Total net profits at approximately 540 Chinese listed companies reached 42.7 billion yuan (5.34 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half year, surging 8.6 percent over the same period last year, according to calculations made from half-yearly reports published up to Tuesday.

The statistics compiled by Wind Information, a consulting company that tracks stock investment in China, are based on the half-yearly reports of more than 540 companies, nearly half the 1,340 listed companies in the country. 494 of them were profitable.

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