Led by the blue-chips, companies on both the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange have posted better than expected interim profits.

At the end of August, 852 Shanghai-listed companies and 487 Shenzhen-listed firms reported their earnings for the first half of this year.

T he aggregate net profit of the Shanghai companies was 290.3 billion yuan (US$38 billion), up 69.2 percent year on year, while their aggregate income was 2.69 trillion yuan, up 24.9 percent. Average earnings per share was 0.2 yuan, the Shanghai exchange said.

Shenzhen-listed firms reported a combined 99.23 percent increase in aggregate net profits at 47.52 billion yuan, while aggregate income was up 28 percent at 754.52 billion yuan. Average earnings per share rose 78.9 percent to 0.174 yuan, the Shenzhen exchange said.

Blue-chip companies reported the best performance, with their aggregate net profits accounting for 77.4 percent of the total in Shanghai.

The aggregate net profit of the top 30 Shenzhen firms jumped 77.23 percent to 27.47 billion yuan, 57.8 percent of the total for all listed firms.

Companies in the financial, non-ferrous metals, excavation and real estate sectors performed well. Seventeen Shanghai-listed companies in the financial sector enjoyed a combined net profit growth of 74.1 percent. The average earning per share in the real estate sector was 0.25 yuan and 0.39 yuan in the non-ferrous sector.

Investment income contributed most to profit jumps. The total investment income was 10.4 billion yuan on the Shenzhen exchange, 15.33 percent of the total.