CHINA National Coal Group Corp said first-quarter profit gained 85.9 percent to a record, fueled by rising demand and prices.

The Beijing-based company yesterday said on its Website that it had a profit of 1.44 billion yuan (US$187 million) in the first three months, without identifying whether the profit was before or after tax. China National's raw coal output climbed 23.1 percent to 24.63 million tons during the period and coke output rose 33.9 percent to 1.17 million tons.

Sales from core businesses were 12.95 billion yuan, remaining flat from the year-earlier period, it said. China National is the state parent of Hong Kong-listed unit China Coal Energy Co.

China's coal prices are set to rise in the second quarter as miners pass on higher costs, incurred by land-use fees and resources taxes, to customers. Thermal coal prices rose 4.6 percent in the first quarter from the final quarter last year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

Source:佚名