China's Shenhua falls 12 pct after yearly results

HONG KONG, March 17 (Reuters) - Shares in China's Shenhua Energy Co Ltd (1088.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)(601088.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world's top coal producer by market value, fell more than 12 percent on Monday after it posted lower-than-expected 2007 earnings.

Shenhua's net profit rose 16.6 percent to 20.58 billion yuan ($2.90 billion) last year from 17.64 billion yuan in 2006, lagging an average forecast for 22.1 billion yuan from 22 analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.

Its stock fell HK$4.35 to HK$31.80 in early Hong Kong trade.

The lower-than-expected earnings implied its second half profit was flat compared with the first half, due to lower-than-expected coal prices, Goldman Sachs said in a research note on Monday.

But the stock had outperformed the market last year, jumping 149 percent against a 56 percent gain in the index of Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong .HSCE. (Reporting by Alison Leung; Editing by Ken Wills)