China Total Industrial Profits

Profits earned by China's largest industrial firms dropped by 2.9% year-on-year to CNY 5.02 trillion in the first ten months of 2019, following a 2.1% fall in January-September. Profits at state-owned industrial firms slumped 12.1% while those at private firms rose 5.3%. Among the 41 industries surveyed, 11 sectors saw year-on-year profit falls, including oil processing (-51.2%), ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing (-44.2%), chemical raw materials and chemicals products (-25.3%), automobiles (-14.7%), textile (-3.4%), and coal and mining and washing industry (-2.1%). Conversely, earnings for telecommunications and electronic equipment manufacturers, which are more vulnerable to US tariffs than other products, increased 6 percent. In October only, industrial profits declined 9.9% to CNY 427.56 billion, the biggest monthly drop in eight months, after a 5.3 percent fall in September, amid a decrease in producer prices for manufactured goods, slower production and sales growth.

Profits earned by China's largest industrial firms dropped by 2.1% year-on-year to CNY 4.59 trillion in the first nine months of 2019, following a 1.7 percent decline in January-August. Profits at state-owned industrial firms decreased 9.6%, while those at private firms rose 5.4%. Among the 41 industries surveyed, 11 sectors saw year-on-year profit falls, including automobiles (-16.6%), oil processing (-53.5%), ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing (-41.8%), (-23.7%), chemical raw materials and chemicals products (-13.0%), textile (-4.3%), and coal and mining and washing industry (-3.2%). Conversely, earnings for telecommunications and electronic equipment manufacturers, which are more vulnerable to US tariffs than other products, increased 3.6%. In September only, industrial profits declined 5.3% to CNY 575.58 billion, after a 2% drop in August, amid weakening global demand and ongoing trade dispute with the US.

Profits earned by China's largest industrial firms dropped by 1.7% year-on-year to CNY 4.01 trillion in the first eight months of 2019, the same pace as in January-July. Profits at state-owned industrial firms declined 8.6%, while those at private firms rose 6.5%. Among the 41 industries surveyed, 13 sectors saw year-on-year profit falls, including automobiles (-19%), oil processing (-53.1%), ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing (-31.3%), non-ferrous metal mining (-23.7%), and chemicals (-13.1%). Also, earnings for telecommunications and electronic equipment manufacturers, which are more vulnerable to US tariffs than other products, dropped 2.7%. In August only, industrial profits declined 2% to CNY 517.79 billion, after a 2.6% increase in July, mainly due to a slowdown in industrial production and sales growth amid ongoing trade tensions.

Profits earned by China's largest industrial firms dropped by 1.7% year-on-year to CNY 3.50 trillion in the first seven months of 2019, after a 2.4% fall in January-June. Profits at state-owned industrial firms declined 8.1%, while those at private firms rose 7%. Among the 41 industries surveyed, 12 sectors saw year-on-year profit falls, including automobiles (-23.2%), oil processing (-50.6%), ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing (-25.1%), and chemical raw materials (-11.6%). Also, earnings for telecommunications and electronic equipment manufacturers, which are more vulnerable to US tariffs than other products, fell 6.3%. In July only, industrial profits advanced 2.6% to CNY 512.67 billion, recovering significantly from a 3.1% decline in June, mainly due to a low base last year and higher returns of electrical machinery equipment, supported by infrastructure projects, namely railway construction.

Profits earned by China's largest industrial firms dropped by 2.4% from a year earlier to CNY 2.98 trillion in the first six months of 2019, compared to a 2.3% fall in January-May. Profits at state-owned industrial firms tumbled 8.7%, while those at private firms rose 6.0%. Among the 41 industries surveyed, 15 sectors saw year-on-year profit falls, including automobiles (-24.9%), oil processing (-53.6%) and steel sectors (-21.8%), due to a rise in crude oil and iron ore prices. Earnings for telecommunications and electronic equipment manufacturers, which are more vulnerable to US tariffs than other products, fell 7.9%; while losses were also seen in chemical raw materials (-13.8%) and coal mining (-7.1%). In June only, industrial profits slumped 3.1% to CNY 601.9 billion, amid concerns over a recent escalation in trade row with the US.

Profits earned by China's largest industrial firms dropped by 2.3 percent from a year earlier to CNY 2.38 trillion in January-May 2019, following a 3.4 percent fall in the first four months of the year. Profits at state-owned industrial firms slumped 9.7 percent, while those at private firms grew 6.6 percent. Among the 41 industries surveyed, 15 sectors saw year-on-year profit falls. Earnings for telecommunications and electronic equipment manufacturers, which are more vulnerable to US tariffs than other product classes, declined 13 percent; while losses were also seen in chemical raw materials (-13.6 percent), coal mining (-9.4 percent), ferrous metal smelting and rolling (-22.4 percent). In contrast, there were gains at oil, coal and gas extraction (24 percent); pharmaceuticals (10.9 percent), and power supply (13.7 percent). Regarding May only, industrial profits rose 1.1 percent year-on-year to CNY 565.6 billion, driven by quicker sales and slower increases in corporate costs.