BEIJING-- China Vanke Co, the country's largest property developer by market value, said Monday that its net profit rose 5.88 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year.

Its net profit totaled 2.98 billion yuan ($463 million) in the first six months, the company said in a statement filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Earnings per share were 0.27 yuan in the period, compared with 0.26 yuan in the first half of last year.

Revenue climbed 19.22 percent to 20 billion yuan in the first half, the statement said.

The company sold 5.655 million square meters of housing in the first half, up 76.7 percent from a year earlier, which drove sales value up 78.6 percent to 65.65 billion yuan, according to the statement.

The company attributed its good performance to its strategy of focusing on small- and medium-sized apartments and selling quickly for turnovers.

Shares of China Vanke dropped 1.47 percent to close at 8.06 yuan on Monday.