China's central SOEs post Q3 profit growth

China’s centrally administered state-owned enterprises saw both profit and revenue growth in the third quarter, the national state-asset regulator said yesterday.

Revenues of central SOEs rose 1.5 percent year on year to 7.8 trillion yuan (US$1.17 trillion) in the third quarter, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said.

Their net profits in the quarter totaled 474.8 billion yuan, up 34.5 percent from a year ago, SASAC data showed.

In September alone, central SOEs saw their revenues hit 2.8 trillion yuan, a 4.3 percent expansion from a year ago and the highest monthly growth this year, it said.

Their revenues in the first three quarters edged down 4.6 percent from a year earlier to 21.1 trillion yuan, narrowing by 1.2 percentage points compared with the contraction in the first eight months.

Meanwhile, the net profit of central SOEs in the first three quarters dropped 13.6 percent YoY to 913.35 billion yuan, as against a decline of 24.9 percent in the first eight months, according to the SASAC.

“The vast majority of firms basically reversed the unfavorable situation in the first half of the year and returned to the normal track of business development,” SASAC spokesperson Peng Huagang told a press conference.

This has laid a foundation and strengthened confidence for the realization of annual goals, said Peng, citing continued improvements in production and operation.

In the first three quarters, the profit margin of central SOEs stood above 7 percent and reached 9.5 percent in September, the highest in a decade, Peng added.