BEIJING - China Minmetals Corporation said Thursday its profits last year soared more than 98 percent to 12.77 billion yuan ($2 billion) despite falling global demand for basic metals.

Its profits continued to surge last year from 2010, when the company saw a 123-percent rise in profits.

The company's president Zhou Zhongshu said the profit rise came after strong sales of its steel products last year and corporate restructuring.

Sales of the steel products in 2011 stood at around 28.8 million tons, ranking first at home.

Business revenues last year hit 355.2 billion yuan, up 39.71 percent year-on-year, Zhou said.

Minmetals Corporation is China's largest multinational company in the mining, smelting, production, and distribution of basic metals.