Upmarket China developer Yanlord Land Group has registered an 85 per cent jump in fourth-quarter net earnings to 1.09 billion yuan (S$229 million).

Revenue for the three months to Dec 31 rose marginally by 3 per cent to 4.7 billion yuan from a year ago.

Yanlord's full-year results were not as rosy, as net profit for the 12 months to Dec 31 slid 19.2 per cent to 1.47 billion yuan although revenue rose 9.5 per cent to 11.3 billion yuan.

Strong buyer demand drove pre-sales for residential units and car park lots up for Yanlord and progressive recognition of pre-sales throughout the year supported its topline, the company said on Wednesday.

Net profit for the year had fallen due to several reasons, including the absence of a disposal gain and dividend income on an available-for-sale investment registered in 2012.

Chairman and chief executive Zhong Sheng Jian said in a statement: "(China's) real estate sector continues to exhibit long term growth potential underpinned by strong demand arising from rapid urbanisation and stable development of the PRC economy."

This provides opportunities for Yanlord to continue growing its business in China.

Full-year earnings per share stood at 75.63 fen down from 93.57 fen.

Net asset value per share, however, was 9.20 yuan as of Dec 31, up from 8.38 yuan a year ago.

Yanlord also proposed a first and final dividend of 1.3 cents per share.

Its shares closed down two cents at $1.125 on Wednesday.