Company gross operating profits, in current prices, rose 5.2 per cent in the September quarter, seasonally adjusted, to be up 31.3 per cent over the year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics says.
Economists were expecting gross operating profits to rise by 3.5 per cent in the quarter.
Estimated business inventories, in seasonally adjusted chain volume terms, rose 0.7 per cent in the September quarter after rising 0.8 per cent in the previous quarter.
The September quarter result was 4.1 per cent higher than a year ago.
Economists were expecting an 0.7 per cent rise in the September quarter.
The estimate of income from sales by manufacturers in the September quarter, in seasonally adjusted chain volume measures, was down 1.1 per cent.
Estimated income from sales by wholesalers in the September quarter in adjusted chain volumes measures fell 0.1 per cent.
