reason it is also good to look at the Magnetite Iron producers [ MGX ] since this is a lower pollution form of Fe smelting.
Thanks for all your posts,keep them coming, but l tend to stand back from the market and be patient.
Did you learn anything else at the CEY meeting ?