(Yicai Global) Aug. 6 -- Net profit at Fuyao Glass Industry Group, China’s largest automotive glassmaker, surged 84 percent in the first half from a year ago helped by a rebound in the country’s vehicle market and increased marketing.

Net profit was CNY1.8 billion (USD278 million) in the six months ended June 30, the  Fuqing-based company’s earnings report showed yesterday. Revenue rose 42 percent to CNY11.5 billion (USD1.78 billion).

The Chinese market has recovered faster with Covid-19 gradually brought under control and government support in the form of extended subsidies and purchase tax incentives for new energy vehicles, it said.

China’s auto sales jumped 25.6 percent in the first half to 12.89 million units, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

But despite China’s economic development and increasing urbanization, the country’s car ownership per head is still less than for its gross domestic product, meaning the auto market has further room to grow, Fuyao Glass said.

Fuyao’s US subsidiary, Fuyao Glass America, posted a first-half net profit of CNY132 million (USD20.4 million) on revenue of CNY1.9 billion. It lost USD17.4 million a year earlier.

In the second half of this year, the auto market faces more instability in its supply chain as the pandemic resurges and the coronavirus mutates, Fuyao Glass said.

As a global vehicle glass giant, the company may return to growth this year, Dongguan Securities said in a research note. It cited the recovery in the auto market and predicted that vehicle glass sales and prices will rise as cars become increasingly electric-powered, internet connected, smart and shareable.

Fuyao’s Shanghai-listed shares [SHA:600660] slid almost 1 percent today to end at CNY53.52 (USD8.27) each, while in Hong Kong its stock [HKG:3606] slumped 4.6 percent to HKD54.05 (USD6.95). Both stock markets finished flat.

Editor: Peter Thomas