Dongfeng Auto Co, a light commercial vehicle producer under China's third largest automaker Dongfeng Motor Group, on Saturday announced profits were up 9.5 percent last year on rising demand for trucks and diesel engines.

Gross profit reached 677.8 million yuan ($95.5 million), from 619.3 million yuan a year earlier, the Wuhan-based company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Net income rose 0.6 percent to 489.3 million yuan last year, it said. Per-share earnings rose to 0.245 yuan from 0.243 yuan in 2006.

Revenue surged 26.6 percent to 12.8 billion yuan after the company raised vehicle sales by 18.9 percent to 150,038 units during the year. About 76 percent were light trucks.

Dongfeng Auto, which is a partner of Japan's Nissan Motor Co, produces Nissan-brand sport-utility vehicles (SUV) mainly in a Zhengzhou plant. Its SUV sales soared 61.6 percent to 12,607 units last year.

Hong Kong-listed Dongfeng Motor Group and Nissan each owns 50 percent of the parent of Dongfeng Auto.

It also makes diesel engines with US engine giant Cummins Inc, with sales up 42.2 percent to 136,973 units last year.

Domestic vehicle production and sales both surged more than 20 percent to a record 8.8 million units last year, in contrast to weakening sales worldwide.

Light truck sales rose 16.2 percent to 1.1 million units last year, while SUV sales jumped 50 percent to 357,366 units, according to the semi-official China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The company said transportation demand would remain strong as the government tried to encourage consumer spending. China would also boost the incomes of farmers and build more roads in the vast countryside, it added.

(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2008)