CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Coal producer Consol Energy Inc. said Thursday its first-quarter earnings more than doubled on higher prices and increased natural gas output, though it further trimmed 2009 coal production plans.

The earnings beat Wall Street expectations, and its shares rose more than 12 percent.

Canonsburg, Pa.-based Consol said it earned $195.8 million, or $1.08 per share, in the first three months of the year. Consol earned $75.1 million, or 41 cents a share, in the same period last year. Revenue increased 19 percent to $1.22 billion, compared with $1.03 billion in first-quarter 2007.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected 93 cents per share on revenue of $1.24 billion.

Shares of Consol jumped $3.28, or 12.7 percent, to $29.18 in Thursday trading. The stock has ranged from $18.50 to $119.10 over the past year.

Consol continued to benefit from 2009 delivery contracts signed when prices were high last summer. The company said it realized an average price of $59.63 a ton during the quarter, up 26.9 percent from first-quarter 2007.

Along with coal prices, Consol credited higher gas production by CNX Gas Corp. for the earnings increase. Consol owns 83.3 percent of CNX.

"We are very pleased," Chief Financial Officer Bill Lyons told analysts during a conference call.

As expected, production dipped during the quarter to 16 million tons, from 16.2 million tons a year ago. Consol said it now expects to produce 62 million tons of coal this year, down from 63 million. Before coal prices plunged last fall, Consol had expected to produce as much as 74 million tons in 2009.

"We have throttled back on production to match the shipments to our customers," Lyons said. "From an operations standpoint, the mines are doing well."

The company remains uncertain about 2010 production because of declining prices, Chief Executive Brett Harvey said during the conference call. The spot price of coal from northern Appalachian, where much of Consol's production is centered, has fallen from above $100 a ton last summer to about $52 a ton in mid-April.

"We're not going to meet the price, the spot market price, that we see today," Harvey said. "We do have 54 million tons sold. I guess the $64,000 question is how much are we going to mine."

Consol also is postponing some shipments, renegotiating some contracts and, in some cases, allowing customers to buy out 2009 contracts for cash, Harvey said.

Coal customers, particularly steel mills, have balked at accepting coal they agreed to buy at high prices last year. The result has been lawsuits, renegotiations and the like across much of the industry.

Consol is the largest underground coal producer in the United States and has operations in West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Utah.

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