Profits of industrial firms with annual revenue above 20 million yuan rose 21.6 percent year-on-year in September, accelerating from 20.4 percent growth in August, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.
For the first nine months of 2024, industrial profits totaled 5.37 trillion yuan, up 3.2 percent from a year earlier. It marked the fastest pace since August 2023, signaling strengthening momentum in the industrial sector.
By ownership, private companies led profit growth during the period with a 5.1 percent increase to 1.51 trillion yuan. Profits of foreign-invested firms, including those funded by investors from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, rose 4.9 percent to 1.35 trillion yuan. Profits of shareholding companies climbed 2.8 percent to 3.99 trillion yuan, while state-controlled enterprises saw profits edge down 0.3 percent to 1.7 trillion yuan.
Manufacturing was the main driver of profit growth, with sector earnings rising 9.9 percent to 4.07 trillion yuan in the first three quarters. Utilities also performed strongly: profits in electricity, heat, gas and water production and supply rose 10.3 percent to 669.1 billion yuan. However, mining was hit by weaker commodity prices, with profits tumbling 29.3 percent to 636.9 billion yuan.
Among major industries, profits in electricity supply rose 14.4 percent, non-ferrous metal smelting gained 14 percent, electronic equipment manufacturing grew 12 percent and automobile manufacturing increased 3.4 percent. In contrast, coal mining profits plunged 51.1 percent.
Industrial revenue from January to September climbed 2.4 percent from a year earlier to 102.08 trillion yuan, while operating costs rose 2.6 percent to 87.34 trillion yuan. The profit margin stood at 5.26 percent, up 0.04 percentage points year-on-year.
As of end-September, total industrial assets reached 186.27 trillion yuan, up 5 percent from a year ago, while liabilities rose 5.2 percent to 107.96 trillion yuan, bringing the debt-to-asset ratio to 58 percent.
The recovery in profits was supported by policy measures and improving demand, said Yu Weining, chief statistician at the NBS’s industrial department. Profits in high-tech manufacturing jumped 26.8 percent in September, playing a key role in boosting overall industrial growth, he noted. Yu added that further efforts are needed to expand domestic demand, strengthen supply capacity and accelerate industrial upgrading to consolidate the rebound.
