SZ-listed manufacturers report a profitable 2021

The outstanding business performance of advanced manufacturing enterprises listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange has showcased the strong resilience and vitality of the Chinese economy, despite downward pressure and external uncertainties, experts said.

A total of 1,772 enterprises on the Shenzhen bourse have so far disclosed their 2021 preliminary earnings estimates as of Wednesday, among which over 70 percent expect to see profits, with companies engaged in advanced manufacturing spearheading the earnings' growth.

Among the 1,772 companies, positive bottom lines are seen averaging between 245 million yuan ($38.75 million) and 315 million yuan, up around 8.21 percent year-on-year.

Among the 1,320 companies expected to report annual profits, 674 companies will see a more than 50 percent year-on-year growth in net profit and 426 companies will witness at least a 100 percent year-on-year bottom-line surge.

Iron and steel, mining and nonbank financial industries performed notably well, with estimated average profits reaching 4.4 billion yuan, 922 million yuan and 723 million yuan, respectively.

In addition, the average bottom line of 19 industries including computers, mining, chemicals engineering and automobiles is expected to achieve positive growth.

"The advanced manufacturing industry, as a significant part of the industrial economy, is playing a key role in bolstering the transformation and upgrade of industries, promoting high-quality development and strengthening the competitiveness of Chinese enterprises on the global stage," said Li Xianjun, an associate researcher from the Institute of Industrial Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

China's advanced manufacturing industry has maintained growth momentum despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, and has injected new impetus to economic growth, Li said.

He said state-of-the-art digital technologies, including 5G, big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence, have found a wide range of applications in the manufacturing segment and sped up integration with the real economy.

BOE Technology Group Co Ltd, a leading Chinese display panel supplier, said its total revenue stood at 219.4 billion yuan last year, up 61.89 percent on a yearly basis, while its net profit surged 412.86 percent year-on-year to 25.8 billion yuan.

The company has continuously ramped up its production capacity, and shipments of semiconductor display products, such as liquid crystal displays and organic light-emitting diode displays, witnessed robust growth over the past year.

Zhongshan Mulinsen Lighting Technology Co Ltd, a light-emitting diode packaging service provider, posted 18.6 billion yuan in revenue in 2021, an increase of 7.1 percent year-on-year.

Bai Ming, deputy director of international market research at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said China owns the world's largest and relatively comprehensive industrial chain, but it lags behind some developed countries in terms of key components, materials and high-end manufacturing equipment.

Bai said more efforts are needed to increase investment in research and development, make breakthroughs in key technologies through independent innovation, and promote integration of new generations of information technologies and intelligent manufacturing with industrial and supply chains.