BEIJING - China North Industries Group Corp, the country's largest defense equipment manufacturer, said Thursday that its profits jumped 18.7 percent year-on-year last year amid a slowing global economy.

Profits totaled 10.27 billion yuan ($1.63 billion) in 2012, up from 8.65 billion yuan in 2011, Zhang Guoqing, the company's general manager, said at an annual work meeting.

Revenues stood at 351 billion yuan, up 14.5 percent from one year earlier, according to Zhang.

He attributed the profit growth to the company's continuous technical innovation and lean management.

The company paid 10 billion yuan in taxes and fees last year and filed 1,287 patent applications, obtaining approval for 595 of the patents, Zhang said.

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