Chinese listed companies report strong profits in H1

BEIJING - Over 70 percent of Chinese listed companies reported strong profits for the first half of the year.

As of Monday, 1,004 Chinese listed companies had disclosed their first-half reports with total net profit up 21.2 percent year on year to 297.1 billion yuan ($44.6 billion), according to data compiled by Wind, a leading information service provider.

About 74 percent of the companies registered year-on-year net profit growth in the first half of the year.

A total of 223 companies witnessed a year-on-year profit surge of more than 100 percent in H1, and 233 companies reported year-on-year profit growth of between 30 and 100 percent.

Most companies in both traditional sectors such as coal and steel, as well as a number of newly emerging industries posted strong growth on the back of the country's economic restructuring and business environment improvement.

Shanxi Xishan Coal and Electricity saw net profit growth of 739 percent in H1 due to rising coal prices and expanded output.

Nanjing Iron & Steel witnessed a net profit surge of 730 percent, as China continues to slash excess steel capacity and product price increases.

"The profit growth of coal, steel-related listed companies is the result of deeper supply-side structural reform, which improves the business environment and productivity," said Gui Haoming, chief analyst of Shenwan Hongyuan.

China's manufacturing sector in June stayed above the boom-bust mark for the 11th consecutive month, with traditional sectors like oil refining and metal smelting witnessing robust growth, suggesting improved supply-demand structure, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

"China's manufacturing sector and the broader economy are likely to continue steady growth on the back of favorable macroeconomic conditions and rebounding market demand," Gui said.

China is seeking to transition from an economy reliant on investment and exports of low-value-added goods to an innovation and service-driven one, and the first-half reports showed new growth engines were picking up momentum.

The tech-heavy small and medium-sized enterprises board witnessed net profit growth in H1, with new energy vehicle-related shares doing particularly well.

Anhui Zotye Automobile, a new energy vehicle manufacturer, saw net profit growth of 494 percent year-on-year in H1 due to government efforts to boost green energy.

Companies in smart manufacturing and emerging sectors such as next-generation IT technology also saw strong profit growth.

China's economy expanded 6.9 percent in the first half of 2017, with consumption, services and innovation-driven sectors taking up larger roles in the economy.

NBS data showed that hi-tech and equipment manufacturing sectors went up by 13.1 percent and 11.5 percent in H1 respectively.

While acknowledging the profit growth of listed companies, analysts called for more focus on hidden risks to ensure the long-term sustainable growth of listed companies.

"The slightly tightened market liquidity and tougher supervision to ward off financial risk will weigh on the performance of many listed companies in the future," said a Haitong Securities report.