Coal prices burn into Shenhua earnings

China Shenhua Group Corp Ltd, the biggest coal company in the country by output, posted net profit of 9.8 billion yuan ($1.48 billion) in the first half of 2016 on Tuesday, down 18.6 percent from the same period last year.

Shenhua's revenue in the first six months stood at 78.7 billion yuan, down 12.5 percent from the same period last year. The company said that low coal prices were the major reason for the decrease.

Its average coal price was 271 yuan per metric ton in the first half of the year, down 14 percent from the same period last year.