High coal prices to bleed Huadian

Huadian Power International Corp Ltd said in an earnings alert to shareholders that it expects a loss for 2008 due to the big increase in coal prices during most of the year.

The company, the listed arm of the country's top power generator China Huadian Corp, gave no specific figure for its loss, only saying that in 2007 it made a profit of 1.2 billion yuan.

"Compared with 2007, thermal coal prices have seen continuous significant rise in 2008. Although the government raised the electricity price twice in the year, it still cannot cover our increase in production cost," Huadian said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.