China's 50 key state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the machinery industry recorded an aggregated profit of 2.41 billion yuan (about US$291 million) in the first quarter of this year, up 22 percent from the same period last year.

Statistics released Monday by the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) show that in the first quarter, the 50 enterprises finished a total industrial output of 56.36 billion yuan (US$6.8 billion), up 19.6 percent from the same period last year, the growth rate fell by 0.2 percentage points compared with the first two months of this year.

Meanwhile, the enterprises realized a total business income of 58.74 billion yuan (US$7.09 billion) in the quarter, up 20.1 percent, or 4.7 percentage points faster than the first two months of this year. The sales to output ratio stood at 93.3 percent, down 2.5 percentage points from the same period last year.

By the end of March, the total stock value was 20.6 billion yuan (US$2.49 billion), up 13.2 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency May 3, 2005)