Yanzhou Coal Mining, the listed unit of the mainland's fourth-largest coal producer, reported a 20.2 per cent rise in first-quarter net profit on the back of higher sales and prices even as production remained flat.
The Yankuang Group subsidiary's net profit amounted to 700.66 million yuan in the first three months, up from 582.64 million yuan a year ago.
Turnover grew 20 per cent to 3.77 billion yuan as coal sales volume rose 16.1 per cent to 8.36 million tonnes, while the average coal selling price of its principal mines in Shandong province climbed 4.3 per cent to 410.89 yuan a tonne.
Domestic sales volume grew 17.1 per cent to 6.64 million tonnes, while exports fell 32 per cent to 1.04 million tonnes. However, coal production edged up 0.06 per cent to 9.07 million tonnes.
The company said on Monday it aimed to raise sales volume by 8.2 per cent this year to 37.5 million tonnes, of which three million tonnes would be exported.
Meanwhile, Yanzhou said its effort to recover a 640 million yuan loan plus 7 per cent in annual interest owed by Shandong Xinjia Industrial in late 2004 was hampered by another creditor claiming to have rights to the collateral that was auctioned to repay Yanzhou.
After Shandong Xinjia failed to repay the loan, 289 million Huaxia Bank non-tradable shares owned by Shandong Xinjia's guarantor, Lianda Group, were sold in September 2005 to raise 1.01 billion yuan. However, the auction's winner was still undergoing what Yanzhou would only describe as 'a qualification review by China Banking Regulatory Commission', the coal miner said.
