MELBOURNE, March 19 (Reuters) - Australian thermal coal miner New Hope Corp on Tuesday reported a 62.4% drop in its first-half profit in line with a fall in global coal prices, and paid a dividend that beat analyst expectations as its New Acland mine expansion ramps up.

New Hope saw first export shipments from its New Acland stage 3 expansion and stronger sales volumes from its Bengalla mine that underpinned higher sales volumes for the half.

That helped the company post a net profit of A$251.7 million ($165.01 million) for the six months ended Jan. 31, less than half of its record profit of A$668.6 million a year earlier as coal prices normalised following a jump at the onset of the Ukraine war.

"We see a bright future for coal demand," New Hope CEO Rob Bishop said in an interview.

"The way to net zero is going to take probably a lot longer than first thought and coal demand will stay strong throughout that transition, well past our current approvals," he added.

New Hope posted an increase in its saleable coal production during the half-year as its average realised prices dropped 57% to A$197.03 per tonne. Shares traded up as much as 4.1% before easing to A$4.57, up 3.2%.

The miner declared an interim dividend of 17 Australian cents per share, below the 30 cents it paid last year but higher than brokerage Morgans' estimate of 12 cents.

"The dividend was modestly better than our expectations. Bengalla (mine) looks on track. It's low maintenance and no surprises, that's what investors love," said Morgans analyst Tom Sartor.

New Hope increased to 19.9% its stake in privately held Malabar which produces semi-soft coking coal, as it diversifies its growth options.

It is also looking at opportunities with the Queensland government to build a pumped hydro project with wind and solar that could provide up to 5% of the state's electricity, Bishop said.

In January, New Hope bought mining rights to West Muswellbrook from Japan's Idemitsu near the western side of its Bengalla mine, for future "optionality" for its mining and agricultural businesses.

It has been approached by potential buyers for its Bridgeport Energy oil unit and its West Moreton coal asset, it added. ($1 = 1.5253 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne and Aaditya Govind Rao in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona, Chris Reese and Jamie Freed)