Huaneng Power International Inc said first quarter net profit fell 79.95 percent year-on-year to 241.94 million yuan ($34.65 million) on higher coal costs, which offset a rise in electricity output.

In its first quarter financial report filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the company said it generated 46.1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in the first quarter, up 18.62 percent year-on-year.

At the end of March, power generating capacity on an equity basis was 33,723 megawatts (MW). Capacity at plants that it operates was 37,119 MW, the company said earlier.

Operating revenue in the first three months of 2008 was 13.53 billion yuan, up20.23 percent, with operating costs up 36.14 percent.

It did not give details about its coal costs in the statement.

Earnings per share fell sharply to 0.02 yuan in the first quarter from 0.10 a year earlier.

Late last month, the company said in its annual report that it faces a shortage of coal, higher coal prices and a decline in coal quality in 2008. It will seek to manage purchasing to contain the increase in unit prices for fuel within 18 percent.