Great Wall's profit rises 61% Q1-Q3

Great Wall Motor Co, China's largest SUV maker, posted a profit of 6.2 billion yuan ($1 billion) for the first three quarters of this year, up 61 percent from the year-earlier period.

Its revenue rose 38 percent year-on-year to 40.8 billion yuan, according to company earnings reported to the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges.

Robust SUV sales generated much of Great Wall's strong profit and revenue growth.

In September, the company sold 38,345 SUVs, up 30 percent from the same month last year. By contrast, sedan sales edged up only 2 percent to 17,502 units, while pickup sales rose 4 percent to 10,232 units.

Vehicle sales in September totaled 66,079 units, up 17 percent from a year earlier.

For the first three quarters, Great Wall's vehicle sales rose 28 percent year-on-year to 555,187 units. Through September, SUV sales surged 57 percent to 298,546 units. Sedan sales rose 10 percent to 158,871 units, while pickup sales remained nearly unchanged from a year earlier at 97,770 units.