KONKA Group Co, a Chinese television and cellular phone maker part-owned by France's Thomson SA, said first-half profit jumped 43 percent because declining costs helped improve the profit margins on its handsets.

Net income rose to 42.5 million yuan (US$5.6 million), or 0.07 yuan a share, from last year's 29.7 million yuan, or 0.05 yuan a share, Konka said yesterday, citing unaudited results using Chinese accounting rules. Sales by the company, based in Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province, rose 0.8 percent to 5.61 billion yuan.