(Yicai Global) Aug. 10 --  Sales at CIFI Holdings Group Co. [HKG:0884], one of China's top 100 real estate firms, rose 71 percent annually to CNY47.2 billion (USD6.93 billion) in the first half of the year, boosted by the group's focus on first- and second-tier cities.The firm's net profit soared 157.3 percent from last year to reach CNY2.15 billion.

Sustained growth during the first six months of the year was driven by the group's efforts in the first-tier and second-tier markets, said Chen Dongbiao, executive vice president. In recent years, the company has focused on housing sales in key cities, especially those in the eastern Yangtze River Delta region, one of the most dynamic regional economies in the country. Some 97 percent of CIFI Group's contracted sales income came from first- and second-tier cities.

Core net profits grew to CNY1.54 billion in the first half, up 62 percent from a year earlier, and the core net profit margin reached 13.7 percent, 2.9 percentage points more than last year. Chen attributes the profit margin increase to improvements made in product competitiveness.

The company's settled gross profit margin for the first half was 31.6 percent, up by 4.5 percentage points annually.

Following its strong first-half performance, the firm has raised its full-year contracted sale target for 2017 by 23 percent, from CNY65 billion (USD9.55 billion) to CNY80 billion.