BEIJING, April 24-- Listed companies on the Chinese mainland reported a year-on-year growth of more than 50 percent in their net profits for the first quarter of this year, with those from the real estate sector contributing significantly.

Observers said the profit growth was attributable to the reduction of corporate income tax. They believed that high property prices accounted for the real estate sector's impressive profits and that demand for real estate would remain high in the coming months, despite land price rises and persistent inflationary pressure.

According to Thursday's China Securities Journal, the 436 listed companies, which have already released their quarterly corporate earnings reports, realized 38.99 billion yuan (5.57 billion U.S. dollars) in net profits in the January-March period, up 55.12 percent on the same period of last year.

Of the 436 companies, 275, or 63.07 percent, saw their net profits grow year-on-year. The 35 real estate companies recorded combined net profits of 2.27 billion yuan, up 361.45 percent.

Other sectors each with a growth rate of 200 percent or higher were agricultural, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery and information equipment sectors, those with a growth rate of more than 100 percent each included home electrical appliances, textile and clothing, transport and building materials sectors.

Besides, six listed financial companies realized 9.37 billion yuan in combined net profits, up 92.29 percent.

Companies other than real estate and financial ones saw their net profits up 38.35 percent. But the growth rate was 3.6 percentage points lower than the level in the fourth quarter of last year.

Among these companies, 17 utility firms saw their profits down 64.85 percent and four catering and tourism businesses experienced profit falls of 44.39 percent.