Winners are grinners, and no-one was grinning more during reporting season than Qantas boss Alan Joyce, who was all smiles as he gave a news conference to extol his bumper result.

Key points: One third of non-resources companies post increased earnings

One third of non-resources companies post increased earnings Qantas led charge with $700m profit

Qantas led charge with $700m profit Retail, companies exposed to US market also benefitted

Retail, companies exposed to US market also benefitted No extra tax for Government, with overall profits down 5pc

"The higher the profitability, the less journalists we have here. My aim in life is to make sure there's no journalists here in the future if we can," he said with a smile.

It was rare public frivolity from a major company chief executive, but with the flying kangaroo shooting the lights out with a half-year profit of nearly $700 million, Mr Joyce could afford to laugh.

While the reporting season was not as tough as predicted, the crash in commodity prices has stripped a large slab of earnings out of the market and the economy.

Unfortunately, an improved performance from the non-resource sector was unable to make up the shortfall.

"Overall, from the banks through financial services, to manufacturing, through industrial supply and what have, they haven't been too bad," Peter Warnes, head of investment research at Morningstar, said.

According to Mr Warnes, the key to profit season were the banks, with a half-year result from Commonwealth and quarterly updates from ANZ and NAB.

"Banks are the bankers to the economy. If they're doing reasonably well, then the majority of their clients will be doing well and think that's kind of seeped through," he said.

Non-resources companies enjoy increased earnings

And the numbers support that view.

Two thirds of non-resources companies increased their earnings.

More significantly, half of all companies beat expectations — the norm is 45 per cent.

In addition, two thirds of all companies outperformed the market on the day they reported — usually it is half.

AMP Capital's head of investment strategy, Shane Oliver, said it was a sign the economy was transitioning away from the beleaguered resources sector.

"New Wales and Victoria [are] doing very, very well, falling unemployment, compared to WA, which is not doing so well," he said.

"So, in other words the east coast states have filled the gap."

Falling Australian dollar boosts results

Illustrating that, the construction boom in Sydney and Melbourne helped building materials company Boral lift earnings 31 per cent.

With its exposure to the US, Boral was helped by a falling dollar, as were other reporting season stars, such as healthcare companies, CSL, Cochlear and Sonic.

The dollar, as well as plunging oil prices, gave Qantas its profit liftoff.

And, while Woolworths problems were laid bare for all to see, other retailers fared better.

"Stocks like JB Hi-Fi, for example, continue to benefit from relative low unemployment here in Australia and low interest rates," Elio D'Amato, head of funds manager Lincoln Indicators, said.

"While, yes, their margins have been a little bit under pressure, that's been offset by Australian consumers continuing to spend."

At the other end of the scale, companies like Ansell, Flexi Group and Arrium disappointed investors.

Insurers such as QBE and IAG also did not live up to many people's expectations.

"Whilst dividends were OK for a lot of those insurance businesses, on an earnings-per-share basis, they did slightly disappoint. But we don't think that's a long-term trend. We think they'll be able to arrest that and return to positive growth in the near term," Mr D'Amato said.

Profits won't help Government coffers: analyst

Fears of widespread dividend cuts weighed heavily on investor sentiment going into the reporting season as profits struggled in a sluggish economy.

BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and now Woolworths have grabbed the headlines by slashing their payouts in what could be a change of sentiment.

But analysts point out that 63 per cent of companies increased their dividend.

"When we look at stocks like Telstra, for example, the big banks, in particular CBA, and the other quarterly updates provided by market, we don't see any immediate threat to dividends moving forward," Mr D'Amato said.

Unfortunately for Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison, while companies will continue to pay their shareholders, AMP's Shane Oliver said profit season showed they will not be paying more to Canberra in the way of tax.

"Profits are still down," he said.

"You've got profits up in the non-mining part of the economy by an average of 5 per cent; you've got profits down in the resources side by about 65 per cent. Net, net profits are down about 5 per cent," he said.

Which means Mr Morrison will have to look elsewhere to try to cut his budget deficit of around $40 billion.