MEXICO CITY, July 22 (Reuters) - The construction firm OHL Mexico, mired in allegations of corruption, reported on Wednesday that its second-quarter net profit rose 46 percent, boosted by lower taxes and a bigger gain from associated companies and joint ventures.
OHL Mexico, a unit of Spain's OHL, posted a net profit of 1.35 billion pesos ($86 million), compared with 923 million pesos in the year-earlier period.
The company reported a tax benefit of 218.5 million pesos in the quarter, compared with losses from taxes of 462 million pesos during the same period the year before. OHL Mexico also earned 281 million pesos from its investments in joint ventures and associated companies, up from 43 million pesos in the year-earlier period.
OHL Mexico has faced corruption allegations since the release of recordings in the spring of people alleged to be company executives discussing overcharging for a public works project in the State of Mexico.
The company has said the recordings were edited and distorted.
Last week, OHL Mexico said that audits it had commissioned demonstrated that the terms of two highway concessions it holds in the State of Mexico comply with the law.
OHL, the parent company, has also said an internal investigation of its Mexico unit found no irregularities.
Results of audits by the State of Mexico and Mexico's securities regulator, CNBV, have not yet been released.
($1=15.6950 pesos at the end of June)
(Reporting by Tomas Sarmiento and Noe Torres; Writing by Joanna Zuckerman Bernstein; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)