BEIJING, Sept 24 (Reuters) - China's industrial firms made profits of 324.6 billion yuan ($39.2 billion) in the first eight months of 2002, up 10 percent from a year earlier, the State Statistical Bureau said on Tuesday.
The profit growth was 1.9 percentage points higher than the first seven months of the year, boosted by strong earnings from the chemicals, transport equipment and coal sectors, the bureau said in a statement.
"During the January to August period, the economic performance of industrial enterprises continued improving with their profit growth accelerating," the statement said.
Profits of chemical producers rose by 4.2 billion yuan between January and August from a year earlier, while those of makers of transport equipment, including cars, soared by 8.9 billion yuan, the bureau said.
Profits of coal producers rose by 3.7 billion yuan in the January to August period from a year earlier while those of machinery producers climbed by 3.3 billion yuan, the bureau said.
Their increased earnings accounted for 68.1 percent of the increased profits in the industrial sector, it said.
Analysts say the profit growth of Chinese industrial firms is picking up steadily thanks to an improving economy, driven by strong exports and sustained state spending on infrastructure.
But state-owned industrial firms were lagging behind with profits falling 4.1 percent in the first eight months of the year to 152.6 billion yuan, the bureau said.
The drop was less steep than a 6.7 percent drop in the first seven months of the year and a 11.2 percent plunge in the first half of the year shown in earlier official figures.
China said in 2000 it had pulled the state sector out of the red, but has since admitted that only 30 percent of the improved profitability was from greater efficiency, with the rest coming from state support and overall economic growth.
Analysts say many state industrial giants, saddled with bloated payrolls and shoddy products in fading industries, are teetering on the verge of bankruptcy.
China's industrial profits started taking knocks early last year as the global economic slowdown undermined exports and nagging deflation caused in part by competitive price cuts. ($1=8.277 Yuan)