Chinese meat processor Zhongpin has booked an 11% increase in third-quarter profits as sales jumped by almost a quarter.

Zhongpin booked an 11% increase in net income to US$14.7m for the three months to the end of September. Net sales were up 24% at $241.1m.

Chairman and CEO Xianfu Zhu said: “Our third quarter continued our good long-term trend of higher sales and net income. We have two primary goals. Our operating goal is to become a major consolidator of the Chinese meat industry and our financial goal is to increase value for our shareholders.”

Zhongpin’s growth in the third quarter of 2010 slowed from the first part of the year. The company’s net sales rose 29% after the first nine months of 2010; net income was up almost 20%.