China Manufacturing and Industrial Profits Surge in January-April

Profits at China's major industrial enterprises rose 18.2% year-on-year in the first four months of the year, supported by strong gains in manufacturing and resource-related industries, official data showed.

Industrial firms above the designated size posted total profits of 2.44 trillion yuan during the January-April period, according to official statistics.

Among ownership categories, state-controlled enterprises recorded profits of 827.15 billion yuan, up 17.1% from a year earlier. Shareholding enterprises reported profits of 1.88 trillion yuan, an increase of 24.0%, while private enterprises posted profits of 651.14 billion yuan, up 23.7%. Profits at foreign-invested enterprises, including those from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, rose 2.3% to 542.24 billion yuan.

By sector, the mining industry generated profits of 361.84 billion yuan, up 26.0% year-on-year. Manufacturing profits increased 20.4% to 1.80 trillion yuan, while profits in electricity, heat, gas and water production and supply fell 1.9% to 272.01 billion yuan.

Several industries recorded strong profit growth during the first four months. Profits in non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling surged 120% year-on-year, while computer, communications and other electronic equipment manufacturing rose 110%. Chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing climbed 73.4%, and coal mining and washing increased 21.0%.

Other sectors also reported gains, including textiles, where profits rose 11.2%, and oil and gas extraction, which increased 8.1%. Petroleum, coal and other fuel processing returned to profitability after reporting losses a year earlier.

However, profit declines were recorded in several industries. General equipment manufacturing slipped 0.6%, while electricity and heat production and supply fell 2.5%. Special equipment manufacturing declined 7.2%, electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing dropped 11.4%, and agricultural and sideline food processing fell 11.8%.

Among the weaker-performing sectors, automobile manufacturing profits declined 16.8%, non-metallic mineral products fell 50.7%, and ferrous metal smelting and rolling profits dropped 51.5%.

Industrial enterprises generated operating revenue of 44.89 trillion yuan in the January-April period, up 5.2% year-on-year. Operating costs rose 4.5% to 38.13 trillion yuan. The operating profit margin stood at 5.43%, an increase of 0.60 percentage points from a year earlier.

As of the end of April, total assets of major industrial enterprises reached 192.07 trillion yuan, up 5.5% year-on-year, while liabilities increased 5.9% to 111.39 trillion yuan. Total owners' equity rose 5.1% to 80.69 trillion yuan. The asset-liability ratio stood at 58.0%, up 0.2 percentage points from a year earlier.

Accounts receivable totaled 27.44 trillion yuan at the end of April, up 7.2%, while finished goods inventories increased 6.7% to 6.95 trillion yuan.

For every 100 yuan of operating revenue, industrial enterprises incurred 84.94 yuan in costs during the January-April period, down 0.55 yuan from a year earlier. Expenses per 100 yuan of operating revenue edged up by 0.01 yuan to 8.39 yuan.

At the end of April, operating revenue generated per 100 yuan of assets stood at 70.8 yuan, down 0.2 yuan year-on-year. Revenue per employee reached 1.868 million yuan, an increase of 111,000 yuan. Finished goods inventory turnover averaged 21.4 days, up 0.4 days, while the average collection period for accounts receivable extended by 1.3 days to 72.2 days.

In April alone, profits of major industrial enterprises increased 24.7% from a year earlier, accelerating from the broader January-April growth rate.