China's industrial profits grow in April

BEIJING - Profits of Chinese industrial businesses rose 2.6 percent year on year to 479.5 billion yuan ($78.3 billion) in April, official data showed Wednesday.

The increase reversed the 0.4 percent dip in March, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In the first four months industrial profits shrank by 1.3 percent to 1.73 trillion yuan, narrowing the 2.7 percent drop recorded in the first quarter.

The bureau's calculations include companies with annual revenues exceeding 20 million yuan.

NBS statistician He Ping attributed the improvements to the growth of industrial production and sales, higher investment returns in industrial businesses and a fall in operating costs.

During the first four months of 2015, 30 of the 41 sectors surveyed reported year on year profit increases, with high-tech sectors, including computers and telecommunications, reporting profit increases of 23.3 percent year on year.

Raw material production along with other sectors saw profits slow as efforts to scale down the coal industry, to eliminate excess production capacity, continued. Profits from oil drilling and coal mining plunged 71.7 percent and 61.6 percent, respectively.

Private companies posted strong growth in the first four months, reporting profit increase of 6.1 percent year on year, while State-owned enterprises dropped 24.7 percent year on year.

Despite the positive profit data, He Ping warned of a grim outlook for industrial enterprises due to sluggish demand, slowing output, dropping prices and lackluster growth in core business turnover.

Enterprises must also deal with piling inventories and rising receivables caused by weak sales, He added.