Jiangxi Copper, China's biggest copper producer, said its first-quarter profit more than quadrupled from a year ago due to increased output and higher metal prices.

Net profit for the first three months soared 360 percent to 697.5 million yuan (US$102 million) from 151.8 million yuan in the same period last year. Revenue surged 61 percent to 15.9 billion yuan, the firm said in a statement to Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday.

However, the sparkling performance slightly missed expectations, China International Capital Corp wrote. But the research house was optimistic copper prices will continue to rise.