NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — Bermuda-based Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd., which bought rival Quintana Maritime Ltd. for $2.45 billion, said first-quarter profit more than tripled amid higher rates for shipments of iron ore and coal.

Net income advanced to $38.5 million, or $1.93 a share, from $12.3 million, or 61 cents, a year earlier, Excel said in a statement today. The average of seven analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg was $1.78 a share. Sales almost doubled to $69.8 million.

Rates to ship dry-bulk commodities were an average 57 percent higher in the quarter than a year earlier. The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of rates for various sized vessels on routes around the world, averaged 7,343 points in the first quarter, up from 4,669 a year earlier. The index rose to a record 11,709 points yesterday.

The market "is on fire," said Charles Rupinski, a shipping analyst at Maxim Group LLC in New York who rates Excel shares a "hold" and owns none.

Excel shares rose $2.68, or 4.6 percent, to $60.40 at 9.46 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have more than doubled from a year ago.

The company closed its acquisition of Quintana last month. It's buying its larger rival to help triple its fleet size and take advantage of record purchases of commodities by China, whose economy grew 11 percent in the first three months of the year.

China's steelmakers imported a record 42.9 million metric tons of iron ore in April, beating the previous all-time high set in February by 4.7 million tons, according to data from the China General Administration of Customs.

The completion of price negotiations between Asian steel mills and some iron-ore producers sent rates higher toward the end of the first quarter.

The Quintana purchase "is a way for them to build mass, getting access to ships", Rupinski said. "Quintana's contracts are under market value, but when they come off contract in 2010, there's a view Excel can renegotiate at higher levels."

Excel operates some of its vessels on time charter and others on the spot market, Rupinski said.

"They're able to optimise their revenue stream, particularly in a hot market," he said. In a market like this, there's an interest to keep them on spot."

Excel ships earned an average daily rate of $41,754, an 86-percent increase from $22,485 a year earlier. The company operated 18 ships in the quarter, up 17 a year ago.

Combined with Quintana, the company has contracted its ships for 75 percent of the remaining days this year, 60 percent of 2009 and 52 percent of 2010. Revenue for the second half of 2008 is estimated at $188 million, $299 million for 2009 and $241 million for the 2010 charters, the company said.