Noble Group, the commodities supplier part-owned by China Investment Corp., said first quarter profit rose 28% as demand and prices of coal, iron ore and aluminum improved with the economic recovery.

Net income increased to US$115 million ($160 million), or 2.86 cents a share, for the three months ended March 31, from US$90.2 million, or 2.77 cents, in the year-earlier period, Hong Kong-based Noble said in a statement to the Singapore Exchange. Sales surged 87% to a quarterly record of US$11.4 billion.

 

Noble is seeking to double annual profit to US$1 billion in three years as consumption of sugar, grains, coal and other resources increases in Asia with rising incomes. An attempt to become the largest shareholder in Australia’s Macarthur Coal Ltd. failed last month amid a takeover battle for the world’s biggest exporter of pulverized coal.

 

“Buying Noble is buying into the economic recovery,” Ben Santoso, an analyst at DBS Securities (Singapore) Pte, said before the results. “Noble should be reaping rewards from its recent investments,” including a soybean crushing plant in Argentina, he said.

 

Noble, which got 72% of gross profit last year from its energy and agriculture businesses, fell 1.4% to close at $2.88 in Singapore trading. The earnings were released after the market closed.

 

“Our grain, oil and gas, and coal and coke divisions all demonstrated strong results in the first quarter,” Chairman Richard Elman said in a statement. “We’re beginning to see the positive impact from our investments.”

 

The company, which supplies oilseeds, soybeans, wheat, cotton, coal and iron ore, doubled capital expenditure to US$1.1 billion last year, according to a February presentation.

 

Gross profit from its energy business, the largest earner, tripled to US$107.8 million, and earnings at its metals, minerals and ores unit, the second biggest, rose more than three-fold to US$74.3 million.

 

Noble, which classifies coking coal and coke used in steelmaking in its energy business, said “higher volumes and higher margins” for the materials helped drive earnings in the division. Aluminum and iron ore pushed up its minerals and ores unit’s profit, it said.

 

Gross profit from agriculture slipped 10% from a year ago to US$96 million as its Chinese crushing business was hurt by “excessive imports by PRC-based crushers in an oversupplied market,” the company said.

 

“Our investment in Noble Petro, our U.S.-based oil storage and terminal business has performed well,” Elman said. “Our Timbues and Santos facilities came online in the quarter and will contribute to our business and financial performance over the year.”

 

Noble completed its Timbues soybean crushing plant in Argentina and its Santos dry bulk terminal in Brazil in April. It expects to finish a $347 million sugar refinery and ethanol processing facility in Brazil in July 2011.

 

Shareholders of Noble last month rejected Brisbane-based Macarthur’s planned takeover of Gloucester Coal Ltd. Noble, the biggest shareholder in Gloucester, would have become Macarthur’s largest holder if the deal had been approved.

 

Macarthur Coal is the target of a A$4.1 billion ($5.29 billion) bid from Peabody Energy Corp., the largest U.S. coal producer.

 

Noble raised about US$5 billion through debt and equity sales last year as it added coal mines in Australia, with China’s sovereign wealth fund becoming its second-largest shareholder.