Energy firm New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC) said on Tuesday that it netted significant profit despite the substantial decline in earnings during the past full year as coal productions and exports of the company reached new heights for the year while sale of a major asset ensured its profitability.

The company said that it posted a yearly profit of $183.8 million during the past 12 months leading to July as compared with the $1.95 billion it registered from the previous year, with additional earnings of $112.6 million in operating profit and another $71.2 million from investments made in the year.

New Hope noted that earnings from the prior year of $1.95 million were inclusive of the sale of the New Saraji coal assets that fetched the company some $1.7 billion of profits after tax while company revenue from ordinary activities surged by 6.3 percent to $744.98.m

The company reported that its saleable coal production soared by as much as 15.2 percent to 5.9 million tonnes, driving up New Hope's export sales to a jump of 16.2 percent to 4.9 million tonnes and prompting the firm to declare that overall production could breach the six million tonnes mark by fiscal 2011.

New Hope chairman Robert Millner said that company's earnings for the full financial year have been mostly affected by lower export coal prices, higher dollar exchange rates, higher transportation costs and reduced interest earnings.

Mr Millner added that special dividends issued on the same year and tax payment due to the New Saraji sale transaction also influenced the full year report.

He expressed confidence that "New Hope's expansion plans remain on schedule and within budget with the company targeting a modest increase in coal production for 2011 of six million tonnes, subject to available rail capacity."

Mr Millner also revealed that New Hope's fiscal 2011 result would reflect earnings from the sale of Arrow Energy, delivering a profit after tax of $326 million to the company and leading it to distribute a final dividend of 4.5 cents per share plus a special dividend of 14 cents per share and leading to total issue of 23.cents per security.