Industrial companies in China reported increased profits for October - the sixth consecutive monthly growth recorded by the sector, data showed Friday.
Profits generated for October increased by 28.2% year on year - the quickest on record since 2017.
Profits for the month hit 642.91 billion yuan ($97.79 billion), according to data published by the National Bureau of Statistics. The jump was preceded by a 10.1% year on year increase in September.
Analysts said that the growth in profits at industrial companies was a clear sign of China's steady recovery. At the height of the pandemic, the country's manufacturing sector was affected and output hit lows as factories were forced to shut.
The sharp increase in profits was bolstered by the increase in investment income throughout the industry, bureau statistician Zhu Hong said in a report published Friday. He said the jump could also be attributed to the low base reported over the same month last year.
China's industrial sector has gone into high gear in recent months as demand for its exports increased. Premier Li Keqiang said earlier in the week that he expected economic activity in the country to recover to a "reasonable range" by next year.
China was one of the first countries to be hit by the pandemic. It was also the first to reopen. While other countries were shutting factories, China was preparing to restart production.
Bureau data showed an increase in profits generated by equipment and electronics manufacturers in October. Steady profits were also generated by the country's motor-vehicle manufacturers.
For the first 10 months of the year, China's state-owned industrial companies reported a 7.5% decline in earnings compared with the same period last year. Meanwhile, private sector industrial companies reported a 1.1% profit growth for the same period.
The bureau's latest report covers earnings data from big private and state-owned companies with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan.
