China industrial profits +24.7% YoY in April 2026

In April 2026, China's industrial profits surged 24.7% year-on-year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). For the first four months of 2026, industrial profits grew 18.2% compared to the same period last year, accelerating by 2.7 percentage points from the January-March pace.

Breaking down the three main sectors, mining profits rose 26.0% in Jan-Apr, manufacturing gained 20.4%, while utilities (electricity, heat, gas, and water) posted a 1.9% decline, narrowing by 1.3 percentage points from the first quarter. Industrial revenue also grew steadily, with Jan-Apr revenue up 5.2% year-on-year, and April alone rising 5.7%, 1.3 points faster than March.

Equipment manufacturing remained a key driver, with profits up 15.4% in the first four months, contributing 5.4 percentage points to overall profit growth. The electronics industry was a standout, posting a 107.7% profit surge, responsible for 43.8% of total industrial profit growth, supported by rising demand and higher prices.

High-tech manufacturing profits jumped 44.8%, adding 7.8 percentage points to overall growth. Within this segment, semiconductor-linked sectors boomed: electronic special materials manufacturing profits soared 601.7%, optical fiber manufacturing rose 347.6%, and optoelectronic device manufacturing increased 51.0%. Automation and intelligent manufacturing also did well: industrial control computer and system manufacturing climbed 128.6%, test equipment manufacturing gained 58.8%, and industrial automatic control system device manufacturing rose 17.3%. Medical device profits grew 25.0% for dental equipment and 24.0% for sanitary materials and medical supplies.

Raw materials manufacturing saw profits accelerate 88.1% in Jan-Apr, 10.2 percentage points faster than Jan-Mar, contributing 10.3 points to total profit growth. Rising international crude oil prices boosted the petroleum processing industry, which turned from a loss to a profit of 404.2 billion yuan; chemical industry profits grew 73.4%, quickening by 18.9 percentage points. Strong demand for aluminum, copper, gold, and lithium from new energy, AI, and next-generation IT industries drove nonferrous metals profits up 117.8%, 1.1 points faster than in the first quarter.

Costs continued to fall. The cost per 100 yuan of revenue stood at 84.94 yuan in Jan-Apr, down 0.55 yuan year-on-year, marking four consecutive months of decline. The operating profit margin reached 5.43%, up 0.60 percentage points and the highest for the January-April period since 2023.

By enterprise size, large firms' profits rose 19.7%, medium firms 21.3%, and small firms 12.0%. By ownership, joint-stock companies gained 24.0%, private firms 23.7%, and state-controlled firms 17.1%.

While the data shows robust profit growth, the NBS cautioned that the external environment remains complex and volatile, and the domestic mismatch between strong supply and weak demand persists, creating difficulties for some enterprises. Going forward, the government will strengthen macroeconomic regulation, expand domestic demand, and optimize supply to support sustained healthy industrial development.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China. Original: https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/sjjd/202605/t20260527_1963807.html