Profits of China’s major industrial firms increased 3.4% year on year in the first five months of the year, official data showed. The growth rate narrowed from the 4.3-percent increase registered in the first four months of the year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Industrial firms with an annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about US$ 2.81 million) saw their combined profits reach 2.75 trillion yuan during the January-May period.

Among the 41 industrial categories monitored by the bureau, 32 recorded profit growth.

From January to May, the main business income of textile enterprises above designated size reached 921.76 billion yuan, which increased by 4.6% compared with the same period the previous year; the profit of the textile industry totaled 25.62 billion yuan, with year-on-year growth of 23.2%. While the main business income of enterprises above designated size in the garment and accessories industry reached 461.22 billion yuan, up by 0.6% year-on-year; the profit of the garment and accessories industry reached 17.56 billion yuan, with year-on-year growth of 1.7%.

In the first five months, the main business income of leather, fur, feather and their products and footwear industry reached 323.4 billion yuan, up by 6.4% year-on-year; their profit totaled 13.63 billion yuan, with year-on-year growth of 6.8%.

As for the performance of chemical fiber manufacturing enterprises above designated size, their main business income totaled 471.88 billion yuan in the first five months, up by 16.2% year-on-year; and the profit totaled 10.07 billion yuan, surged by 169.3% year-on-year.

Source: CHINA TEXTILE LEADER Express