BEIJING - China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corp (CSR), the country's biggest train maker, said on Saturday that its first-half profits jumped 85.08 percent year-on-year to 2.04 billion yuan ($318.75 million).

The value of the train maker's total assets rose 25.97 percent from one year earlier to 92.92 billion yuan during the first half, while its earnings per share surged 88.89 percent to 0.17 yuan, the company said in a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The train maker's revenue hit 40.13 billion yuan, an increase of 42.39 percent from one year earlier.

The company attributed its profit growth to its advanced technologies and strong demand for its trains as the country continued to rapidly expand its high-speed rail network.

The revenue from the company's bullet train business more than doubled to 10.07 billion yuan during the first half of the year, while earnings generated from its locomotive division jumped 37.82 percent year-on-year to 11 billion yuan, which accounted for 27.43 percent of the company's first-half revenues.