中国11月工业企业利润同比降幅收窄至1.4%

Profits of China's major industrial firms shrank in November, but the figures were stronger than the previous month, on stronger automobile and electricity sectors. This is according to the National Bureau of Statistics Sunday.

Profits totalled at 672 billion yuan, dipping 1.4 percent year on year in November, narrower than a 4.6 percent decline in October.

For the first 11 months, industrial profits dropped 1.9 percent year on year, to around 5.5 trillion yuan. Sectorwise, mining industry recorded 251.6 billion yuan, down 56.5 percent, manufacturing reported profits of 4.8 trillion yuan, a gain of 3.4 percent, while electricity and water supplies raked in 497 billion yuan, up 14.7 percent.

State-owned industrial firms saw profits slump 23 percent year on year, while privately-owned firms rose 5.3 percent.

Analysts say rising sales, lower costs and higher investment returns, helped slow the profit slump. But these firms still have to cope with high inventories and increased receivables, the money they have yet to collect from customers.