Berita 24 English - Earnings growth at China's industrial firms slowed in April, with high commodity prices and weak performance in the...
Berita 24 English - Earnings growth at China's industrial firms slowed in April, with high commodity prices and weak performance in the consumer goods sector limiting manufacturing's overall profitability.
Profits at China's industrial firms increased 57 per cent yearly in April to 768.63 billion yuan ($120.22 billion). The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported on Thursday down from 92.3 per cent growth in March.
Profits at industrial firms increased 106 per cent year on year to 2.59 trillion yuan in the January-April period.
"Corporate performance improvement remains uneven," an NBS official stated in a statement accompanying the data.
"Because the profitability of some consumer goods industries has not yet recovered to pre-epidemic levels, this has increased the pressure on the production and operation of midstream and downstream industries."
China's economy expanded at a record pace in the first quarter as it recovered from the pandemic slump, though analysts expect the rapid growth to slow later this year.
Officials warn that the economic recovery's foundations are not yet secure due to emerging issues, including pressures on businesses caused by rising raw material costs as global commodity prices rise.
Between January and mid-May, prices for China's steel rebar, hot-rolled steel coil, and copper - all used in the construction of machinery, buildings, appliances, and vehicles - increased by more than 30%.
Exports increased in April, as a strong recovery in the United States and stalled factory production in virus-stricken countries such as India boosted China's overseas orders.
However, factory activity and output growth slowed in April as businesses grappled with chip and container shortages, international logistics issues, and rising freight rates.
At the end of April, industrial firms' liabilities increased 8.6 per cent year on year, down from 9.0 per cent growth in March.
The industrial profit data set includes large companies with annual revenues of more than 20 million yuan from their primary operations.
(1 dollar equals 6.3936 Chinese yuan renminbi)
