Nearly 90 percent of the companies listed on the A-share market reported revenue growth in 2021 compared with the previous year, and 70 percent reported increased profits in their annual reports, according to financial data provider Wind Data.
Meanwhile, a vast majority of the listed companies expect stronger business growth in the first quarter of 2022, despite impact of COVID-19 outbreaks in many places across the country on many sectors during the quarter, according to reports on Wednesday.
Among 1,243 A-share listed companies that had published their annual reports as of Tuesday, 1,085 reported growth in revenue and 889 saw their profits increase in 2021, the China Securities Journal reported on Wednesday.
Companies in the chemical, medical and pharmaceutical, semiconductor, coal, non-ferrous metals and auto parts industries led the net profit growth. Particularly, companies in the automotive, property, semiconductor, new-energy and consumption sectors delivered outstanding performances.
The new-energy industry and the consumer sector remained the main focuses of the nation's economic transformation, analysts noted.
"It is expected that new-energy vehicles, photovoltaic facilities, wind power and the hydrogen sector will enjoy long-term development opportunities," Yang Delong, chief economist at Shenzhen-based First Seafront Fund Management Co, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Listed companies that provide lithium batteries for new-energy vehicles benefited from a surge in downstream orders while those in the semiconductor industry reported better results after achieving mass production of products during the reporting period.
Coal, non-ferrous and other cyclical industries gained from rising prices of relevant products, according to their annual reports.
Nearly 87 percent of the listed companies expected stronger growth in the first quarter, Wind data showed.
Firms in waterborne freight, chemical products, non-ferrous metal smelting and processing, and pharmaceutical manufacturing are believed to have had better performances during the first quarter.
In the water transport sector, companies such as COSCO Shipping Holdings Co and Shanghai International Port Group are expected to report strong first-quarter results, helped by increased cargo and container throughput at ports.
COSCO Shipping Holdings has estimated net profits of 27.6 billion yuan ($4.3 billion) in the first quarter of 2022, with a year-on-year growth of 78.6 percent.
Global Times
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