Listed firms' Q3 financial results show resilience of Chinese economy

BEIJING - Most companies listed on China's A-share market reported higher net profits in the first three quarters of 2018, demonstrating the strength of the Chinese economy.

As of Thursday, 1,347 listed companies had released their Q3 financial reports, with nearly 70 percent of them seeing year-on-year net profit growth, according to Wind Info, a Shanghai-based financial information provider.

Combined net profits of the listed firms reached 731.5 billion yuan ($105 billion) during the period, up 13 percent from a year earlier, the data shows.

The main drivers of profit growth were cyclical industries, including coal, steel and petrochemical sectors, as well as new industries including advanced manufacturing and new energy.

The steel sector, like other cyclical industries, has benefited from the supply-side structural reform, which has resulted in reduced production capacity and higher quality.

Among 16 steel manufacturers that have released Q3 earnings, 10 registered year-on-year net profit growth of above 50 percent in the period, according to Wind Info.

Meanwhile, new industries maintained rapid expansion.

New energy battery producer Contemporary Amperex Technology, for instance, saw its net profits in the first three quarters total 1.99 billion yuan, an 88.7 percent increase from a year earlier.

Listed firms in advanced manufacturing, including electrical automation equipment and semiconductor manufacturing, posted faster profit growth, according to research by Soochow Securities.

Official data shows the value-added output of high-tech and equipment manufacturing industries increased 11.8 percent and 8.6 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters, respectively, outpacing the 6.4 percent growth rate for the overall industrial sector.