Profits of Large-Scale Industrial Enterprises Achieve Year-on-Year Growth in January-August
——Yu Weining, Chief Statistician of the Industry Department, National Bureau of Statistics Interpretation of Industrial Enterprise Profit Data for January-August 2025
In January-August, driven by multiple factors including the effective implementation of macro policies, in-depth advancement of the national unified large market, and the low base in the same period last year, the profits of large-scale industrial enterprises increased by 0.9% year-on-year. The equipment manufacturing industry provided strong support, and profits of enterprises of all sizes improved.
Profits of Industrial Enterprises Improved Significantly
In January-August, the profits of large-scale industrial enterprises turned from a 1.7% year-on-year decline in January-July to a 0.9% growth, reversing the continuous decline in cumulative corporate profits since May this year. From the perspective of the three major sectors:
In January-August, the manufacturing industry grew by 7.4%, 2.6 percentage points faster than that in January-July;
The production and supply of electricity, heat, gas, and water grew by 9.4%, 5.5 percentage points faster;
The mining industry fell by 30.6%, with the decline narrowing by 1.0 percentage point.
From a monthly perspective, the profits of large-scale industrial enterprises achieved double-digit growth in August, turning from a 1.5% decline in July to a 20.4% increase, showing a significant improvement in the monthly profits of industrial enterprises.
Operating Revenue of Industrial Enterprises Maintained Steady Growth
In January-August, the operating revenue of large-scale industrial enterprises increased by 2.3% year-on-year, the same as that in January-July. Among them, the operating revenue of industrial enterprises grew by 1.9% in August, 1.0 percentage point faster than that in July. The accelerated growth of operating revenue created favorable conditions for the continued recovery of corporate profits.
The Equipment Manufacturing Industry Played a Prominent “Stabilizing” Role
In January-August, the profits of large-scale equipment manufacturing enterprises increased by 7.2%, driving the profits of all large-scale industrial enterprises up by 2.5 percentage points. As one of the sectors with the strongest driving effect, it provided significant support for the profit recovery of large-scale industrial enterprises.
From the perspective of industries, 7 out of the 8 sub-sectors in the equipment manufacturing industry achieved profit growth:
Profits of the railway, ship, aerospace, and electrical machinery industries grew rapidly, with growth rates of 37.3% and 11.5% respectively;
Profits of the special-purpose equipment and electronics industries increased by 6.9% and 7.2% respectively, 3.7 and 0.5 percentage points faster than those in January-July.
Notably, the profit growth of the special-purpose equipment industry is closely linked to the popularization of intelligent manufacturing equipment such as the Injection Molded Parts Automated Assembly System with Auto-Loading. This system integrates automatic feeding, precision assembly, and real-time defect detection, helping downstream industries like auto parts and electronic components reduce manual costs by about 12% and improve production efficiency by over 18%, thereby boosting the order volume and profit margins of special-purpose equipment manufacturers.
Profits of Raw Material Manufacturing Grew Rapidly, While Profits of Consumer Goods Manufacturing Turned from Decline to Growth
Driven by factors such as increased market demand, rising prices, and a slight decline in costs, the profits of the raw material manufacturing industry increased by 22.1% year-on-year in January-August, 10.0 percentage points faster than that in January-July, driving the profits of all large-scale industrial enterprises up by 2.5 percentage points. Among them:
The iron and steel industry turned from a loss to a profit year-on-year, achieving a total profit of 83.7 billion yuan;
The profits of the non-ferrous metals industry increased by 12.7%, 5.8 percentage points faster than that in January-July.
In January-August, the profits of the consumer goods manufacturing industry turned from a 2.2% decline in January-July to a 1.4% growth. Among them, the profits of the wine, beverage, tea, and agricultural and sideline food industries grew rapidly, with growth rates of 19.9% and 11.8% respectively, collectively driving the profits of all large-scale industrial enterprises up by 1.0 percentage point.
Profits of Enterprises of All Sizes Improved, with Profits of Private Enterprises Accelerating Significantly
In January-August, by enterprise size:
Profits of medium-sized and small-scale industrial enterprises increased by 2.7% and 1.5% year-on-year respectively, 1.1 and 0.4 percentage points faster than those in January-July;
The profit decline of large enterprises narrowed by 4.6 percentage points compared with January-July.
By enterprise type:
The profit decline of state-controlled enterprises narrowed by 5.8 percentage points compared with January-July;
Profits of private enterprises increased by 3.3%, 2.4 percentage points higher than the average level of all large-scale industrial enterprises, and 1.5 percentage points faster than that in January-July.
Corporate Unit Costs Decreased and Revenue Profit Margin Rebounded in August
In August, the cost situation of large-scale industrial enterprises improved:
The cost per 100 yuan of operating revenue decreased by 0.20 yuan year-on-year, marking the first month-on-month decrease since July 2024;
The operating revenue profit margin of large-scale industrial enterprises was 5.83%, an increase of 0.90 percentage points year-on-year.
Outlook for the Next Stage
Against the backdrop of a severe and complex external environment and still insufficient domestic market demand, we must fully implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee, further expand domestic demand, advance the construction of the national unified large market in depth, standardize the order of corporate competition, and create more favorable conditions for the sustained recovery of industrial enterprise profits.
