China state firms' Q1 profits fall 13.8%

[BEIJING] Profits at China's state-owned firms fell 13.8 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier, though the rate of decline eased slightly from the first two months of the year, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday.

Total profits at state firms were 432.3 billion yuan (S$90.1 billion) in the first quarter, while revenues fell 3 per cent to 9.95 trillion yuan.

Pharmaceutical and petrochemical companies saw relatively large profit increases, while profits at building materials, electronics and tobacco companies fell from a year earlier, the ministry said. Coal, steel and nonferrous metals companies suffered losses.

The data does not include earnings from state-owned financial firms.

REUTERS