UPDATE 1-New Britain Q1 profits double as oil surges

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LONDON, May 14 (Reuters) - Australasia-focused planter New Britain Palm Oil (NBPO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) reported on Wednesday quarterly profits that doubled as it benefited from surging prices of edible oils.

First-quarter pretax profits for the period to May 13 doubled to $37 million as sales rose 63 percent to $83 million, Papua New Guinea's largest palm oil producer reported.

"Palm oil prices remain buoyant and in our view look to remain so as long as the world's supply and demand for edible oils and fats remains so very finely balanced," Chief Executive Nick Thompson said in a statement.

"At this stage of the season, assuming no unforeseen events, we expect production of fruit to be in line with management's 2008 fresh fruit bunch (FFB) targets."

New Britain said it averaged $954 per tonne for crude palm oil in the first quarter and at the end of April had about 99,000 tonnes of oil sold or priced forward for 2008 at an average price of $1,020 per tonne.

The price of palm oil, used as a cooking oil and in products ranging from cosmetics to cookies and biofuels, has almost doubled since the start of 2007 on surging demand from the food and fuel sectors.

New Britain, which listed in London in December, has been one of the junior AIM market's best performers. Its value has doubled since then, giving it a market value of 790 million pounds ($1.54 billion). (Reporting by Hsu Chuang Khoo; editing by Rory Channing)