58% of A-share firms report H1 profits

Nearly 60 percent of listed companies in the Chinese mainland are profitable, according to their fresh half year reports. But, of the worst performers, cyclical industries are lagging behind.

According to the data provided by the reports, in the first half of this year, 58 percent of A-share companies saw a higher net profit from a year ago.The companies' net profits totalled 1.1 trillion yuan, which represent a 12.1 percent rise from a year ago. More than a half of the profits went to the banking sector.

"The most profitable firms are mainly from several major industries, like banking sector, as well as petrol-chemical companies and insurers. These large companies have rather stable performance." Liu Jingde, Deputy General Manager of CINDA Securities R&D Center said.

On the other end, Yanzhou Coal Mining Company tops the loss-maker chart with a loss of 2.3 billion yuan, nearly twice the level seen in the third ranking China Shipping Container Lines Co Ltd.

"Cyclic industries, such as coal and steel industries have seen rather heavy losses. Coal prices have dropped remarkably, and the whole sector is in a slump. It's also the case in the steel industry." Liu Jingde said.

Liu also added, although steel prices ticked up recently, the recovery proves too weak to offset the overall slump.