China's top integrated copper producer, Jiangxi Copper Co Ltd , said 2007 earnings fell 12.4 percent due to falling processing fees for smelting the metal.

Jiangxi Copper posted a net profit of 4.15 billion yuan last year, down from 4.74 billion yuan in 2006, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

The earnings lagged an average forecast of 4.54 billion yuan from 15 analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.

The company aims to make 700,000 tonnes of refined copper in 2008, making up for production lost during an unusually harsh winter this year.

But the company's dependence on other firms for its copper concentrates, lower processing fees and a higher effective tax rate could drag down earnings this year despite rising global copper prices, analysts say.

Shares in Jiangxi Copper rose 142 percent in 2007, outperforming a 56 percent gain on the index of Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong .