Zhu Hong, senior statistician of the Department of Industry of the National Bureau of Statistics, interprets the profit data of industrial enterprises

In the third quarter of 2021, industrial production continued to recover, profits maintained a good growth trend, the efficiency of enterprises continued to improve, and the profitability, asset-liability ratio and capital turnover continued to improve year-on-year.

First, the profits of industrial enterprises have maintained rapid growth

From January to September, the profits of industrial enterprises above designated size in the country increased by 44.7% year-on-year, with an average growth of 18.8% in two years (based on the same period in 2019, calculated by geometric average method). In the third quarter, the profits of industrial enterprises increased by 14.3% year-on-year, continuing to maintain double-digit growth; the average growth rate in two years was 15.1%, and the growth rate was slightly lower than that in the second quarter, and the overall growth momentum was maintained. Among them, the profit in September increased by 16.3% year-on-year, and the growth rate was 6.2 percentage points faster than that of the previous month.

More than 70% of the industry's profit scale exceeds the pre-epidemic level. In the third quarter, among the 41 industrial sectors, 29 industries increased their profits by 70.7% compared with the same period in 2019, and the overall efficiency of most industries was better than before the epidemic. Among them, there are 18 industries with an average profit growth rate of 10% or more than 10% in two years.

Profits in high-tech manufacturing have grown rapidly. In the third quarter, the profit of high-tech manufacturing increased by 33.6% year-on-year, and the growth rate was 19.3 percentage points higher than the average level of industries above designated size, which played a significant leading role. Among them, the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry is driven by factors such as large demand for vaccines at home and abroad, and the production and marketing of enterprises is booming, and the profit in the third quarter increased by 66.8% year-on-year, continuing the rapid growth trend since the beginning of the year; the electronic and communication equipment manufacturing industry was driven by the steady growth of enterprise income, investment income from the decline to increase, and the profit increased by 33.4% year-on-year, and the growth rate was 14.6 percentage points faster than that of the second quarter; the profit of the aerospace and equipment manufacturing industry increased by 25.4% year-on-year, maintaining rapid growth.

The profit scale of mining and raw material manufacturing has expanded significantly. In the third quarter, the profit of the mining industry increased by 2.04 times year-on-year, and the raw material manufacturing industry increased by 42.5%, continuing to maintain a rapid growth trend, providing important support for the improvement of the profitability of industrial enterprises. Among them, driven by factors such as the continuous rise in product prices, in the third quarter, the profit of the coal industry increased by 2.72 times year-on-year, and the growth rate was significantly accelerated compared with the second quarter; the profits of oil and gas exploitation, nonferrous metals, petroleum processing, chemical industry, and steel industries increased by 2.97 times, 77.6%, 70.8%, 69.3%, and 42.6% respectively, all of which achieved rapid growth.

Profits in the consumer goods manufacturing industry recovered steadily. In the third quarter, as market demand continued to recover, the profit of consumer goods manufacturing increased by 9.7% year-on-year, with an average growth of 12.0% in two years, showing a stable recovery trend. Among them, the profit of the chemical fiber industry increased by 2.15 times year-on-year, showing rapid growth; the profit of the furniture manufacturing, culture, education, industry and art industries increased by 10.6% and 8.3% respectively, and the growth was relatively stable.

Second, the operation status of enterprises has improved significantly

Unit fees have fallen and profitability has increased. In the third quarter, with the continuous effectiveness of policy measures such as tax reduction and fee reduction and support for the development of the real economy, the expenses of industrial enterprises above designated size per 100 yuan of operating income decreased by 0.39 yuan year-on-year, a significant decline. The profit margin of enterprise operating income was 6.70%, an increase of 0.13 percentage points year-on-year. At the end of September, the asset-liability ratio of enterprises continued to decline, and at the end of September, the asset-liability ratio of enterprises was 56.3%, down 0.5 percentage points year-on-year and 0.1 percentage points lower than the end of the previous month.

Capital turnover is accelerated and operational efficiency is improved. At the end of September, the accounts receivable and finished product inventories of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 11.5% and 13.7% respectively year-on-year, and the growth rate fell by 0.6 and 0.5 percentage points respectively from the end of the previous month, and the working capital occupation improved. The average recovery period of corporate accounts receivable was shortened by 3.8 days year-on-year, and 0.4 days shorter than the end of the previous month. The number of days of inventory turnover of finished products decreased by 1.5 days year-on-year and 0.3 days shorter than the end of the previous month. The efficiency of the use of enterprise funds has been improved, and the operating conditions have been further improved.

In the third quarter, the profits of industrial enterprises above designated size maintained a good growth trend, but factors such as the high operation of commodity prices and the lack of smooth supply chain industry chain affected the sustained recovery of corporate profits, while the imbalance between upstream and downstream industries was more prominent, and the basis for the recovery of industrial enterprises' benefits still needed to be further consolidated. In the next step, in accordance with the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, we should do a good job in normalizing epidemic prevention and control, maintain the continuity and stability of macro policies, do a good job in cross-cyclical adjustment of the economy, stabilize commodity prices, continue to expand domestic demand, promote transformation and upgrading, stimulate the vitality of market players, and ensure that the industrial economy operates within a reasonable range.