Data published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that in November industrial profits grew by 29.5% per year, sharply accelerating compared to October (+2.7%), and recording the 4th consecutive monthly increase.
Behind the November profit rise was an accelerated uptick in industrial profits and returns on investments over the month, NBS statistician Yu Weining said.
Meanwhile, from the beginning of the year (through November), industrial profits decreased by 4.4% compared with a drop of 7.8% from January to October.
With a host of growth-boosting measures aimed at supporting the uneven recovery from COVID, China's economy appears to be on track to achieve a growth target of about 5% this year. But the recovery remains shaky amid continued weakness in the real estate sector, rising deflationary pressures and other issues renewing calls for economic stimulus.
The report also showed that from January to November, the profits of state-owned companies fell by 6.2% per year after declining by 9.9% in the first 10 months of 2023, while profits of private companies rose by 1.6% compared with a 1.9% drop from January to October. Meanwhile, the profits of foreign companies fell by 8.7% in the first 11 months of 2023 after a decline of 10.2% from January to October. The subdued profit growth will likely keep industrial companies cautious about expanding or hiring more, which in turn could add more pressure on prices.
Among 41 industries, profits decreased in chemical manufacturing (-38.5%), raw materials industry (-11.2%), non-metallic minerals (-25.9%), petroleum, coal (-14.1%), food industry (-11.8%), equipment manufacturing (-11.2%), and oil and natural gas (-8.5%). Meanwhile, profits grew for ferrous metal smelting and rolling (275.6%), the electric/power industry (58.2%), non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling (21.8%), machinery and equipment (17.2%), manufacturing (9.4%), and automobile (2.9%).