Listed companies' profits grew less than half as fast in the first half of 2008 as they did a year earlier, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Tuesday.

The newspaper said as of Monday, 1,178 listed companies, or 72.8 percent of the total, had released interim statements.

These reports showed they earned 323.14 billion yuan (US$47.2 billion) in all, up 30.9 percent year-on-year. The year-earlier growth rate was 70 percent.

Revenue grew 28.4 percent to 3.13 trillion yuan, but operating cashflow contracted sharply, falling 60 percent to 412.92 billion yuan.

The newspaper said profits were affected by an economic slowdown and a weak domestic stock market, while last year's results were boosted by a bullish equity market. The stock market has declined by more than half since it peaked last fall.

Gross domestic product growth was 10.4 percent in the first half, 1.8 percentage points lower than the same period last year, amid slowing world economic activity and domestic policies intended to cool China's economy.

Although more than 20 percent of listed companies have yet to release half-year results, analysts said overall corporate profit growth would likely come in between 20 percent and 30 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency August 26, 2008)