China's state-owned companies reported an 8.6 percent profit decline in the first four months compared with a year earlier as the world's second-biggest economy continued to slow.
The pace of expansion in industrial production weakened sharply in April and fixed asset investment - a key driver of the economy - hit its lowest level in nearly a decade.
State enterprises made a combined profit of 669 billion yuan ($105.8 billion), the Ministry of Finance said on its website on Thursday.
Government-owned companies in the tobacco, automobile and telecommunications sectors reported strong profit growth, while those in the transportation, chemicals, building materials and nonferrous metals industries experienced sharp drops, the ministry said.
Total revenue rose 12.4 percent in the period from a year earlier, while expenses increased 14.1 percent, according to the ministry.
In April alone, overall profit fell 0.5 percent from March, the ministry said, without giving more details.
Source: Reuters