SYDNEY (AFX) - Company profits before tax, interest and depreciation in the three months to September fell a seasonally adjusted 6.2 pct quarter-on-quarter to 16.202 bln aud and were down 5.8 pct year-on-year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. The median of economists' forecasts was for a fall of 2.0 pct quarter-on-quarter, with forecasts ranging from a fall of 9.0 pct to a rise of 5.0 pct. In the second quarter to June 2001, profits rose by 10.7 pct quarter-on-quarter. The ABS said the major contributor to the decrease was the non-repetition of foreign exchange gains recorded in the previous quarter for mining, property and business services. A small number of businesses reporting large abnormal losses in the September quarter had a negative impact on the wholesale trade sector, the ABS said.