BEIJING - China National Salt Industry Corp, the country's biggest salt producer, said Friday that its net profits surged 46.9 percent year-on-year to 720 million yuan ($114.29 million) in 2011.

Revenues jumped 53.8 percent year-on-year to 28.41 billion yuan last year, the company said in an annual report.

It paid 2.06 billion yuan in taxes in 2011, up 19.1 percent, the report said.

Total assets hit 44.19 billion yuan at the end of last year, up from 10.02 billion yuan at the beginning of 2011.

The company processed and produced 15.16 million tons of salt products in 2011, and sold 12.1 million tons. Its exports totaled $180 million, up 9.5 percent from one year earlier, according to the report.

In March, the company increased its production and distribution of iodized salt to stop consumers' panic buying following the Japanese nuclear leaks. Consumers emptied supermarkets of iodized salt, although health experts warned that ingesting it would not protect people exposed to radiation.