68% of listed firms see net earnings grow in H1

A TOTAL of 68.2 percent of listed firms on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses posted year-on-year growth in net profits for the first half of 2018, the Economic Information Daily said yesterday.

As of yesterday morning, among the 2,361 listed companies that have published financial data for the period, 1,616 saw net profits rise from the previous year, while 190 suffered declines, according to information service provider Wind Info.

Out of all the companies, 383 saw their net profits at least double from the previous year.

Operating revenue of the 2,361 listed firms gained 14 percent to 10.24 trillion yuan (US$1.5 trillion).

Better performance

in corporate profits came from the upstream cyclical industries, including oil, steel, building material and chemical industries.

Listed companies in sectors including new energy vehicles, biomedical and communication reported rising profits as new growth drivers continue to boost China’s economy.

For the NEV industry, production climbed 85 percent to more than half a million units, while sales surged 97.1 percent to 496,000 in the first seven months this year, statistics from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed.

Data from the National Development and Reform Commission showed that investment for high-end equipment manufacturing and emerging industries of strategic importance grew steadily.