Paris - French transport equipment manufacturer Alstom said Thursday it had registered record orders and a healthy profits rise in the first half of its current business year.

Profits for the period ending September 30 rose by 35.8 per cent over the same period last year, to 527 million euros (679 million dollars), Alstom said in a statement.

Turnover for the first half of the 2008-2009 fiscal year stood at 8.956 billion euros, a rise of 11.9 per cent over 2007-2008.

Orders for the period totalled a record 15.4 billion euros, up by 19.9 per cent over last year. These included orders for high-speed trains in Italy, trams for Dubai and Morocco and metros to be built in South America and China, Alstom said. (dpa)