(Yicai Global) May 27 -- More than a quarter of the 456 Chinese listed companies that have released their first-half performance forecasts so far are predicting net profit to at least double from the same period last year as the price of raw material products jump and new merchandise comes on the market.

Some 119 firms expect profit to double in the six months ending June 30, 18 of which are anticipating a 10-fold jump, according to Wind Information statistics. Ninety-eight, or 21.5 percent, are forecasting losses.

High-precision auto gear manufacturer Zhejiang Shuanghuan Driveline is the top performer, predicting profit to jump as much as 110 times in the first half as new products come on the market and more carmakers turn to domestically made parts as opposed to imported ones, the Hangzhou-based company said. The company’s stock price [SHE:002472] has gained 46 percent since early April.

Apple supplier Luxshare Precision Industry is likely to be the biggest earner with a forecast of an up to 30 percent gain in year-on-year profit to CNY3.3 billion (USD516.8 million).

Rising prices are the main reason behind substantial growth in the chemicals industry, according to Yicai Global research. Ganfeng Lithium is expecting profit to surge by up to seven times. It supplies lithium carbonate, a key raw material used in electric car batteries whose price has doubled in the past six months.

Do-Fluoride, which makes lithium hexafluorophosphate, an important electrolyte in lithium batteries whose price is up two and a half times, estimates profit could shoot up as much as 20-fold.

Jinpu Titanium Industry, which has also hiked the price of its main product titanium dioxide used in paints and food coloring, is anticipating it will bring in as much as CNY90.9 million (USD14 million) in profit, a turnaround from previous losses.

The textile, apparel and tourism sectors that were hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic last year have bounced back. Yunnan Tourism, for example, is predicting an up to 21-fold increase in net profit from a year earlier.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor