SHANGHAI - More than half of China's listed companies have published preliminary financial results for the first nine months of the year, with the majority of them expecting better profits.

So far, 1,702 of China's 2,800 companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen have announced preliminary financial estimates for the Jan-Sept period. More than 58 percent said their profits increased in the last nine months.

Among the top ten gainers, seven were in the manufacturing sector, according to market information provider Eastmoney.

Companies in the steel, electric equipment, agriculture, entertainment and chemical sectors recorded the best performance, with profits rising 332 percent, 256 percent, 96 percent, 79 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

Weapons, construction material, real estate, and mechanical equipment companies suffered the heaviest blows in the third quarter, with profits falling 183 percent, 25 percent, 24 percent and 22 percent, respectively.

According to Wang Delun, an analyst with China's third largest brokerage, Guotai Jun'an Securities, many heavyweight companies have yet to release their financial results.