Interpretation by the Bureau of Statistics: profits of industrial enterprises maintain steady growth

In July 2021, with the sustained and stable recovery of the national economy, the overall stability of industrial production, the operating conditions of enterprises continued to improve, and profits maintained steady growth. In July, the profits of large-scale industrial enterprises across the country increased by 16.4% year-on-year, 39.2% higher than the same period in 2019, and an average increase of 18.0% over the same period in 2019 (calculated by geometric average method based on the same period in 2019), 2.3 percentage points faster than in June. From January to July, the profits of industrial enterprises above scale increased by 57.3% over the same period last year, 44.6% over the same period in 2019, and an average increase of 20.2% over the same period in 2019.

The benefit situation of industrial enterprises in July mainly shows the following characteristics:

First, 60% of the industry's profits increased compared with the same period last year, and more than 70% of the industry's profits exceeded the pre-epidemic level. In July, of the 41 major industrial industries, 25 industries achieved year-on-year profit growth (or turning losses into profits), accounting for 61.0%, of which 18 industries achieved double-digit or more profit growth. Compared with the same period in 2019, 31 industries achieved profit growth, accounting for 75.6%. Among them, the two-year average profit growth rate of 22 industries was faster than that in June (or from negative to positive).

Second, the profit growth rate of the mining industry and raw material manufacturing industry has accelerated. In July, profits in the mining industry and raw materials manufacturing industry increased by 2.03 times and 50.9% respectively compared with the same period last year, both faster than in June. The average growth rates in the two years were 34.1% and 31.6% respectively, significantly higher than the average level of industries above scale, and the driving effect on the growth of industrial profits was enhanced. From the industry point of view, under the combined effect of the continuous improvement of market demand, the overall high operation of commodity prices, the rapid growth of enterprise sales and the low base in the same period, the profits of oil and gas exploration, oil processing, coal and chemical industries increased by 3.84 times, 2.16 times, 2.11 times and 1.07 times respectively compared with the same period last year, all faster than in June.

Third, the profits of high-tech manufacturing industries have maintained rapid growth. In July, the profits of high-tech manufacturing industries increased by 37.9% compared with the same period last year, driving the profit growth of above-scale industries by 6.2 percentage points. The two-year average growth rate was 37.2%, 5.7 percentage points higher than that of June and 19.2 percentage points higher than the average level of above-scale industries. Among them, driven by the strong demand for novel coronavirus vaccines and epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic products, the profits of the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry increased by 1.10 times compared with the same period last year, maintaining a momentum of rapid growth; the average growth in two years was 61.4%, 7.7 percentage points higher than in June. Driven by the better market demand for communications and LCD products and the improvement of product profit margins, the profits of the electronics and communications equipment manufacturing industry increased by 37.8 percent year on year, 5.6 percentage points higher than in June, and the two-year average growth rate was 33.7 percent, 9.5 percentage points faster.

Fourth, the profits of the consumer goods manufacturing industry have continued to recover. In July, profits in the consumer goods manufacturing industry rose 18.6% from a year earlier, continuing a steady recovery; the two-year average growth rate was 17.6%, 1.3 percentage points higher than in June. Among them, driven by the rebound in product prices and the low profit base in the same period, the profits of the chemical fiber industry increased by 3.71 times year-on-year, significantly faster than last month; thanks to factors such as the gradual recovery of market demand and increased investment income, profits in the furniture, textile and beverage industries increased by 41.9%, 13.0% and 11.2% respectively over the same period last year.

Fifth, the unit cost has continued to decline and the profitability has increased compared with the same period last year. In July, the expenses of industrial enterprises above 100 yuan in operating income decreased by 0.41 yuan compared with the same period last year. Since the beginning of this year, the policy of reducing taxes and fees has continued to show results, and the unit cost of industrial enterprises has maintained a downward trend compared with the same period last year, which is conducive to the improvement of In July, the operating income profit margin of industrial enterprises above scale was 6.94%, an increase of 0.19 percentage points over the same period last year.

Sixth, the efficiency of the use of funds continues to improve, and the operating situation has improved. At the end of July, the inventory turnover days of finished goods in industrial enterprises above scale decreased by 2.1 days compared with the same period last year, and the average payback period of accounts receivable decreased by 4.8 days compared with the same period last year. The asset-liability ratio of enterprises was 56.3%, down 0.4 percentage points from the same period last year and 0.2 percentage points lower than at the end of June. The loss area of enterprises was 21.4%, 1.3 percentage points lower than the same period last year and 1.1 percentage points lower than that in June.

On the whole, the profits of industrial enterprises above scale maintained a steady growth trend in July, but it should be noted that the unbalanced uncertainty of benefit improvement of industrial enterprises still exists. First, the epidemic situation in foreign countries has continued to evolve, and since late July, sporadic epidemics and superimposed flood conditions have occurred in some parts of the country, and the stable recovery of industrial enterprises has been tested. Second, the overall high operation of commodity prices, the rising pressure on corporate costs is gradually emerging, especially the profit space of small and micro enterprises in the middle and lower reaches is constantly squeezed. In the next stage, it is necessary to thoroughly implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, adhere to the general tone of seeking progress in the midst of stability, deepen supply-side structural reform, do a good job in ensuring and stabilizing the prices of commodities, help enterprises to solve difficulties, and strengthen scientific and technological innovation. we will improve the resilience of the industrial chain supply chain and constantly promote the high-quality development of the industrial economy.