An employee assembles multi-wire sawing equipment at a workshop of Yantai Likai Numerical Control Technology Co., Ltd. in Yantai, east China's Shandong Province, Dec. 26, 2023. (Xinhua/Li An)

China's major industrial firms saw their combined profits increase for a fifth straight month in December 2023, official data showed on Saturday.

The profits of major industrial firms with annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.8 million U.S. dollars) increased by 16.8 percent year on year in December last year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

In 2023, the profits of major industrial firms reached 7.69 trillion yuan, down 2.3 percent year on year, with the pace of decline narrowing by 2.1 percentage points from the first 11 months.

Power, heating, gas, and water production and supply sectors emerged as top performers last year, with combined profits recording a remarkable year-on-year increase of 54.7 percent. The surge contributed 3.1 percentage points to the country's overall growth in industrial profits.

The profits of the equipment manufacturing sector increased by 4.1 percent in 2023, 2.4 percentage points higher than the growth rate registered in the previous year.

Among the 41 industrial categories monitored by the bureau, 27 recorded growth in profits, according to the NBS. 

Bolstered by the steady growth in fixed-asset investment, the raw material manufacturing sector saw significant improvements in profitability last year. The sector's profit decline narrowed by 17.8 percentage points in 2023 compared with the previous year. 

The consumer goods manufacturing sector saw its profit decline shrink by 10 percentage points from the previous year, thanks to the implementation of various measures aimed at stimulating consumption, the NBS said.

Speaking about Saturday's data, NBS statistician Yu Weining noted that China's industrial profits maintained an overall trend of recovery in 2023. He added that efforts should be continued to expand domestic demand, build up market confidence, enhance the vitality of businesses, and expedite the establishment of a modern industrial system.