Profits grind higher for ChiNext firms

The 355 companies listed on the ChiNext board, China's NASDAQ-style board for growth enterprises, realized 12.09 billion yuan ($1.97 billion) in combined net profits during the first half, up 4.21 percent year-on-year, the Securities Daily reported Wednesday, citing figures from Wind.

Among the group, 190 companies recorded a rise in profits during the first six months of 2013 relative to the same period last year. Three of these businesses saw profits expand by over 1,000 percent - including solar panel producer Risen Energy Co, rail transit equipment provider Beijing Dinghan Technology Co and Xiamen Savings Environmental Co, which mainly produces high temperature filtration materials.

On the flip side, Beijing Supermap Software Co posted the period's worst results - the IT firm lost 12.94 million yuan, representing a drop of 1,182.79 percent year-on-year.

"Companies engaged in innovative and scientific industries, such as energy and environmental protection, performed well as investors still see a lot of potential in these areas," Wang Haoyu, a senior analyst at First Capital Securities in Shenzhen, told the Global Times Wednesday.

The uptick in earnings comes as the ChiNext Index rides a tidal wave of support from investors looking for growth opportunities within next-generation industries. At the same time, recent concerns about China's slowing economy have deflated confidence in traditional sectors.

The ChiNext Index closed at 1,227.99 points Wednesday, up 109.76 percent from December 4, 2012, when the benchmark bottomed out at an all-time low of 585.44 points. In comparison, the Shanghai Composite Index and the Shenzhen Component Index surrendered 12.78 percent and 15.6 percent respectively over the course of the first half.

But compared to the A-share markets' main boards, trading volume on the ChiNext is still quite thin while prices remain high when gauged against actual earnings growth, say analysts.

Zhang Xin, an analyst from Guotai Junan Securities, explained to the Global Times that many of China's smaller individual investors are still attracted to higher-price stocks and rarely stop to consider whether an expensive equity is overvalued.