(Yicai Global) Oct. 25 -- Chinese real estate developer China Vanke reserved CNY1.1 billion (USD156 million) for inventory depreciation in the third quarter as it made considerations for declining home prices in some cities.

The Shenzhen-based firm still pocketed CNY6.4 billion (USD905 million) in the July through September period, a 31.6 percent gain, it said in its third-quarter financial report yesterday. Revenue jumped 20.8 percent to CNY84.6 billion while contracted sales hit CNY141.6 billion, or 9.1 million square meters, up 11.6 percent and 5.2 percent annually.

Vanke set the money aside as changes in some cities' real estate markets pose a risk to the values of the property the firm holds, it added, saying it had a total CNY3.1 billion earmarked for this reason as of the end of September.

Over the first nine months, Vanke earned CNY18.2 billion, a 30.4 percent gain as income jumped 27.2 percent to CNY224 billion. Contracted sales over the three quarters tallied CNY475.6 billion, or 30.6 million square meters, rising 10.2 percent and 5.5 percent.

The company added 116 new projects totaling 28.3 million square meters in the year through September, with 62 of those coming in the third quarter. Some 81 percent of the cash invested in the developments went into first- and second-tier cities.

Editor: James Boynton