Xiaomi revenue up 140 pct in first half year

Xiaomi Technology Co., a Chinese maker of android-based handsets, more than doubled its revenue in the first half of the year, due to increased production capacity to meet demand for its smartphones across China.

The company's revenue surged 140 percent from a year ago to 13.27 billion yuan (2.16 billion U.S. dollars) for the six-month period, exceeding the 12.6 billion yuan for the whole of 2012, the company said Tuesday.

Xiaomi smartphones have become increasingly popular in second and third-tier cities in China, said the company.

Shipment of its smartphones jumped to 7 million in the January-June period, compared to 7.19 million sold throughout last year.

Each of the four Xiaomi smartphone models are priced around 2,000 yuan when released, much lower than android-based handsets made by other manufacturers with similar specifications.

Improvements in the manufacturer's supply chain and distribution network also boosted sales, said Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi.

The company currently boasts 14.22 million users of its smartphones. Users of MIUI -- an Android-based operating system customized by the company -- hit 20 million as of the end of June.

Xiaomi will unveil a new smartphone later this year, said the company's publicist Liu Wei.