Great Wall Motor net profit triples in the first half

Great Wall Motor (GWM), the leading sport utility vehicle (SUV) and pickup manufacturer of China, said Tuesday that its first half-year net profit has more than tripled due to vehicle sales growth and rising profit margins.

In a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the automaker said net profit attributable to its shareholders increased 205.19 percent year on year to almost 3.5 billion yuan ($540 million) in the January-June period.

Its revenue in the six months increased 73 percent year on year to almost 62.16 billion yuan.

The automaker said before this month that it sold 618,211 automobiles in the first half-year, a year-on-year boost of 56.47 percent.

Great Wall Motor owns vehicle brands, such as HAVAL, GWM Pickup, WEY, and ORA.