China Corporate Profits

Profits of China's industrial firms expanded by 0.8% yoy to CNY 1,509.36 billion in the first three months of 2025, recovering from a 0.3% drop in the first two months of the year, amid further stimulus measures from Beijing. Profits from foreign-invested enterprises and those from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan grew by 2.8%, while profits from joint-stock enterprises edged up 0.1%. Additionally, private sector profits fell by 0.3%, much softer drops than a 9.0% plunge in the prior period. In contrast, profits of state-owned firms shrank by 1.4%, reversing a 2.1% rise previously. Among industries, profits rose in agriculture (40.3%), non-ferrous metal smelting (33.6%), heat production (6.1%), general manufacturing (9.5%), special equipment (14.2%), textiles (7.1%), computer and communications (3.2%), and electrical machinery (7.5%). Conversely, profits fell in coal mining (-47.7%), non-metallic minerals (-14.2%), automobiles (-6.2%), chemicals (-0.4%), and oil and gas extraction (-3.1%).