China's industrial profits rose 15.5% in January–September and 14.4% in September; electronics profits doubled.
The National Bureau of Statistics said at 09:30 on 27 October that profits of industrial firms above designated size totalled 6.03374 trillion yuan in January–September, up 15.5% year on year (versus 15.7% in January–August); September profits alone rose 14.4%, up from 4.2% in August according to Reuters. By sector, profits in computer, communication and other electronic equipment manufacturing rose 103.8%, non-ferrous metal smelting 79.7% and coal mining 57.0%, while auto manufacturing fell 22.8%, non-metallic mineral products 46.9% and ferrous metal smelting 73.3%. The profit margin on revenue was 5.68% for the nine months; at end-September the debt-to-asset ratio was 58.6% and the average receivables collection period 71.6 days. Reuters said furniture manufacturing profits fell 51.3%, underscoring the divergence across sectors; CNBC quoted an Oxford Economics economist as saying household demand remains the weak link.
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