China Q1 industrial profit up 12.1 pct

Major Chinese industrial firms saw their combined profit rise 12.1 percent year on year in the first quarter, slowing from the 17.2-percent rate seen during the January-February period, official data showed Saturday.

Profits at industrial companies with annual revenues of more than 20 million yuan (3.2 million U.S. dollars) amounted to 1.17 trillion yuan in the first three months, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.

In March alone, their profit moved up 5.3 percent year on year to 464.9 billion yuan.