China Resources Land H1 core profit up 25.5 pct

HONG KONG, Aug 26 (Reuters) - State-backed property developer China Resources Land Ltd said on Friday core profit jumped 25.5 percent in the first half, citing strong growth in housing sales amid market recovery. China's ninth-largest homebuilder said core profit, which excludes investment properties' fair value gains and losses, climbed to HK$6.4 billion ($825.31 million). Net profit during the period rose 19 percent to HK$7.7 billion, while revenue increased 20 percent to HK$44.5 billion. Some of China's largest cities continued to see eye-popping annual gains in July, with southern boomtown Shenzhen rising the most by 40.9 percent, but monthly increases have moderated. The market also remains uneven, however, with some smaller cities in hard-hit industrial regions such as "rustbelt" Liaoning province continuing to see price declines. In many of those areas, local governments are still trying to stimulate demand. "An overall risk remained in tier 3 and 4 cities despite initial signs of improvement in sales," China Resources Land cautioned in a statement. ($1 = 7.7547 Hong Kong dollars) (Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Stephen Coates)