PROFITS of Chinese industrial enterprises in 24 regions climbed 61.1 percent year on year to 1.88 trillion yuan (US$275.90 billion) in the first seven months, the National Bureau of Statistics said today.

The growth rate was 10.7 percentage points lower than that in the first half year, said a statement on the NBS website.

Among the 39 industrial categories in the survey, total company profits in 36 grew year on year, according to the statement.

The survey covers industrial enterprises with main business revenues above 5 million yuan annually.

The 24 regions comprise all of the Chinese mainland provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions except the Inner Mongolia and Tibet autonomous regions; Hunan, Guangdong, Hainan and Yunnan provinces; and Chongqing.