SICHUAN Changhong Electric Co (stock code: 600839) said first-half profit rose by more than 50 percent from a year earlier as demand for electronics surged in its home market, according to Bloomberg today.

Sales, profitability and investment income all climbed in the first six months of the year, said the China's second-biggest television maker in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange today, without specifying details.

The company reported net income of 125.3 million yuan (US$16.5 million) in the first half of last year.

Rising incomes in China have fueled spending on televisions, computers and digital cameras, spurring growth at Changhong and larger rival TCL Corp. Retail sales of household electronics surged 29 percent in May in China, according to government data released last month.

The TV maker is scheduled to report first-half earnings on August 17. Changhong's first-half profit for 2006 fell 42 percent as sales rose 8.3 percent to 7.8 billion yuan. First-quarter profit rose 2.4 percent to 72.5 million yuan, it said in April.

Microsoft Corp, the world's biggest software maker, agreed last month to pay 94 million yuan for a 0.8 percent stake in Changhong as part of a plan to jointly develop TVs that can connect to the Internet.

TCL, China's biggest publicly listed electronics maker, is based in Huizhou, southern China.