Miner New Hope's CEO has rejected suggestions that the coal industry's decline is permanent and says he wants to make acquisitions this year.
Armed with a $1.1 billion war chest, New Hope boss Shane Stephan said he was well placed to ramp up purchases of coal assets that highly indebted miners could not afford to keep.
His comments came as the Queensland thermal coal producer overcame depressed prices to increase underlying first half net profit by 51 per cent from a year ago to $34.2 million.
However New Hope posted a statutory net loss of $23.1 million due to $58.5 million in writedowns of its oil, gas and other assets.
The slump in coal prices since 2011's record highs have led to thousands of Australian job losses, mine closures and hits to the Federal budget, with coal a major export.
While historically the industry is cyclical, the move by China's biggest coal giant Shenhua this week to forecast a 10 per cent fall in annual sales as China changes its energy mix has increased speculation that the downturn is a new normal.
Mr Stephan disagreed, saying China's efforts to clean up the environment were increasing demand for higher quality Australian thermal coal rather than from dirtier Chinese mines.
"People were saying in the late 1990s-early 2000s that coal was part of the old economy and didn't have a future ... the subsequent increase in energy demand during the 2000s proved that wrong," he told AAP.
"Around the peak of the cycle in 2010-11 they said that was going to be the new normal ... they have subsequently been proved wrong."
The company spent about $50 million on coal tenements in Queensland's Surat Basin last December, and Mr Stephan said coal companies with high debt from high-priced acquisitions made in 2010-11 would sell assets.
New Hope is financially backed by major shareholder the wealthy Millner family.
Mr Stephan said the miner's profit boost came from a six per cent rise in coal sales to a record 3.1 million tonnes, falls in the Australian dollar and a 35 per cent fall in diesel costs offsetting weak prices.
New Hope shares gained five cents to $2.53 by 1500 AEDT.
NEW HOPE BATTLES WEAK COMMODITY PRICES
* First half net loss of $23.1m, down from a $22.7m net profit
* Underlying net profit - excluding non-regular items - of $34.2 million, up 51 pct from $22.7 million
* However it said net profit excluding those items was up 51 per cent
* Revenue of $269.1m, down 5.6 pct, from $284.9m
* Fully-franked interim dividend of four cents a share, down from six cents a share.
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