Industrial profits rise 6% in May, first gain this year: NBS

As the resumption of business and production is underway, industrial enterprises continued to improve their performance, with growth in May turning positive for the first time this year.

Compared with the first two quarters, it is expected that the profits of industrial enterprises above designated size will maintain a growth rate of 6-8 percent on average in the second half of this year, with May being the starting point of economic resumption, industry analysts said.

This comment came after a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Sunday stated that China’s industrial enterprises posted profits of 582.34 billion yuan ($82.2 billion) in May, up 6.0 percent year-on-year.

In May, the cost per 100 yuan of operating income of enterprises above designated size was 84.29 yuan, up by 0.21 yuan year-on-year, and the increase was one yuan less than that in April, relieving the pressure brought about by a sharp rise in unit costs since March and April.

The key driver behind this positive growth is that the gradual recovery of various industries after the resumption of work and production has eased pressure on rising costs, as well as the transformation in digitalization, analysts said.

Hong Tao, director of the Institute of Business Economics at Beijing Technology and Business University, told Global Times that the global economic downturn has slowed the rising prices of raw materials such as fossil fuels and boosted the transformation of digitalization, speeding up the growth of the manufacturing sector.

“Digital development also makes it possible for many businesses to run even when the world is still shadowed by the ongoing outbreak,” Hong said.