BEIJING -- China Unicom, the country's second-largest mobile operator, said Thursday its net profits in the first half of the year rose 32 percent year-on-year to 1.16 billion yuan ($183 million).

Business revenues reached 125.39 billion yuan during the period, an increase of 19.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the company's interim report filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Earnings per share came in at 0.0545 yuan, the report said.

China Unicom attributed the growth to the company's strategy of developing a business of scale for its key services.

During the January-June period, China Unicom pocketed 62.27 billion yuan from its mobile services, up 23.4 percent year-on-year, while its mobile subscribers hit 219 million as of the end of June, according to the report.

Mobile services accounted for 59 percent of the company's service revenues, the report said.

As of the end of June, China Unicom's 3G subscribers had reached 57.53 million.

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