Thai miner Banpu Q4 net profit down, above forecasts

BANGKOK Feb 25 (Reuters) - Banpu BANP.BK, Thailand's top coal miner, reported a smaller-than-expected 5.8 percent fall in its fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday, mainly due to a drop in average selling prices.

Banpu, also Indonesia's fourth-largest coal miner with five mines there, posted a net profit of 1.64 billion baht ($49.67 million), down from 1.74 billion baht a year earlier, and lower than the 3.81 billion baht in the third quarter.

The result was above average analysts' forecasts of 1.53 billion baht, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Full-year net profit was 14.2 billion baht.

Analysts are positive on Banpu's outlook in 2010, looking for higher coal prices and potential expansion.

Banpu stock gained almost 34 percent in the fourth quarter, outperforming a 2.4 percent rise in the broader market .SETI. The shares closed down 0.37 percent on Wednesday ahead of the earnings announcement. ($1=33.02 Baht) (Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap; Editing by Valerie Lee)