(Yicai Global) Feb. 21 -- Most of China's 36 listed securities brokerages posted a monthly revenue decline in January, though over half of them made an annual gain.

Five of the brokers logged over CNY500 million (USD71.1 million) in net profit in January, each collecting over CNY1 billion in revenue, The Paper reported. CITIC Securities topped the lot in both categories, cashing in CNY860 million on revenue of CNY1.9 billion, while Pacific Securities trailed the pack with just CNY4.8 million in profit on CNY74 million in revenue.

Most of the firms posted a monthly revenue decline as they needed to fulfill performance targets at the end of last year. Of the 36, only Shanxi Securities, Sealand Securities, Soochow Securities and Hongta Securities posted a monthly rise in income.

Twenty of the companies made annual gains, with Orient Securities logging the highest growth of nearly 92.6 percent.

China's stock markets have recovered steadily from the coronavirus epidemic and are hitting multi-year high, according to a TF Securities research note. Trading volume has exceeded CNY1 trillion (USD142.3 billion) for two straight sessions, it added, predicting this will help boost brokers' performances.

Editor: James Boynton