(ATF) China’s 83 centrally administered state-owned-enterprises (SOEs) reported a 58.8% year-on-year decline in their combined net profit to 130.4 billion yuan (US$18.4 billion) in the first quarter of this year.
Revenue fell 11.8% to 6 trillion yuan for the period, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council.
Peng Huagang, a spokesperson for the SASAC, said 57 of the 83 central SOEs recorded a decrease in their net profits, while the remaining 26 companies recorded a net loss during the first quarter.
Central SOEs faced unprecedented challenges including the novel coronavirus epidemic and slumping oil prices during the first quarter, Peng said.
Peng emphasised that most central SOEs posted better results in March after they resumed their operations and production. He said their combined revenue reached 2.2 trillion yuan last month, roughly the same as that in January.
Last Friday, the SASAC in a video conference called on the central SOEs to beware of imported cases of Covid-19 infections and try their best to reduce the negative impact of the epidemic on their operations.
