China''s top 45 textile firms posted a 10 per cent year-on-year climb in combined first half profit to 1.16 billion yuan ($140 million), official data revealed Monday.

Figures showed the companies enjoyed a combined turnover of 36.2 billion yuan (US$4.3bn) in the six month period – up 16 per cent from last year – with exports up 14 per cent to 6.1bn yuan.

State officials said 36 of those firms posted a profit while the remaining nine suffered a combined loss of 210 million yuan ($25m), 10 per cent less than last year.