China's drink sector profits up 25.2% in Jan-May

BEIJING - China's beverage manufacturing industry saw its profits rise 25.2 percent in the first five months of this year, according to latest industry data.

Total profits amounted to 84.53 billion yuan ($12.7 billion) as revenue rose 10.8 percent year-on-year to some 674.9 billion yuan, according to a research report by Askci Consulting.

Askci attributed the substantial improvement in industrial performance to the industry's ongoing structural reform.

During the Jan-May period, loss-generating enterprises posted total losses of 3.82 billion yuan, down 4.7 percent on a yearly basis, according to Askci.

In the first five months, the export delivery value of China's alcohol, drink and refined tea manufacturing industries climbed 7.7 percent to 9.23 billion yuan, slowing from a 12.5-percent increase registered in the first four months.