This photo shows an automobile production line of the GAC Group in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, Feb 24, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Profits of China's major industrial firms increased 0.9% year on year in the first eight months of 2025, reversing the 1.7% decline in the January-July period, official data showed Saturday.

Industrial firms with an annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about $2.81 million) saw their combined profits totalling nearly 4.7 trillion yuan during the eight-month period, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

In August, profits of major industrial firms recovered remarkably, rising 20.4% from the same period last year, compared with a 1.5% drop in July. Their business revenue expanded 1.9% year on year, one percentage point faster than the previous month, the data showed.