SHANGHAI, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's express delivery giant S.F. Holding Co., Ltd. reported robust earnings in the first half (H1) of 2020 as the e-commerce boom during the COVID-19 epidemic resulted in solid business growth.

Net profit for the January-June period grew 21.35 percent year on year to 3.76 billion yuan (about 545 million U.S. dollars), the company said in its financial report filed with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Its total revenue surged 42.05 percent year on year to 71.13 billion yuan, an increase much higher than the industry average growth rate of 12.6 percent, the company said.

S.F. Holding, a leader in the middle and high-end courier service market, recorded nearly 3.66 billion shipments for its express logistics service during the first six months of the year, up 81.27 percent year on year. The growth was higher than the industry average of 22.1 percent, it said.

Driven by strong business growth, shares of S.F. Holding rose by the daily limit of 10 percent to 80.21 yuan in Shenzhen on Wednesday morning.