Net profit rose to 8.8 billion Swedish kronor ($1.05 billion, 874 million euros), up from 4.67 billion a year earlier and beating analyst expectations.
Companies that hold exploration licences for swathes of the sea floor, including DeepGreen, GSR and UK Seabed Resources - a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin's UK-based arm - hope to eventually sell minerals from the seabed to carmakers and battery companies.
The carmaker's global network of 2,400 traditional bricks-and-mortar dealers will remain open to service vehicles and to help customers make online orders.
The unit of Geely Automotive is recalling 2001-2003 model S80 and S60 vehicles sold or registered in high humidity US states because the driver side frontal air bag inflator may rupture.
The company nonetheless posted a first half net loss of 1.17 billion kroner (114 million euros, $130 million), compared with a net profit of 3.4 billion kroner for the same period a year earlier.