National Bureau of Statistics interpretation: Profit growth of large-scale industrial enterprises accelerated in the first quarter.

On April 27, the National Bureau of Statistics released the industrial enterprise profit data for the first quarter of 2026. Yu Weining, the chief statistician of the industrial department of the National Bureau of Statistics, interpreted that in the first quarter, faced with a complex economic environment, the Party Central Committee and the State Council timely increased macro-control efforts and implemented more active macroeconomic policies. The industrial economy steadily rebounded, with profits of industrial enterprises above a certain scale growing faster, profits of the equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing industries growing rapidly, profits of the raw materials manufacturing industry increasing by double digits, and the profitability of industrial enterprises showing a continuous improvement trend. Industrial enterprise profits accelerated. In the first quarter, profits of industrial enterprises above a certain scale nationwide increased by 15.5% year-on-year, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from January to February. From the perspective of gross profit calculated by deducting operating costs from operating income, the gross profit of industrial enterprises above a certain scale increased by 7.9% in the first quarter, an increase of 1.0 percentage points from January to February, providing strong support for the faster growth of profits of industrial enterprises above a certain scale. In March, profits of industrial enterprises above a certain scale nationwide increased by 15.8%, an increase of 0.6 percentage points from January to February. The role of the equipment manufacturing industry in supporting is evident. In the first quarter, profits of equipment manufacturing enterprises above a certain scale increased by 21.0% year-on-year, driving an increase of 6.8 percentage points in profits of all industrial enterprises above a certain scale; accounting for 33.7% of all industrial enterprise profits, an increase of 1.7 percentage points year-on-year. In terms of industry, in the first quarter, the electronics industry was driven by good production and price increases, with profits growing by 124.5%, making it the main force supporting the rapid growth of profits in the equipment manufacturing industry. The profits in the railway, shipbuilding, aviation, and aerospace industries increased by 16.7%, an increase of 5.3 percentage points from January to February. Profits in the high-tech manufacturing industry grew rapidly. In the first quarter, profits of high-tech manufacturing enterprises above a certain scale increased by 47.4% year-on-year, driving an increase of 7.9 percentage points in profits of all industrial enterprises above a certain scale. In terms of industry, industries related to artificial intelligence and semiconductors developed rapidly, driving profits in the fiber optic manufacturing, optoelectronic device manufacturing, and display device manufacturing industries to increase by 336.8%, 43.0%, and 36.3% respectively. The demand for intelligent products increased, with profits in the manufacturing of intelligent drones and other intelligent consumer devices increasing by 53.8% and 67.3% respectively. The profitability of the green manufacturing industry improved, with profits in the manufacturing of environmental monitoring instruments and lithium-ion batteries increasing by 100.0% and 25.0% respectively. Profits in the raw materials manufacturing industry maintained double-digit growth. In the first quarter, profits of raw materials manufacturing enterprises above a certain scale increased by 77.9% year-on-year, continuing to maintain a high-speed growth trend. In terms of industry, driven by the rapid development of strategic emerging industries such as aerospace, new energy, and new-generation information technology, profits in the non-ferrous metal industry increased by 116.7%. The petroleum processing industry turned losses into profits year-on-year, achieving a total profit of 22.94 billion yuan, with profits in the chemical industry increasing by 54.5%. Unit costs of industrial enterprises decreased, and profitability continued to improve. In the first quarter, the costs in industrial enterprises above a certain scale accounted for 84.93 yuan for every 100 yuan of operating income, a decrease of 0.40 yuan year-on-year, with unit costs of industrial enterprises continuously decreasing since the beginning of this year. In the first quarter, the operating profit margin of industrial enterprises above a certain scale was 5.11%, an increase of 0.46 percentage points year-on-year, reaching the highest level in the same period since 2023. Overall, profits of industrial enterprises above a certain scale grew faster in the first quarter. However, it should also be noted that there are many uncertainties in the external environment recently, and the domestic contradiction between strong supply and weak demand still needs to be resolved. In the next phase, it is necessary to fully implement the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference and the arrangements of the National Two Sessions, adhere to the principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, improve quality and efficiency, promote qualitative and effective improvement and reasonable growth in the industrial economy, and continue to consolidate the foundation for the good profitability of industrial enterprises. This article is compiled from the official website of the National Bureau of Statistics; GMTEight Editor: Chen Xiaoyi.