China's Industrial Enterprises Above Designated Size: January-October 2025 Performance Analysis

Recently, China's National Bureau of Statistics released comprehensive data on the performance of industrial enterprises above designated size for the period from January to October 2025. During this ten-month period, these enterprises achieved a total profit of RMB 5,950.29 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 1.9%. Within this aggregate, the petroleum and natural gas extraction sector reported profits of RMB 279.06 billion, marking a decline of 12.5% compared with the same period last year, while the chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing sector earned RMB 311.77 billion, down 5.4% year-on-year.

Breaking down profits by ownership structure, state-controlled enterprises recorded total profits of RMB 1,849.02 billion, essentially unchanged from the previous year. Shareholding enterprises generated profits of RMB 4,432.83 billion, reflecting an increase of 1.5% year-on-year. Meanwhile, foreign-funded enterprises and enterprises funded from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan realized total profits of RMB 1,484.86 billion, up 3.5%. Private enterprises continued to show steady growth, reporting profits of RMB 1,699.56 billion, an increase of 1.9% year-on-year.

From an industry perspective, the mining sector faced significant challenges, with total profits declining 27.8% year-on-year to RMB 712.33 billion, while the manufacturing sector demonstrated resilience, achieving profits of RMB 4,505.03 billion, up 7.7% year-on-year. The electricity, heat, gas, and water production and supply sector also performed strongly, recording profits of RMB 732.93 billion, a 9.5% increase compared with the same period in 2024.

An analysis of major industries reveals a diverse profit landscape. Non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling achieved the highest growth, with profits increasing 14.0% year-on-year. This was followed by electricity and heat production and supply, which grew 13.1%, and computer, communications, and other electronic equipment manufacturing, which rose 12.8%. The food processing of agricultural by-products sector also recorded solid growth, increasing 8.5%, while electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing and general-purpose equipment manufacturing saw profits increase by 7.0% and 6.2%, respectively. Special-purpose equipment manufacturing grew by 5.0%, and automotive manufacturing rose 4.4%. Other sectors showed more moderate gains, including non-metallic mineral products (+1.0%).

Conversely, certain industries experienced notable declines or moderated performance. Ferrous metal smelting and rolling returned to profitability after a prior-year loss, while petroleum, coal, and other fuel processing narrowed losses. Chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing saw a 5.4% decrease, textiles fell 6.1%, petroleum and natural gas extraction decreased 12.5%, and coal mining and washing profits dropped sharply by 49.2%.

From a financial perspective, industrial enterprises above designated size recorded operating revenues of RMB 113.37 trillion from January to October, a 1.8% increase compared with the same period in 2024. Operating costs totaled RMB 97.00 trillion, up 2.0% year-on-year, resulting in an operating profit margin of 5.25%, a modest rise of 0.01 percentage points.

By the end of October, total assets of these enterprises reached RMB 187.23 trillion, reflecting an increase of 4.7% year-on-year, while total liabilities rose 5.0% to RMB 108.59 trillion. Owners' equity amounted to RMB 78.64 trillion, up 4.3%, leading to an asset-liability ratio of 58.0%, an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared with the previous year.

On the operational side, accounts receivable totaled RMB 27.69 trillion, rising 5.1% year-on-year, and finished goods inventory stood at RMB 6.82 trillion, up 3.7%. The cost per 100 yuan of operating revenue was 85.56 yuan, slightly higher by 0.17 yuan year-on-year, while expenses per 100 yuan of revenue decreased by 0.10 yuan to 8.37 yuan.

Examining efficiency indicators, operating revenue per 100 yuan of assets reached 74.5 yuan, down 2.2 yuan year-on-year, whereas operating revenue per employee increased to RMB 1.859 million, up RMB 58,000. Finished goods inventory turnover extended slightly to 20.4 days, increasing 0.4 days, and the average collection period for accounts receivable rose to 69.8 days, up 3.4 days year-on-year.

Despite growth over the ten-month period, October 2025 alone saw a 5.5% year-on-year decline in profits among industrial enterprises above designated size, highlighting short-term pressures amid broader structural trends in key sectors.