Alliance Resource Partners moves ahead of partner

Alliance ranked No. 5 on this year's Oklahoma Inc. list of the top public companies in the state, one slot ahead of general partner Alliance Holdings GP LP on the strength of an 81.3 percent increase in total returns.

Both companies are fixtures on the list, finishing among the top seven companies each of the past three years.

“ARLP and AHGP are honored to again be recognized for our financial performance as one of Oklahoma Inc.'s top 10 publicly traded companies,” CEO Joseph W. Craft III said.

Craft said ARLP and AHGP are master limited partnerships that offer investors two ways to pay for a stake in the performance of Alliance Coal LLC, the fourth largest producer and marketer of coal in the eastern United States.

ARLP often is the choice of investors seeking immediate dividends.

“Over the past year, Alliance successfully increased production and sales volumes predominantly through the expansion of our River View mine in the Illinois Basin,” he said.