SHANGHAI, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Dongfeng Motor Group Co Ltd posted a better-than-expected 54 percent rise in first-half earnings due to "remarkable" progress in the sales of several newly-launched models and improved operating efficiency.
Chairman Xu Ping said he would press ahead with global expansion and would further improve the business structure of the Chinese partner of Japanese carmakers Nissan Motors Co and Honda Motor Co to avoid potential risks from the volatile Sino-Japan relationship.
Dongfeng, which also owns joint ventures with France's Peugeot SA and Renault SA, made 8.51 billion yuan ($1.39 billion) in net profit during the first six months of the year, compared with 5.5 billion yuan a year earlier, the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Four analysts polled by Reuters had forecast on average a 11 percent rise in net profit to 6.1 billion yuan. (1 US dollar = 6.1430 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Samuel Shen and Kazunori Takada; Editing by Michael Urquhart)