Chinese officials had warned profit growth at industrial firms might not be sustainable last month, and it turns out they were right to be wary.
Industrial profits at large firms in China grew 4.2 per cent year-on-year in April, more than halving from a March reading of 11.1 per cent and pulling year-to-date growth down by nearly 1 percentage point to 6.5 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Profits at state-controlled firms were a clear drag on the headline rate, dropping 7.8 per cent year-on-year for the year to date, whereas private firms saw profit growth of 8.4 per cent and foreign-owned firms’ profits rose 7.3 per cent.