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ROME, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Profits for multinational carmaker Stellantis soared by 37 percent in the first half of 2023, compared to the same period last year, partly due to stronger sales of electric cars, the company announced on Wednesday.

Stellantis said it had earned 10.9 billion euros (12.07 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of this year, compared to 7.96 billion euros in the first half of 2022.

The jump in net profit outpaced increases in overall revenue or vehicle sales, indicating an increase in the company"s profit margin.

Revenue over the same period this year was 98.4 billion euros, an increase of 12 percent compared to the year-ago period. Meanwhile, the company sold 3.327 million vehicles in the first half of 2023, an increase of 9.7 percent compared to the 3.033 million vehicles sold in the first half of 2022.

In a call with analysts and journalists on Wednesday, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said the "outstanding" results demonstrate the company"s long-term stability.

The sale of all-electric cars grew faster than other segments of the company"s product line, though it remained a relatively modest fraction of total sales. The company said that in the first half of this year it sold 169,000 electric vehicles -- just 5.1 percent of total vehicle sales, but a 24 percent increase year-on-year. (1 euro = 1.11 U.S. dollars)