BEIJING - China's largest online travel agency Ctrip beat market expectations with its revenue growing 21 percent in the first quarter (Q1) this year.

Transportation ticketing and accommodation reservation made up the majority of the company's total Q1 net revenue of 8.2 billion yuan ($1.2 billion), according to a financial report released Thursday by Ctrip.

Q1 operating profits reached 885 million yuan, surging 50 percent year-on-year.

The company saw robust growth momentum in its international businesses, whose Q1 revenue accounted for roughly 35 percent of total revenue.

The growth rate of the international hotel business and international air business excluding Skyscanner in Q1 more than doubled that of the China outbound traffic growth in the same period, the report showed.

Presence in China's lower-tier cities also expanded, with its branded low-star hotel room-nights increasing about 60 percent year-on-year.

"We are pleased that our first quarter results reflected our faith in the outlook of the travel industry in China as well as our ability to execute and embrace the changes in this industry," said Ctrip executive chairman James Liang.