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SOEs profits down 32.3%, decline slows

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-20 17:35

BEIJING -- Profits of China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) totaled 323.64 billion yuan (US$47.5 billion) in the first four months, down 32.3 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance announced Wednesday.

The fall was 4.5 percentage points lower than that of the first quarter. 

Related readings:  SOEs profit surge fuels call for fair distribution  Profits of China's central SOEs decline in Q1, but more slowly  Chinese Vice Premier urges SOEs to contribute to growth  China's central SOEs saw recovery in March  Vice President urges 'scientific development' of SOEs

The operating revenues of the 115,000 SOEs dropped 7.3 percent year on year to 5.97 trillion yuan (US$854 billion) in the first four months.

The decline was 0.3 percentage points lower than that of the first three months, said a statement on the ministry's website.

The 137 centrally administered SOEs saw operating revenues fall 9.5 percent year on year to 3.17 trillion yuan in the first four months.

They posted a 37-percent year-on-year drop in profits, which stood at 171.37 billion yuan from January to April.

Tobacco, construction and property sectors saw profits increase, while coal, construction materials, business and trade reported stable profits. Petroleum and petrochemical, machinery, and automobiles saw small profit drops, while steel and shipping continued to suffer losses, said the statement.

Specific figures were not disclosed, though.

The combined profits of China's SOEs, excluding financial institutions, totaled 217.7 billion yuan in the first quarter, accounting for 3.31 percent of the country's gross domestic product.