Aug. 16, 2011

BEIJING (MarketWatch) -- Aluminum Corp. of China, or Chinalco, said Tuesday that its pretax profit in the first half surged 127.8% from a year earlier due to strong demand for aluminum, rare earths and copper.

Revenue gained 10.9% in the first half, the company said in a statement on its website without elaborating.

The company posted large gains in all its core businesses, including aluminum, copper, rare earths, and trade and construction, Chinalco Spokesman Yuan Li said Tuesday. He said the company is still doing final auditing and could not disclose the exact figures.

Nonferrous metal output at the country's largest diversified miners by gross assets was up 0.3% in the first six months, the statement said.

Chinalco is the parent company of listed Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. (2600.HK), also called Chalco, China's largest alumina and aluminum producer. It expects to issue the first-half earnings Aug. 26.