China state firms' profits inch up in Quarter 1

BEIJING: Profit at China's state-owned firms edged up in the first quarter, data from the finance ministry showed, offering a silver lining for the world's second-largest economy after it recorded the weakest growth in 18 months in the period.
State-owned non-financial companies made combined profits of 533.7 billion yuan ($85.8 billion) between January and March, up 3.3% from a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on its website, www.mof.gov.cn.
The pace of growth for the whole quarter quickened from a rise of 2.8% in the first two months of 2014.

The faster growth in profits at state-owned enterprises offers a measure of relief for China's economic planners amid a batch of economic data ranging from exports, investment and money supply, which all dipped to multi-month lows.

Firms owned by the central government reported a year-on-year profit rise of 5.1% in the first quarter, more than offsetting a drop of 3.8% at companies owned by local governments, the ministry said.

Companies in the building materials, property, automobile, electronics and power industries posted relatively big profit gains. Those in the chemical, coal and textile sectors suffered big year-on-year drops.

The ministry added that the total assets of state firms rose 11.3% to 93.8 trillion yuan at the end of March, while total liabilities climbed 11.6% to 60.9 trillion yuan in the same period.

China's state firms retain their dominance in China's key industries even though the government has long promised to allow in private investment to boost economic growth.