The company logo of iFlyteck Co Ltd is seen on a signboard in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, July 4, 2015. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING - iFlytek Co Ltd, a company that develops Siri-like speech and language technology, said on Saturday that its net profit surged in the first half (H1) of 2016, thanks to business expansion.

Net profits in H1 rose by 78.97 percent year on year to hit 256 million yuan ($38.5 million), the hi-tech company said in a report filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

iFlytek's operating revenues rose to 1.46 billion yuan in the first six months, a rise of 40.7 percent year on year, thanks to its fast spreading artificial intelligence business.

The company's total assets reached nearly 9.3 trillion yuan at the end of June, up 2.2 percent year on year. Meanwhile, earnings per share stood at 0.2 yuan, up 66.67 percent year on year, the report said.

High-tech sector has became one of the pillars of China's economic growth along with the service sector and consumption as the economy shifting from a labor-intensive and credit-fueled growth model to one based on hi-tech, innovation, stronger consumer spending and the service sector.