OREANDA-NEWS.  July 03, 2012. Profits of major companies in China hit 390.9 billion yuan (61.8 billion U.S. dollars) in May, down 5.3 percent from the same period last year, the nation's top statistical authority said.
 
The profits were also lower than the 407.6-billion-yuan level in April.
 
During the first five months, the profits of companies with annual revenues exceeding 20 million yuan each stood at 1.84 trillion yuan, down 2.4 percent year on year, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.
 
State-owned and state-controlled enterprises saw their profits fall 10.8 percent from one year earlier to 560.1 billion yuan in the first five months, while private companies' profits grew 18.1 percent to 550 billion yuan.
 
During the period, stock-holding companies saw profits dip 0.4 percent to 1.08 trillion yuan, while collectively-owned enterprises reported a 9.9-percent fall in profits, which totaled 29.1 billion yuan.
 
Meanwhile, foreign-funded enterprises and those from China's Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan also saw profits drop 13.7 percent to 427.2 billion yuan, the data showed.
 
Out of 41 industry categories, 26 reported a year-on-year increase in profits, 13 saw profits fall, one returned to profitability and one fell into losses, said the NBS in a statement.
 
Computer, communication and electronic equipment manufacturing saw industrial profits slump 16.5 percent, and the chemical raw materials and chemical product manufacturing industries suffered a 23-percent drop in profits, according to the NBS.
 
The total revenues of the major companies in the first five months hit 34.5 trillion yuan, up 11.9 percent year on year, the data showed.