ZCZC
BCN-15
CHINA-INDUSTRIAL-PROFIT
China’s industrial profits up 17.1 pct in first seven months
BEIJING, Aug. 27, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – China’s major industrial firms
posted steady profit growth in the first seven months of 2018, official
statistics showed Monday.
Profits at China’s major industrial firms grew 17.1 percent in the first
seven months, slightly down from the 17.2 percent expansion for January-June,
according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
In July alone, combined profits at industrial companies with annual
revenue of more than 20 million yuan (about 2.9 million U.S. dollars) went up
16.2 percent year on year, retreating from the 20 percent gain in June.
The narrowing expansion of factory-gate prices and rising purchasing
prices dragged down the profit growth in July, said NBS statistician He Ping.
In the first seven months, costs per 100 yuan of revenue dropped 0.38 yuan
from the same period last year, according to He.
The debt-asset ratios of major industrial firms dropped 0.5 percentage
points year on year to 56.6 percent by the end of July.
He gave credit to the country’s supply-side structural reforms, which led
to lower production costs and leverage ratios.
Among the 41 industries surveyed, 32 posted year-on-year profit growth
during the first seven months.
Manufacturing, which accounted for 84.7 percent of the total industrial
profits, saw the sector’s combined profits expand 14.3 percent. The mining
industry surged to 53.4 percent, while sectors such as power generation,
heating, fuel gas and water supply companies went up 17.8 percent.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1235