Profits at China's state-owned firms fall 21.5% in Jan-Feb on year

[BEIJING] The profits of China's state-owned non-financial firms fell 21.5 per cent in the first two months of this year from the corresponding period last year, hit partly by falling oil prices, Finance Ministry data showed on Friday.

Such companies made combined profits of 255.66 billion yuan (S$57.65 billion) in the January-February period, the ministry said.

From the total, profits of firms owned by the central government fell 23.6 per cent, largely because lower oil prices significantly dragged down profits of the three oil majors: China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), Sinopec Group and China National Offshore Oil Corp, it said.

Profits of firms owned by local governments fell 12.5 per cent in the January-February period, it added.

Companies in the electronics, chemical and power sectors reported a rise in profit in the January-February period, while petrochemical, steel and coal sectors suffered losses.

Annual growth in profits of China's state-owned firms slowed to 3.4 per cent in 2014 as factories struggled to cope with falling prices amid an economic slowdown.

REUTERS