(Yicai Global) Aug. 14 -- Foxconn Industrial Internet, the Shanghai-listed unit of Taiwanese electronics manufacturing titan Foxconn Technology Group, made CNY5.5 billion (USD779 million) in net profit in the first half of this year and is gearing up for a 5G-related surge in 2020.

The figure was up 0.62 percent from a year earlier, the Shenzhen-based firm said in its earnings report published yesterday. Operating income jumped 7.2 percent to CNY170.5 billion, with revenue from communications devices rising 1.65 percent, cloud service equipment 15.1 percent and precision tools and industrial robots 15.2 percent. It did not break down total revenue by category.

FII has shipped hundreds of thousands of fifth-generation network products and expects demand to surge in the second half of 2020, furthering the company's business growth, Chief Executive Zheng Hongmeng told Yicai Global. The subsidiary continued to increase its research and development spending in core segments, pumping some 18.7 percent more into R&D on the year.

Shares in the firm [SHA:601138] climbed 4.9 percent yesterday to CNY13.49 (USD1.92), and were up another 3.63 percent at CNY13.98 at the lunch break today, marking the first time since May that its shares had surpassed its June 2018 listing price of CNY13.77.

The flagging share price is a result of the external environment, changes in the manufacturing sector and other factors, Securities Daily cited Chairman Li Junqi as saying in June this year. The industrial internet is a new concept and growth will take time, he added.

Editor: James Boynton