INDUSTRIAL profits grew at a faster pace in China last month, led by power generation and automobile sectors, the National Bureau of Statistics said today.
But the pickup was mainly attributed to a low comparison base a year ago, the bureau said. It suggests that the country's economic recovery could be losing momentum.
Combined profits posted by major industrial companies rose 9.3 percent from a year earlier to 436.7 billion yuan (US$71.2 billion) in April, after gaining 5.3 percent in March, the bureau said.
Yu Jianxun with the bureau's industrial department attributed the acceleration to a low comparison base in 2012 when industrial profits fell 2.2 percent in April and rose 4.5 percent in March.
Companies in electricity and heat production more than doubled their profits to 28.1 billion yuan in April, thanks to lower costs amid declining coal prices. Automobile manufacturers posted 41.8 billion yuan in profits, up 18.7 percent from a year earlier, Yu said.
Today's industrial profit data came days after the HSBC/Markit flash purchasing managers' index showed China's manufacturing activity contracted in May for the first time in seven months as new orders fell.