China Industrial Profits Rise 18.8% in Jan–May Data

China's industrial sector posted steady profit growth in the first five months of the year, driven by sharp gains in mining and selected high-tech manufacturing industries, official data showed on Tuesday.

From January to May, total profits of industrial enterprises above designated size reached 3,143.96 billion yuan, up 18.8% year-on-year.

By ownership structure, state-controlled industrial firms generated 1,048.66 billion yuan in profits, rising 19.6% year-on-year. Joint-stock enterprises recorded 2,434.81 billion yuan, up 24.1%. Foreign-invested enterprises, including those from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, posted 695.72 billion yuan, increasing 4.2%. Private enterprises reported 772.65 billion yuan, up 10.7%.

By sector, mining profits rose 33.5% to 479.52 billion yuan. Manufacturing profits increased 20.0% to 2,328.52 billion yuan. The utilities sector, covering electricity, heat, gas and water production and supply, fell 2.7% to 335.92 billion yuan.

Within major industries, the strongest growth came from non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing, up 117.1% year-on-year, followed by computer, communication and other electronic equipment manufacturing, up 103.9%, and chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing, up 71.6%.

Coal mining and washing rose 33.5%, oil and gas extraction increased 17.2%, and textile manufacturing gained 11.7%.

Several industries recorded declines, including general equipment manufacturing, down 0.2%, electricity and heat production and supply, down 4.1%, special equipment manufacturing, down 5.5%, agricultural and food processing, down 13.3%, electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing, down 13.7%, and automobile manufacturing, down 19.8%. The ferrous metal smelting and rolling sector fell 37.4%, while non-metallic mineral products dropped 48.9%. The processing of petroleum, coal and other fuels swung from a loss to a profit over the period.

Total operating revenue reached 56.55 trillion yuan, up 5.5% year-on-year, while total costs rose 4.7% to 48.04 trillion yuan. The profit margin on revenue stood at 5.56%, up 0.63 percentage points from a year earlier.

By end-May, total assets of industrial firms stood at 193.55 trillion yuan, up 5.8%, while liabilities rose 6.5% to 112.69 trillion yuan. Owners' equity increased 5.0% to 80.87 trillion yuan, with the asset-liability ratio rising 0.3 percentage points to 58.2%.

Accounts receivable reached 28.17 trillion yuan, up 7.7%, while finished goods inventories increased 8.8% to 7.14 trillion yuan.

For every 100 yuan of revenue, costs averaged 84.95 yuan, down 0.59 yuan year-on-year, while expenses were unchanged at 8.39 yuan.

Efficiency indicators showed revenue generated per 100 yuan of assets at 71.1 yuan, down 0.1 yuan. Revenue per employee rose by 113,000 yuan to 1.88 million yuan. Finished goods inventory turnover days increased by 0.6 days to 21.6 days, while the average collection period for accounts receivable rose by 1.3 days to 72.6 days.

In May alone, industrial enterprise profits rose 21.1% year-on-year, the data showed.