Profits of large-scale industrial enterprises achieved rapid growth in January-February.

1—2 months saw rapid growth in profits for industrial enterprises above designated size

—— Chief Statistician Yu Weining of the Industrial Division of the National Bureau of Statistics interprets the profit data for industrial enterprises for January-February 2026

In January-February, various regions and departments accelerated the implementation of more proactive macro policies, focusing on the integrated effects of existing policies and incremental policies. The profit growth of industrial enterprises above designated size accelerated, with most industries experiencing a rebound in profits. The equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing sectors saw rapid profit growth, and the performance of industrial enterprises showed a continuous recovery trend.

The profits of industrial enterprises grew rapidly, with accelerated growth in operating income. In January-February, profits of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 15.2% year-on-year, an acceleration of 14.6 percentage points compared to the entire previous year. From the perspective of gross profit calculated by deducting operating costs from operating income, the gross profit of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 6.9% year-on-year in January-February, remaining flat for the entire previous year, strongly supporting the rapid growth in profits of these enterprises. Among the three main sectors, in January-February, manufacturing increased by 18.9%, accelerating by 13.9 percentage points compared to the previous year; mining increased by 9.9%, which had decreased by 26.2% in the previous year; and electricity, heat, gas, and water production and supply increased by 3.7%. Driven by factors such as accelerated production and a rebound in product prices, the operating income of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 5.3% year-on-year in January-February, accelerating by 4.2 percentage points compared to the previous year, with significant improvement in operating income growth, creating favorable conditions for the recovery of corporate profits.

Most industries achieved profit growth, with over 60% of industries rebounding. In January-February, among 41 major industrial categories, 24 industries saw profits increase year-on-year, with a growth rate of 58.5%; 26 industries experienced profit growth that accelerated compared to the previous year or narrowed their decline, with a rebound rate exceeding 60%.

The “ballast” role of the equipment manufacturing industry is evident, and the profit structure of industrial enterprises continues to optimize. In January-February, the operating income of the equipment manufacturing industry above designated size increased by 8.9% year-on-year, exceeding all industrial enterprises above designated size by 3.6 percentage points. Rapid growth in operating income drove the profit of the equipment manufacturing industry above designated size to increase by 23.5% year-on-year, accelerating by 15.8 percentage points compared to the previous year; profits from the equipment manufacturing industry accounted for 30.4% of all industrial enterprises above designated size, an increase of 2.0 percentage points year-on-year, with a continuously optimizing profit structure. By industry, among the eight sectors of equipment manufacturing, five achieved profit growth, with electronic, railway, shipbuilding, aerospace, and electrical machinery industries experiencing rapid profit growth of 203.5%, 11.4%, and 6.2% year-on-year, respectively.

Profits in high-tech manufacturing grew rapidly, enhancing its leading role. In January-February, profits of high-tech manufacturing industries above designated size increased by 58.7% year-on-year, accelerating by 45.4 percentage points compared to the previous year; this contributed 7.9 percentage points to the overall profit growth of industrial enterprises above designated size, with its contribution enhancing by 5.5 percentage points compared to the previous year. By industry, the manufacturing of intelligent products developed positively, with profits in the manufacture of intelligent unmanned aerial vehicles, intelligent automotive equipment, and other intelligent consumer devices increasing by 59.3%, 50.0%, and 31.3%, respectively; the rapid development of the semiconductor industry drove profit growth in related chain industries, with profits in semiconductor discrete devices, optoelectronic devices, and electronic circuit manufacturing increasing by 130.5%, 56.1%, and 19.5%, respectively.

New momentum significantly boosted profits in related raw material manufacturing industries. In January-February, driven by the rapid development and increasing demand of new momentum-related industries, profits in the raw material manufacturing industry above designated size increased by 88.3% year-on-year, accelerating by 71.1 percentage points compared to the previous year. By industry, the non-ferrous sector experienced a profit increase of 148.2%, with profits in aluminum rolling processing, non-ferrous metal alloy manufacturing, and copper rolling processing increasing by 264.0%, 205.1%, and 50.8%, respectively; the chemical industry saw profits increase by 35.9%, with profits in inorganic salt manufacturing, inorganic acid manufacturing, and organic fertilizers and microbial fertilizers manufacturing increasing by 518.5%, 306.3%, and 38.5%, respectively.

Unit costs for industrial enterprises decreased, and profit margins improved. In January-February, the cost per 100 yuan of operating income for industrial enterprises above designated size was 84.83 yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 0.24 yuan, marking the first year-on-year decline in cumulative costs since 2022; the profit margin on operating income was 4.92%, an increase of 0.43 percentage points year-on-year.

Profits improved across enterprises of different sizes, with private enterprises seeing a rebound in profit growth. By size, in January-February, profits of medium-sized industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 31.5% year-on-year, accelerating by 27.3 percentage points compared to the previous year; profits of large and small enterprises shifted from declines of 0.2% and 0.8% in the previous year to growth of 8.7% and 17.1%, respectively. By type of enterprise, state-controlled enterprises saw profits increase by 5.3% year-on-year, compared to a decline of 3.9% in the previous year; private enterprises reported a profit growth of 37.2%, remaining flat in the previous year.

Overall, while profits of industrial enterprises above designated size grew rapidly, it is important to recognize the fluctuations in the international environment, the rising external risks, especially the spillover risks from geopolitical conflicts, and the numerous instability and uncertainty factors. At the same time, the recovery of profits for industry enterprises during the domestic economic transition period remains uneven. In the next phase, it is essential to thoroughly implement the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference and the deployments from the National Two Sessions, continuously expand domestic demand, optimize supply, develop new types of productive forces tailored to local conditions, deepen the construction of a unified national market, and promote the sustained and healthy development of the industrial economy.

(Editor: Wenjing)

Keywords:

                                                            Industrial enterprises