BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- China International Travel Service Corp. (CITS), a leading tour operator, saw its business revenue soar 66.21 percent to 47.01 billion yuan (about 6.98 billion U.S. dollars) last year.

Net profit attributable to listed shareholders reached 3.1 billion yuan in 2018, up 22.29 from the previous year, the company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

CITS's total assets amounted to 26.85 billion yuan last year, a notable year-on-year increase of 28.26 percent.

Earnings per share stood at about 1.59 yuan, up 22.28 percent from a year earlier.

The company's sound performance came amid the country's booming tourism sector, whose revenue rose by 10.5 percent year-on-year to 5.97 trillion yuan in 2018.

In the first quarter of this year, CITS registered a 98.8-percent year-on-year growth in net profit attributable to listed shareholders.