National Bureau of Statistics: Profits of above-scale industrial enterprises increased rapidly in January and February

National Bureau of Statistics: Profits of Large-scale Industrial Enterprises Nationwide Grew by 15.2% in February

In January-February, large-scale industrial enterprises achieved rapid profit growth

— Interpretation of January-February 2026 industrial enterprise profit data by Chief Statistician Yu Weining of the Industrial Department of the National Bureau of Statistics

In January-February, various regions and departments accelerated the implementation of more proactive macro policies, focusing on the integrated effects of existing and incremental policies. The profit growth of large-scale industrial enterprises accelerated, with most industries experiencing profit recovery, and the equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing industries seeing rapid profit growth. The profit situation of industrial enterprises continues to show a trend of sustained recovery.

Profits of industrial enterprises grew rapidly, and operating income growth accelerated. In January-February, the profits of large-scale industrial enterprises nationwide 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 large-scale industrial enterprises in January-February increased by 6.9% year-on-year, remaining flat for the entire previous year, effectively supporting the rapid profit growth of large-scale industrial enterprises. In terms of the three major categories, in January-February, the manufacturing industry grew by 18.9%, accelerating by 13.9 percentage points compared to the entire previous year; the mining industry grew by 9.9%, which had decreased by 26.2% for the entire previous year; and the electricity, heat, gas, and water production and supply industry grew by 3.7%. Driven by factors such as accelerated production and rising product prices, in January-February, the operating income of large-scale industrial enterprises increased by 5.3% year-on-year, an acceleration of 4.2 percentage points compared to the entire previous year, significantly improving income growth and creating favorable conditions for enterprise profit recovery.

Most industries saw profit growth, with over sixty percent of industries recovering. In January-February, among 41 major industrial categories, 24 industries experienced year-on-year profit growth, with a growth coverage of 58.5%; 26 industries saw profit growth accelerate or the decline narrow compared to the entire previous year, with a recovery coverage exceeding sixty percent.

The “ballast stone” 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 large-scale equipment manufacturing increased by 8.9% year-on-year, exceeding the overall large-scale industrial enterprises by 3.6 percentage points. The rapid growth in operating income drove the profits of large-scale equipment manufacturing to increase by 23.5% year-on-year, accelerating by 15.8 percentage points compared to the entire previous year; profits from large-scale equipment manufacturing accounted for 30.4% of all large-scale industrial enterprises, an increase of 2.0 percentage points year-on-year, with the profit structure continuously optimizing. By industry, among the eight sectors of equipment manufacturing, five sectors achieved profit growth, with the electronics, railway, shipbuilding, aerospace, and electrical machinery industries seeing rapid profit growth of 203.5%, 11.4%, and 6.2% year-on-year, respectively.

High-tech manufacturing profits grew rapidly, enhancing its leading role. In January-February, the profits of large-scale high-tech manufacturing increased by 58.7% year-on-year, an acceleration of 45.4 percentage points compared to the entire previous year; this contributed 7.9 percentage points to the profit growth of all large-scale industrial enterprises, with this driving effect enhanced by 5.5 percentage points compared to the entire previous year. By industry, the manufacturing of intelligent products is developing favorably, with profits from intelligent unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturing, intelligent vehicle equipment manufacturing, and other intelligent consumer device manufacturing increasing by 59.3%, 50.0%, and 31.3%, respectively; the rapid development of the semiconductor industry has driven profit growth in related industry chains, with profits from semiconductor discrete device manufacturing, optoelectronic device manufacturing, and electronic circuit manufacturing increasing by 130.5%, 56.1%, and 19.5%, respectively.

New momentum has significantly driven profits in related raw material manufacturing industries. In January-February, driven by the rapid development and increased demand in new momentum-related industries, the profits of large-scale raw material manufacturing increased by 88.3% year-on-year, accelerating by 71.1 percentage points compared to the entire previous year. By industry, profits in the non-ferrous sector grew by 148.2%, with profits from 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 grow by 35.9%, with profits from inorganic salt manufacturing, inorganic acid manufacturing, and organic fertilizer and microbial fertilizer manufacturing increasing by 518.5%, 306.3%, and 38.5%, respectively.

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

Profits of enterprises of different sizes have improved, with private enterprises’ profit growth accelerating. By size, in January-February, the profits of medium-sized large-scale industrial enterprises grew by 31.5% year-on-year, accelerating by 27.3 percentage points compared to the entire previous year; 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 enterprise type, profits of state-controlled enterprises increased by 5.3% year-on-year, compared to a decline of 3.9% for the entire previous year; profits of private enterprises grew by 37.2%, compared to being flat for the entire previous year.

Overall, the profits of large-scale industrial enterprises have grown rapidly, but it is also necessary to recognize that the international environment is volatile, external risks, especially the spillover risks of geopolitical conflicts, are rising, and there are many unstable and uncertain factors. At the same time, the recovery of profits among industries during the domestic economic transition period is still uneven. In the next stage, we must thoroughly implement the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference and the deployment from the National Two Sessions, continuously expand domestic demand, optimize supply, develop new quality productivity according to local conditions, deepen the construction of a unified national market, and promote the sustained and healthy development of the industrial economy.

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Editor: Shi Xiuzhen SF183