2020.05.2705:14:00UTC+00China's Industrial Profits Drop At Slower Pace In April

China's industrial profits declined at a much slower pace in April suggesting that the economic activity gradually started to recover following the coronavirus pandemic, data from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed Wednesday.

Industrial profits dropped 4.3 percent on a yearly basis, following a sharp 34.9 percent decrease in March.

During January to April period, industrial profits decreased 27.4 percent from the same period last year compared to 36.7 percent fall in the first three months of 2020.

Profits of state-owned enterprises plunged 46 percent and that of private companies fell 17.2 percent during January to April.

Data showed that automobiles, electrical machinery and electronics reported a notable recovery in April.

Production and sales increased in April, NBS official Zhu Hong said. The significant improvement in April profits was also partly due to the substantial increase in investment returns and the low base during the same period.