Profits of China's major industrial firms up 1.9% in first 10 months

Profits at China's major industrial firms extended their gains for a third consecutive month in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday.

From January to October, industrial enterprises with an annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan ($2.82 million) saw their total profits increase 1.9 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the bureau.

The rebound in industrial profits, according to Yu Weining, a statistician with the bureau, was largely driven by the robust performance of the high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing sectors.

During the first ten months of the year, profits in the high-tech manufacturing sector rose by 8 percent year-on-year, outpacing the average growth rate of all major industrial enterprises by 6.1 percentage points, Yu said.

Meanwhile, profits in the major equipment manufacturing sector increased by 7.8 percent year-on-year during the same period, contributing 2.8 percentage points to the total profit growth of all major industrial enterprises, Yu added.

wangkeju@chinadaily.com.cn