Realty firms' revenue, profit rise in H1

Despite strict property market controls, China's listed real estate developers delivered a solid performance in the first half of the year.

The 68 property companies listed in the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses posted combined revenue of 111.8 billion yuan ($17.6 billion), up 26 percent compared to the same period last year. Net profit saw a lower growth of 6 percent, reaching 17 billion yuan.

Property companies attributed the increase in revenue to the release of China's genuine demand and companies' flexible marketing strategies, with promotional sales being the most important part. But the promotional prices also squeezed their profit margins, a major reason behind the slower profit growth.

Meanwhile, the companies' inventories increased nearly 30 percent to 799.6 billion yuan, indicating a slower sales pace due to stagnating prices in the first five months of the year. The land purchasing pace also slowed down, which contributed to a relatively low asset-liability ratio of 62 percent.