Amman- The Jordan Phosphates Mines Co., one of Jordan's two main mining firms, scored a nearly 600-per-cent increase in profits in the first nine months of the year, Chairman of the JPMC Board of Directors Walid Kurdi said Tuesday.

Kurdi put the firm's net profits in the first three quarters of the year at a record of 203.6 million dinars (288 million dollars), compared with 31.3 million dinars in the same period of 2007.

He attributed the surge in the company's profits to the sharp rise in phosphates prices on the world market and to an 11.5-per-cent increase in production, to 67.4 million tonnes, in the first nine months of the year. (dpa)