News: RIO Australia's Aurizon halts trade as it assesses financial impact of cyclone

SYDNEY, April 18 (Reuters) - Australian coal railway line operator Aurizon Holdings Ltd (AZJ) on Tuesday entered a trading halt as its board prepared to assess the financial impact of Cyclone Debbie on its full-year profit guidance.

The cyclone in the northern state of Queensland led to the temporary closure of four of Aurizon's coal haulage lines in the world's largest coking coal export region. Goonyella, the largest line in terms of export tonnage, is not expected to reopen until next month.

"Aurizon expects that it will be able to make the announcement to the market later today once the board meeting has concluded considering and approving the release," the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Before the cyclone, Aurizon had forecast it would report underlying earnings before interest and tax of A$900 million ($682.65 million) to A$950 million for the financial year ended June 30, including coal haulage of 200 million to 212 million tonnes.

Aurizon's major customers include coal miners BHP Billiton (BHP) , Glencore PLC , Peabody Energy Corp , Rio Tinto (RIO) and Anglo American PLC . ($1 = 1.3184 Australian dollars)