CHINESE companies listed on mainland's two stock markets saw their combined net profit growing 37.3 percent in 2010 to nearly 1.7 trillion yuan (US$256.38 billion) as data showed.

Overall net profit made by the 2,176 companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen markets topped 1.67 trillion yuan last year, a jump of 37.3 percent from 2009 while revenue hiked 34 percent to 17.54 trillion yuan.

Of the total, 117 companies or 5.38 percent said they saw accounts in red last year, a decrease of 5.3 percentage points from 2009. The rest 2,059 firms all said they made profits in 2010.

Based on their 2010 first quarter earnings reports, these listed companies earned a total of 479.5 billion yuan in the first three month, a jump of 24.1 percent from a year ago.

However, if financial firms were excluded, overall net profit for the rest of the firms dropped to 219.76 billion yuan in the first quarter, down 10 percent from three months earlier.

Concerns also mounted among investors as their quarterly earnings reports revealed a record level of stockpiles due to fears that high inflation would endure for some time.

By the end of March, companies have stockpiled products worth 3.53 trillion yuan, with non-ferrous metal producers, real estate developers and energy firms stock the most among all.

The record-high stockpiling could pose threats to companies who may find themselves stuck with stockpiles in the face of slowing economic growth and tumbling prices, said Chen Li, head of China Equity Strategy of UBS Securities Co, in a previous interview.