BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Nearly half of China's listed brokerage firms saw their net profits rise in January compared to the same period last year, the China Securities Journal reported Tuesday.

(Photo: VCG)

In January this year, 15 of the 35 A-share listed brokerage firms registered a growth of the net profits, according to the paper.

Total net profit of the 35 firms stood at 6.12 billion yuan (about 905 million U.S. dollars), edging down 2.4 percent year on year.

Meanwhile, the firms' revenue increased by 2.04 percent from the same period last year, amounting to 17.1 billion yuan.

Among the 15 firms reporting a profit growth in the month, CITIC Securities, one of China's leading brokerage firms, topped the ranking with a profit of 741 million yuan.

The firms are expected to benefit from China's rebounding A-share market in terms of profit growth, the paper added.

Sun Ting, an analyst with Haitong Securities, said brokerage firms would accelerate transformation while consolidating current business.