Geely Automobile's headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, August 21, 2021. /CFP

Chinese carmaker Geely Automobile reported on Thursday that its net profit fell 35 percent in the first half of this year due to the impact of COVID-19 outbreaks and the rising cost of materials.

The Hong Kong-listed company made a total revenue of 58.18 billion yuan ($8.56 billion) in the first six months, a 29 percent year-on-year growth, while its profit in the same period dropped 35 percent to 1.55 billion yuan.

Geely's vehicle sales fell 9 percent in the Chinese market in the first half, below the management team's expectation, mainly due to the COVID-19 restrictions in some cities in China, as well as the global shortage of chips, the company said in the earnings report.

But the sales of its new-energy vehicles (NEV), including both pure electric and hybrid ones, surged almost fourfold in the first half of this year, accounting for 18 percent of Geely's total vehicle sales, the company said.

With the impact of the pandemic temporarily subsided, the Hangzhou-based company said export demand recovered and its export in the first half jumped 64 percent year-on-year to 87,628 units.