August 1 -- Suning Appliance (002024) posted a 25.35 percent year-on-year increase in preliminary net profit to 2.474 billion yuan in the first half of 2011, with earnings per share of 0.35 yuan, up 25 percent year-on-year, reports Yicai.com, citing a company filing.

Sales revenue in the first half rose 22.68 percent year-on-year to 44.23 billion yuan.

The company attributed the rise in net profit to the increased number of stores and higher sales of home appliances.

In the first six months, Suning Appliance opened 140 new stores in mainland China, five chain stores in Hong Kong, and helped its Japanese subsidiary Laox open a chain store in Japan.

By the end of June, the company had 1,451 stores in mainland China, 28 stores in Hong Kong, and nine stores in Japan, with a total of 1,488 stores.

Suning Appliance aim to open more than 200 stores annually over the next 10 years.

By the end of 2020, it targets sales revenue of 680 billion yuan and a 20 percent domestic market share.