China Vanke, the country's largest property developer by market value, said Sunday that its net profit rose 7.1 percent to 770 million yuan (112.8 million U.S. dollars) in the first quarter over the same period of last year.

Business revenue totaled 8.16 billion yuan in the first three months, up 27.6 percent year on year, according to the company's statement to the Shenzhen Stock market on Sunday night.

The company attributed the profit growth to the increased sales in the first quarter. Government policies, such as tax cuts, restored market confidence and the company's promotion strategies helped reduced housing inventory, Vanke said in the statement.

Areas of house sold from January to March stood at 1.525 million square meters, up 33.2 percent from a year earlier. Sales value nationwide climbed 21 percent to 12.22 billion yuan.

The company made a net profit of 4.03 billion yuan in 2008, down from 4.84 billion yuan profit in 2007.

(Xinhua News Agency April 27, 2009)