China's industrial enterprises saw their profits increase 25.4 percent year-on-year to reach 5.45 trillion yuan (863.68 billion U.S. dollars) in 2011, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday.
The growth rate rebounded from 24.4 percent in the first 11 months of last year, NBS figures showed.
But it marked a gradual downshift from 32 percent year-on-year growth seen during the first quarter, 28.7 percent during the first half, and 27 percent in the first three quarters.
In December alone, industrial profits expanded 31.5 percent from a year earlier to 790.7 billion yuan, the NBS said.
The NBS compiled the figures using data collected from a pool of industrial businesses with at least 20 million yuan in annual sales revenues each.
Among 39 industries surveyed, 37 sectors reported year-on-year profit growth in 2011, while two saw profit decline.
Profits of the petroleum and natural gas extraction businesses jumped 44.8 percent year-on-year, and those of the ferrous metal mining sector surged 53 percent.
Meanwhile, profits of the oil refining, coking and nuclear-fuel processing sector plunged 92.8 percent year-on-year. Electricity and heating power producers and suppliers saw profits down 11 percent.
Profits of private businesses rose the most last year, up 46 percent year-on-year, followed by collectively-owned enterprises (34 percent) and equity-holding companies (31.2 percent).