UPDATE 2-Exxaro lifts year profits, unfazed by power cuts

(Adds more details, analyst, share price, outlook)

By James Macharia

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 21 (Reuters) - South Africa's biggest black-owned mining group, Exxaro Resources (EXXJ.J), posted a 49 percent jump in full-year headline earnings per share and said it expected a muted impact from the country's power crisis.

Exxaro said on Thursday it was unlikely the group's future production at its coal mines would be affected by state utility Eskom's [ESCJ.UL] request to the mining sector to cut power usage to 90 percent of normal needs, owing to the failure of power supply to match demand in a fast-growing economy.

Exxaro is the largest supplier of coal to Eskom, which uses the commodity for the lion's share of its power generation. Exxaro is the country's largest producer of metallurgical coals.

"It is considered unlikely that future production at the coal mines will be affected by Eskom's load shedding/rationing programme," the group said in a statement.

"Most of the group's coal operations supply some or all their production to Eskom's power plants."

The group's coal business has a capacity of around 45 million tonnes a year, and is South Africa's fourth-largest coal producer in a market dominated by Anglo Coal, a division of Anglo American Plc (AAL.L).

"I'm fairly positive for the year ahead," Matt Brenzel, portfolio manager for mining at Cadiz African Harvest Asset Management said.