Listed companies post solid earnings for 2020 despite COVID- 19

More than half of the companies listed on China’s A- share market have released their 2020 earnings reports, with 93 percent of them reporting a profit, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Monday.

Companies in new energy, defense and pharmaceuticals performed especially well, despite a year marked by challenges posed by the COVID- 19 pandemic as well as China’s quick recovery.

As of Sunday, 2,167 A- share companies had released their 2020 results, and 2,017 had reported a profit. Total revenues grew 2.75 percent year- on- year.

Excluding financial companies and the two oil giants – PetroChina and Sinopec, the companies posted a combined net profit of 1.41 trillion yuan ($ 215.3 billion), up 14.46 percent, shrugging off the negative impact of the pandemic.

Chinese listed companies’ financial performances began to improve in the second quarter of 2020, after the resumption of work and production as the pandemic was brought under control. The recovery continued into the third and the fourth quarters, along with that of the Chinese economy, which posted an annual expansion of 2.3 percent.

Among various sectors, 21 posted gains over 2019, with nonferrous metals, real estate, agriculture and electronics posting annual gains of more than 15 percent.

Companies in the electrical equipment, defense, chemical, pharmaceutical and biotech industries, along with textiles and garments, performed exceptionally well during the recovery, with each posting an annual increase of over 50 percent in net profits.

More companies are expected to report strong results, the newspaper reported, citing market analysts.