NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Trina Solar Ltd. said Tuesday its net income tripled to nearly $16 million as the Chinese maker of solar-power products boosted production and fattened its gross margins.

Trina Solar reported a rise in fourth-quarter earnings for the three months ended Dec. 31 to $15.7 million, or 62 cents a share, from $4.59 million, or 28 cents, a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter more than doubled to $101.4 million from $38.7 million in the year-ago period and $114 million for all of 2006.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast earnings of 49 cents a share and revenue of $95.6 million, on average.

Trina Solar expects first-quarter revenue of $112 million to $120 million, compared with the Wall Street target of $116 million.

"During the quarter we have tripled our in-house cell production to meet our integrated capacity expansion targets and reached historical highs in our in-house cell and module efficiencies, which combined drove significant margin expansion," Trina Solar said.

Looking ahead, Trina Solar said it plans to develop a strong brand, invest in technology and ensure its position as a low-cost producer.

Shares of Trina Solar rose 5% to close at $34.37 on Tuesday.