Beijing Tongrentang Group Co, a major traditional Chinese medicine maker, announced Thursday its 2009 net profit rose 16 percent to 800 million yuan ($117 million) from a year earlier.

Its sales exceeded 10 billion yuan for the first time, an annual increase of 12 percent.

The major performance indicators have been growing at double-digit rates for 13 consecutive years, said Lu Jianguo, the group's vice Party chief.

"It marks a historical breakthrough since the establishment of the company in 1669," he said.

Sales from overseas market climbed 10.3 percent to $25.44 million in 2009, according to Lu.

The group is planning to open a flagship drugstore with a floor area of 3,000 sq m in Beijing this year, Lu said. He added it is also planning to cooperate with 100 hospitals nationwide to open 100 traditional Chinese medicine drugstores in the next five years.

The company has over 800 drug stores at home and 36 abroad by 2009.