PROFITS for China’s State-owned non-financial firms fell 5.7 percent in the first four months of 2015 from a year earlier, official data showed, compared with an 8 percent drop in the first quarter and a 21.5 percent slide in the first two months.

    Such companies made a combined profit of 704.06 billion yuan (US$113.54 billion) in the January-April period, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement yesterday on its website.

    A breakdown showed profits at firms owned by the Central Government fell 7.2 percent and profits at firms owned by local governments declined 0.8 percent.

    “The economic performance of State-owned enterprises and firms in which the State holds a controlling stake is improving as policy measures adopted by the central authorities to stabilize growth gradually take effect,” the ministry said.

    Profits at State firms climbed 7.3 percent in the January-April period from year ago, after adjusting for a sharper fall in earnings of three oil majors — China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), Sinopec Group and China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), it said.

    (SD-Agencies)