Profits at China's industrial firms posted smaller gains for the first quarter compared with the first two months of the year, official data showed on Saturday.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that industrial enterprises with annual revenue of at least 20 million yuan ($2.8 million) saw their total profits increase 4.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter after a 10.2 percent rise in the first two months. Profits fell 3.5 percent year-on-year in March.

NBS statistician Yu Weining said the latest data point to the uneven recovery in industrial profits, and the recovery foundation is not yet solid.

More efforts will be made to encourage a new round of large-scale equipment renewal and trade-in of old consumer goods, expanding domestic demand and boosting market confidence, Yu said.

Among the 41 major industrial sectors surveyed, 28 saw year-on-year growth in their profits in the first quarter.

In the first three months, profits recorded by industrial firms that offer supplies of electricity, heat, gas and water grew by 40 percent year-on-year, and profits recorded by manufacturing companies rose by 7.9 percent. Meanwhile, profits recorded by mining firms shrank 18.5 percent.

Notably, profits at high-tech manufacturing firms and equipment manufacturing enterprises surged 29.1 percent and 18 percent, respectively, in the first quarter.

According to a breakdown of the NBS data, State-owned firms saw earnings fall 2.6 percent year-on-year in the first three months. Foreign firms saw an 18.1 percent rise and private-sector companies recorded a 5.8 percent growth.

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