H share Yanzhou Coal Mining expects mainland coal prices to rise only slightly during the rest of the year due to a moderate increase in supply.
Supply would be curbed further due to a clampdown on smaller, sub-standard mines, but the company would increase its supply in the second half to achieve planned sales of 34 million tonnes of coal this year, director Wu Yuxiang said yesterday.
The clampdown has squeezed coal supply and helped fuel a sharp rise in coal prices in the first half, which hit many power plants hard but benefited miners.
As a result, Shandong-based Yanzhou Coal sold 22 per cent more coal in the domestic market, while its prices jumped an average 20.21 per cent to 170.1 yuan (about HK$159.4) per tonne.
Higher coal prices lifted the company's interim net profit 55.8 per cent year on year to 696 million yuan.
Yanzhou Coal would raise output in the second half, Mr Wu said. 'This may cause slight downward pressure on prices, but we are confident about the market outlook,' he said.
In the first half, Yanzhou Coal produced 16.18 million tonnes of coal. This means planned production volume for the second half is 17.82 million tonnes.