China Coal Energy Co., the country's second largest coal producer, said on Saturday that it produced 52.67 million tonnes of coal in the first half of this year, up 5.4 percent year on year.

The Beijing-based firm said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that in June alone it produced 10.64 million tonnes of coal, up 24.2 percent over the figure a year earlier.

The Shanghai-listed company jumped 7.39 percent Friday to 14.53 yuan (US$2.13) per share.

Chinese coal producers sold 1.23 billion tonnes of coal in the first half of this year, an increase of 42.26 million tonnes, or 3.55 percent ,from the same period last year, according to statistics released by the China Coal Industry Association Friday.

(Xinhua News Agency July 19, 2009)