China Industrial Profits Decline Most In 27 Months

(RTTNews) - Chinese industrial profits declined at the fastest pace in 27 months in November, official data revealed Saturday.

Industrial profits fell by 4.2 percent from last year to CNY 676.12 billion, the biggest decrease since August 2012, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. Profits were down 2.1 percent in October and rose 0.4 percent in September.

The statistical office attributed the decline in November profits to weak industrial products sales and the decrease in producer pricing power.

For January to November, industrial profits advanced 5.3 percent from the same period of last year. But this was slower than the 6.7 percent increase seen during January to October period.

In the coal mining sector, profits plunged 44.4 percent and decreased by 13.2 percent in the oil and gas industry during the first 11 months.

On the other hand, electrical and equipment manufacturing logged an annual growth of 15.1 percent. Likewise, profits of the telecommunication sector surged 20.7 percent.

The state-owned enterprises reported a decline in profit of 3.5 percent, while companies with foreign funding registered an annual double-digit growth of 10.3 percent. Total profit of private firms gained 7.2 percent.