BEIJING: Profits earned by China industrial firms rose 6.3 percent in June from a year earlier to 502.4 billion yuan ($81.9 billion), easing from a year-on-year growth of 15.5 percent in May, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday.

Industrial profits totalled 2.6 trillion yuan in the first half of 2013, up 11.1 percent from a year earlier, the bureau said in a statement published on its website, www.stats.gov.cn.

Among the 41 industries tracked, 30 posted profit growth and eight reported a profit drop in the first half of this year compared with the year earlier period, it said.

The figures come after the HSBC/Markit flash purchasing managers index, the earliest indicator of China's industrial activity, showing activity slowed to an 11-month low in July as new orders faltered and the job market darkened.

China's economy grew 7.5 percent in April-June from a year earlier, the ninth quarter of slowdown in the past 10 quarters.

Beijing has unveiled a series of measures to support business. This week alone, the government has scrapped value-added taxes for small businesses, taken steps to cut red tape for importers and exporters and simplified rules for service industry firms needing foreign currency.