BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- CITIC Securities, a major Chinese brokerage firm, reported a 56-percent surge in net profits in March as the country's stock market gained strength, company data showed Tuesday.

Net profits for the parent company amounted to 1.38 billion yuan (about 205.7 million U.S. dollars) last month, according to a statement filed by CITIC Securities to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Operating revenue came in at 2.21 billion yuan, while net assets stood at 129 billion yuan at the end of March, the statement showed.

The profit increase came amid a rally in China's stock market since the beginning of the year, with a sharp rebound in daily trading volume and an upsurge in brokers' commission fees.

In March, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose by more than 5 percent.