TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Vancouver-based Teck Resources said on Wednesday that net income for the third quarter rose to C$609-million, compared with earnings of C$424-million in the same period a year earlier.

Profit was helped by increased coal revenue, but the company's copper and zinc units also showed improved sales figures.

After excluding certain one-off items, including a C$311-million noncash foreign exchange gain on net debt, adjusted net earnings were C$270-million, compared with C$529-million in the third quarter of 2008.

"Our major operations continue to perform well and produced record revenues of C$2,1-billion in the third quarter, despite coal and zinc prices that were less than 50% of previous highs,” CEO Don Lindsay said in statement.

The company, which started the year under a mountain of borrowings taken on to acquire the assets of Fording Canadian Coal in 2008, has reduced its total debt by C$5-billion since the Fording deal was completed, he said.

Further reductions of about C$1,1-billion are expected as the company completes its already announced asset sales later this year and in early 2010.

By the end of the third quarter, Teck had a net debt to net-debt-plus-equity ratio of 34% – “a significant improvement from the 52% ratio at December 31, 2008”, the company said.

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