Diversified energy company New Hope Corporation Ltd
(ASX:NHC) has posted a sharp rise in full year earnings after the sale of its New Saraji project to BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance.
The company recorded total net profit after tax and non regular items for the year to July 31 of $1.95 billion boosted by the sale of the New Saraji project in September 2008.
The result compares to a profit of $90.68 million the year before.
Not including the sale of the project, net profit after tax came to $262.3 million up 189 per cent on the year before, while net profit from its coal mining, port, and other operations to $150.5 million for the year to July 31.
Chairman Robert Millner says the result was driven by an 11.7 per cent increase in total coal sales to 4.972 million tonnes with export coal sales up 19.9 per cent to 3.868 million tonnes in combination with the higher domestic and export coal prices during the past year.
The company says however, with the sharp decrease in export coal prices resulting from the world economic downturn in late 2008 and early 2009, it is likely that an earnings decline will eventuate in 2010 from normal operations, despite higher production and sales.
New Hope’s best net profit over the past five years was $447.7 million in 2005.
