BEIJING - Huayuan Property Co, a leading property developer, said on Wednesday that its net profits surged more than 80 percent in the first half of the year, partly due to higher sales.

Net profits hit 244 million yuan (about $36.97 million), up 84.29 percent year on year, the company said in a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Revenues jumped 80.95 percent year on year to 3.96 billion yuan.

China's property market has entered a regional differentiation phase. The property sector in first-tier cities and some major second-tier cities remained bullish in the first half, outperforming those in third- and fourth-tier cities, according to the statement.

New home prices stayed high, with the average price in 100 cities reaching 11,816 yuan per square meter in June, an increase of 11.18 percent year on year, data showed.

Huayuan attributed its rapid profit growth to booming sales. Sales in Beijing and Tianjin, two of its key markets, soared 81.1 percent and 122.4 percent to 246.53 billion yuan and 153.66 billion yuan.

Shares of the developer opened almost flat at 4.73 yuan on Wednesday morning.