BEIJING - China Shipbuilding Industry Co (CSIC), the country's northern shipbuilding giant, said Saturday that its net profit last year rose 7.28 percent year-on-year to 1.599 billion yuan ($246 million).

The shipbuilder said in a statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange that its operating revenue was up 10.29 percent to 20.472 billion yuan in the period.

But earnings per share declined 22.58 percent to 0.24 yuan last year from 0.31 yuan in 2009, said the statement.

Due to a recovery in the global shipbuilding market and a rise in orders, shipbuilding business has brought 31.447 billion yuan for the company, up 38.17 percent from the same period last year, it said.

Growth in CSIC's net profit has picked up in the first quarter this year, according the company's first-quarter report, which was also released on Saturday.

Net profit has surged 28.68 percent year-on-year to 1.323 billion yuan in the first three months of the year on declines in production cost and a rise in efficiency, it said.

Earnings per share jumped 28.68 percent to 0.14 yuan from a year earlier in the three-month period.

Share price of the CSIC was up 4.55 percent to 12.17 yuan in the Shanghai market Friday.