SHINGHAI: China’s industrial companies posted a drop of 4.2 percent in profits from a year earlier in the first two months of this year, but the decrease was an improvement from the 8-percent fall in December 2014, the National Bureau of Statistics said here the other day.
State-owned enterprises led the decline with a 37-percent plunge in net earnings year on year, while profits of private companies rose 9.1 percent and those of overseas-invested firms added 2.2 percent.
The first two months saw total profits of 745.2 billion yuan (US$120.1 billion), with 30 of the 41 industries being tracked posting increased profits.
Oil and natural gas producers reported profits of 15.1 billion yuan in the first two months, down 45.3 billion yuan from the same period of last year due to cheaper oil.
Refineries lost 20.3 billion yuan, a sharp contrast with the profits of 8.3 billion yuan a year earlier.
China’s manufacturing sector may deteriorate again in March as a closely watched index surprisingly fell to an 11-month low.
The HSBC Flash China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, the earliest available indicator of operating conditions at industrial companies, fell to 49.2 in March from the final reading of 50.7 in February, indicating contraction in manufacturing activity.
