China's industrial profit decline continues to narrow in April

BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- China's major industrial firms continued to post a narrower decline in their profits in April as production recovers and revenue grows faster, official data showed Saturday.

Profits of China's industrial firms with annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.83 million U.S. dollars) fell 18.2 percent year on year in April, narrowing by one percentage point from that in March, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

These companies saw their combined revenues rise 3.7 percent year on year in April, accelerating by 3.1 percentage points from the previous month, the NBS data showed.

Of the 41 industrial categories monitored by the bureau, 23 posted better performance in profits in April compared with March, the NBS said.

Due to new growth drivers and a low comparison base, the equipment manufacturing sector reported a year-on-year profit increase of 29.8 percent in April, reversing a decline in March.

The power sector reported profit growth of 45.3 percent in April from a year earlier, driven by booming demand fueled by the economic recovery.

The chemical and coal mining sectors were the main drags, with profits down 63.1 percent and 35.7 percent, respectively, in April due to sharp price declines in the two sectors.

Generally speaking, industrial profits maintained the recovery trend, said NBS statistician Sun Xiao. But the official warned that industrial firms are facing difficulties such as a grim and complex international environment that restrains demand.

Sun urged more efforts to restore and expand market demand in the next step to improve market confidence and shore up the recovery of the industrial economy.