BEIJING, June 28 (Reuters) - Profits at China's industrial firms shrank by 18.8% year-on-year in the first five months of 2023, official data showed on Wednesday, as companies wrestled with margin squeezes from softening demand amid a stumbling post-COVID economic recovery.
The tumble followed a 20.6% profit fall in the January-April period, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Industrial profit numbers cover firms with annual revenues of at least 20 million yuan ($2.77 million) from their main operations.
($1 = 7.2182 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Reporting by Qiaoyi Li and Ryan Woo Editing by Shri Navaratnam
Source: Reuters