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![[Xinhua]](http://thebricspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/131614946_11n.jpg)
[Xinhua]
The increase reversed the 0.4 per cent dip in March, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
In the first four months industrial profits shrank by 1.3 per cent to 1.73 trillion yuan, narrowing the 2.7 per cent drop recorded in the first quarter.
The bureau’s calculations include companies with annual revenues exceeding 20 million yuan.
NBS statistician He Ping attributed the improvements to the growth of industrial production and sales, higher investment returns in industrial businesses and a fall in operating costs.
During the first four months of 2015, 30 of the 41 sectors surveyed reported year on year profit increases, with high-tech sectors, including computers and telecommunications, reporting profit increases of 23.3 per cent year on year.
Raw material production along with other sectors saw profits slow as efforts to scale down the coal industry, to eliminate excess production capacity, continued. Profits from oil drilling and coal mining plunged 71.7 per cent and 61.6 per cent, respectively.
Private companies posted strong growth in the first four months, reporting a profit increase of 6.1 per cent year on year, while state-owned enterprises dropped 24.7 per cent year on year.
Despite the positive profit data, He Ping warned of a grim outlook for industrial enterprises due to sluggish demand, slowing output, dropping prices and lackluster growth in core business turnover.
Source: Agencies
