SHANGHAI, Oct 30 (Reuters) - FAW Car Co , a unit of China's largest automaker First Automotive Works, reported net earnings of 54.01 million yuan ($6.53 million) in the third quarteron Wednesday, up 42 percent year on year, as sales surged.
FAW's quarterly report, published in the official Securities Times, offered no comparative figures for the third quarter. But calculated from previous reports, net profit for the third quarter of last year was 38.11 million yuan.
The listed company, which produces the distinctive Red Flag sedans once favoured by Communist Party cadres, said in the report that skyrocketing sales also helped net profit for the first nine months rise 39.37 percent to 151.66 million yuan.
"The rise in profits was mainly due to a surge in our car sales," FAW Car's report said.
The company sold 21,963 cars in the first nine months of this year, up 103 percent from the same period of last year, the report said.
FAW Car's Shenzhen-listed A shares, reserved for Chinese investors, were trading at 5.77 yuan by 0320 GMT, up 0.5 percent.
Industry analysts say car sales in China are expected to hit one million this year, up 40 percent from 2001, buoyed by China's steady economic growth. ($1=8.277 yuan)