Chinese industrial profits fell heavily in December, declining 4.7% from a year earlier according to data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics.
The drop, the seventh in a row, marked the steepest decline in profitability since August 2015.
Over 2015 profits decreased by 2.3%, a sharp reversal on the 3.3% increase registered in 2014.
The data covers large enterprises with annual revenues of more than 20 million yuan ($3.1 million) from their main operations.
The continued slide in profitability, largely due to sluggish domestic demand and severe overcapacity across many manufacturing industries, will do little to appease concerns surrounding the outlook for the broader Chinese economy.
Earlier this month the NBS reported that the Chinese economy grew 6.9% in 2015, the slowest increase recorded since 1990.
Data on industrial production, along with producer price inflation, also disappointed to the downside.
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