China's Wangfujing H1 net profit surges on stable economic growth

BEIJING - China's department store retailer Wangfujing Group Co has said its H1 net profit more than doubled from a year earlier, supported by stable economic growth.

The company's H1 net profit surged 145.42 percent to 756 million yuan ($109.57 million), it said in a financial report to Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Earnings per share also rose significantly during the period, up 145.34 percent to 0.97 yuan.

Wangfujing attributed the profit growth to an improving retail market, boosted by the country's stable economic growth and the company's efforts to cut operating costs.

The company's operation revenue climbed 3.04 percent year-on-year to 13.2 billion yuan during the January-June period.

By region, Wangfujing saw revenue growth in the country's northeastern, southwestern and northwestern regions, while performance declined in northern, eastern and southern provinces. Northeastern provinces led the revenue growth with a 14.78-percent increase from the same period last year, while eastern regions suffered the largest decrease of 11.59 percent.

Its share price rose 0.67 percent to 16.42 yuan Friday.