(Yicai Global) Aug. 1 -- Coal prices have been on an uptrend since the third quarter of last year, snapping a losing streak that lasted for several years. Upstream businesses in the coal industry have seen an almost 20-fold increase in profits in the first half, but the gains have been mostly limited to major coal producers.

From January through June, core business revenues among coal mining and washing enterprises totaled CNY1,33 billion (USD198 million), up 37.6 percent year-on-year, with a 1,968 percent jump in total profit (CNY147.47 billion), show data from the National Bureua of Statistics published on July 27.

Most publicly-traded coal companies forecast better-than-expected earnings results for the first half. Jizhong Energy Resources Co., for instance, projected a 56 to 62-fold increase in net profit, and net profit growth at Shaanxi Coal Industry Co. [SHA:601225], Yang Quan Coal Industry (Group) Co. [SHA:600348], Huolinhe Opencut Coal Industry Corp. and China Shenhua Energy Co. [HK:1088], the country's largest coal producer, were estimated to be 22-fold, 865 percent, 180 to 210 percent and 147 percent, respectively.

China National Coal Association (CNCA) surveyed 90 major coal companies and found that they had swung from losses of CNY3.74 billion last year to a combined profit of CNY51.39 billion, CNCA president Wang Xianzheng disclosed. Five of them -- China Shenhua, Shandong Energy Group, Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group, Inner Mongolia Yitai Coal and China National Coal Group -- logged CNY77 billion in total profits.

This means that many small- to medium-sized coal producers are still in the red. The recovery of the coal industry is largely driven by the overcapacity reduction policy. Data show that a total of 111 million tons of coal production capacity have been phased out in the first quarter, representing 74 percent of the full-year overcapacity reduction target.

As for the future trends in coal prices, Wang Qiuli, a coal industry analyst at Chem365.net, told Yicai Global: "The market is awaiting China Shenhua to release guidance prices in August, and port coal prices will likely fluctuate at a high level given the relatively high daily thermal power consumption."