China's listed companies report better profits as economy firms

BEIJING - Listed companies in China reported high profit growth in 2017 as the country's economy ended the year stronger than expected.

So far, 2,540 listed companies on the country's two major stock exchanges have released their 2017 performance estimates, and some 73.5 percent of them expect profit growth, according to the Xinhua-run Economic Information Daily.

Some 673 companies, or 26.5 percent of the total, expect net profits to double.

Benefiting from the country's success in supply-side structural reforms, steel, coal, and non-ferrous industries reported marked improvement last year.

The government capacity cuts campaign and stricter regulations have steered the bloated steel and coal sectors towards more balanced growth, with industrial prices rising steadily last year.

Of the 24 listed steel companies that have released performance estimates, 18 reported profit growth and none suffered losses, a sharp turnaround from the performance in previous years.

State firms were also a bright spot. According to Wind, of the 584 state companies that have reported forecasts, 406 saw rises in net profits.

Data from the Ministry of Finance showed Chinese state-owned enterprises saw profit growth of 23.5 percent last year, a contrast to the 1.7-percent profit growth in 2016.

China's economy expanded by a forecast-beating 6.9 percent in 2017, picking up for the first time in seven years and well above the government annual target of around 6.5 percent.