BROKERAGES listed on the Chinese mainland were all profitable last month, with some smaller ones reporting profit growth, thanks to a rebounding A-share market.

The 13 companies made 1.95 billion yuan (US$288 million) in profits in July, headed by GF Securities' 300 million yuan, Haitong Securities Co's 259 million yuan and CITIC Securities' 256 million yuan. Their revenue totaled 4.23 billion yuan.

Excluding Hongyuan Securities, which didn't offer financial results for June, profit at 12 brokerages declined 8.01 percent from a month earlier, and combined revenue rose 8.72 percent on a monthly basis.

Nine companies, mainly smaller brokerages, reported monthly profit growth in July, but three large brokerages went south - CITIC Securities dropping 74 percent, Haitong Securities falling 47 percent and Everbright Securities down 32 percent.

"The Shanghai Composite Index jumped 9.97 percent in July, which helped boost income from commissions and proprietary business," said Huarong Securities Co.