China's listed firms report higher profits in H1

BEIJING - Listed companies in China reported higher profits in the first half of 2018 on booming industry growth, the China Securities Journal reported.

By June 5, 1,116 companies had released their interim result forecasts, 769 of which expected higher profits, the newspaper said, citing data from financial information provider Wind.

Among them, 153 companies forecast profits more than double those in the first half of this year.

In general, listed firms in the A-share market sustained relatively high profitability in the first half.

The better performance was attributed to expansionary main businesses, price rises, and industry recovery and restructuring.

The improvement in corporate profits came amid a solid economic expansion in the first three months, when the Chinese economy maintained its resilience of the last year with 6.8-percent year-on-year growth.

In 2017, China's GDP logged 6.9-percent growth, picking up the pace for the first time in seven years.