China Jan-May industrial profits rise 27.9pc y/y

BEIJING: Industrial profitability across China rose 27.9 percent in the first five months of 2011 from a year earlier to 1.92 trillion yuan ($296.5 billion), the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

The growth marked a slight slowdown from an annual increase of 29.7 percent in the first four months.

The statistics agency noted that profits in the chemical fibre industry leapt 57 percent from a year earlier, while ferrous metal mining companies posted a 56 percent jump in earnings.

But several industries reported lower profits in the same period, the agency said in a statement.

Profits in the petroleum refinery, coking and nuclear fuel processing industry slumped 51 percent from a year earlier, while profits of firms in the ferrous metal smelting and rolling sector fell 1.1 percent from a year earlier.

Copyright Reuters, 2011