SINGAPORE - Chinese home buyer demand sent Chinese developer Yanlord's profits skyrocketing for the first quarter of this year.

Profits rose 259.1 per cent to hit 934.1 million yuan for the first three months of the year.

This came off the back of strong sales of 6.3 billion yuan, a rise of 121.5 per cent from the same period a year earlier.

Earnings per share for the company rose 260.6 per cent to 48.14 Chinese cents.

The company attributed its stellar performance to higher profit margins in several projects. These were the Yanlord Yangtze Riverbay Town in Nanjing, which contributed to 42.8 per cent of the company's revenue for the first quarter, as well as the Yanlord Marina Centre in Zhuhai, which made up 11.9 per cent of revenue for the same period.

Mr Zhong Sheng Jian, Yanlord's chairman and chief executive officer, said that the company's strong performance was achieved against the backdrop of the Chinese government's support for the development of the Chinese real estate sector, and despite near-term volatilities.

"Capitalising on our sales momentum and foundations of our healthy performance, we remain confident about the long-term potential of the Chinese real estate sector," he said.

The company was optimistic about the outlook for buyer demand in China, which it was confident of tapping on due to its strong brand recognition and good quality land sites acquired.

For the next quarter, it will launch several new and existing projects in Chinese cities like Shanghai, Suzhou and Zhuhai. These include Four Seasons Gardens in Nantong, as well as three properties in Shanghai including Yanlord on the Park and Yanlord Eastern Gardens.