China Corporate Profits

Profits at China’s industrial firms rose 1.4% yoy to CNY 2,117.02 billion in the first four months of 2025, picking up from 0.8% growth in the January–March period. The upturn reflects Beijing’s continued efforts to shore up the sluggish economy and address mounting trade risks. Private sector profits saw a strong rebound (4.3% vs -0.3% in January–March), even as state-owned enterprises logged a deeper fall in profits (-4.4% vs -1.4%). By industry, profit gains were seen in agriculture (45.6%), non-ferrous metal smelting (24.5%), electrical machinery (15.4%), special equipment (13.2%), general manufacturing (11.7%), computer and communications (11.6%), heat production (5.6%), and textiles (3.7%). Meanwhile, profits fell in coal mining (-48.9%), oil and gas extraction (-6.9%), automobiles (-5.1%), chemicals (-4.4%), and non-metallic mineral products (-1.6%). In April alone, industrial profits increased 3.0% yoy, up from a 2.6% growth in March.