China's top coal producer profits down 11.7 pct

China Shenhua Energy Company Limited (CSEC), China's largest coal producer, said on Saturday that its first-half net profits fell 11.7 percent to 21.6 billion yuan (3.5 billion U.S. dollars).

The company's business revenues stood at 129 billion yuan during the period, a slight increase of 0.4 percent year on year, according to an CSEC business report filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The decrease comes along with a 2.1 percent decline in coal output and 3.3 percent drop in sales.

CSEC chairman Zhang Yuzhuo said that the coal sector is losing more as a result of declining coal prices, oversupply and increasing use of non-fossil fuel for generating electricity.

Revenues from CSEC coal business totalled 71.2 billion yuan in the first half of the year, down 14.1 percent.

Earnings per share stood at 1.083 yuan, down 11.7 percent year on year. As of June 30, the company's return on assets stood at 4.7 percent while its ratio of liabilities to assets stood at 38.9 percent, up 3.8 percentage points compared to the end of last year, according to the report.

Headquartered in Beijing, China Shenhua is listed in both Shanghai and Hong Kong. Apart from coal, its businesses cover railway and port transport of coal-related materials, power generation and sales.