China National Chemical Engineering Co., Ltd. (CNCEC), one of the country's leading engineering, procurement and construction firms, said its net profit for the first six months of 2010 grew by 58.61 percent.

Net profits totaled 653 million yuan (US$96 million) while earnings per share stood at 0.13 yuan, up 20.37 percent from one year earlier, the company said in a statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange late Sunday.

CNCEC said its revenues during the first half of this year were valued at 14.57 billion yuan, among which project construction contracts accounted for 13.03 billion yuan, up 15.97 percent from one year earlier.

The Beijing-based company has also made progress in overseas markets where revenues increased by 63.53 percent to nearly three billion yuan, while domestic revenues grew by 8.54 percent to 11.5 billion yuan, according to the statement.

CNCEC attributed its strong performance to collective material purchasing, improved outsourcing and investment management, continuously reduced project costs and an effective human resources incentive mechanism.

(Xinhua News Agency August 30, 2010)