SHANGHAI - Wuliangye Yibin Co Ltd, one of China's top liquor brands, saw its net profit rise 46.54 percent year on year in the first three months.

The liquor maker, headquartered in Yibin of Sichuan province in southwest China, said in a report issued late Thursday that its net profit stood at 3.05 billion yuan ($484 million) in the first quarter of this year.

The company said that sales revenue grew faster than costs rose, resulting in a profit surge in the January-March period.

Sales revenue jumped 31.8 percent from a year earlier to 8.23 billion yuan in the period, which the liquor distiller attributed to increased production.