Press Releases

Peabody Energy today will ring The Closing Bell® at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in celebration of Peabody's 125th anniversary.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080529/AQTH031)

"Today, we celebrate a major milestone and mark the beginning of the next 125 years for the world's largest coal company," says Peabody Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gregory H. Boyce. "In an energy-short world, coal is the fuel of the future, and global coal demand is slated to accelerate to fuel fast-growing economies. Peabody is very well positioned to continue its extraordinary record of value creation."

Peabody began trading on the NYSE following its May 21, 2001 initial public offering (IPO). A $1,000 investment at the IPO would be worth more than $12,500 today, including reinvested cash dividends. A recent Fortune 500 listing ranks BTU number 12 among all 500 companies for the best five-year total shareholder return.

Peabody trades under the ticker symbol BTU -- appropriate for a company with 185 quadrillion Btus of energy in its 9.3 billion tons of coal reserves. That's more energy than the entire proven natural gas reserves or proven oil reserves in the continental United States, for instance.

Peabody Energy is the world's largest private-sector coal company, with 2007 sales of 238 million tons and $4.6 billion in revenues. Its coal products fuel approximately 10 percent of all U.S. electricity generation and 2 percent of worldwide electricity.

   CONTACT:
   Vic Svec
   (314) 342-7768

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: cmiller@peabodyenergy.com

SOURCE: Peabody Energy