The Queensland-based coal miner has forecast a net profit pf between $155 million and $170 million for 2008/09, up from $72.7 million in the last financial year.
The guidance is based on expected sales volumes for the year ending June 30 of between 4.5 million tonnes (Mt) and $4.8Mt, up from a previous forecast of 3.9Mt.
"The significant increase in sales tonnage is due to better-than-forecast spot thermal and short-term LV PCI (low volatile pulverised coal injection) coal sales during the second half of the financial year," it said.
Low volatile PCI coal - coal crushed into a fine powder and injected into blast furnaces - is increasingly sought by steel mills in preference to high volatile coal because of its superior performance.
However, Macarthur said it had not yet made a decision on whether to pay a full year dividend. It has historically paid 50 per cent of its full year net profit out as dividend.
"This is due to a number of factors including current uncertainties about the timing of recovery in global steel markets and therefore metallurgical coal demand, as well as the company's implementation time frame for its new growth projects," it said.
The board will make a decision on the dividend when it finalises its full year result, due to be announced on August 26.
