BEIJING -- Major Chinese industrial businesses saw their profits rise 15.1 percent year on year in October, slowing from 18.4 percent in September, official data showed on Thursday.

Total profits of industrial companies with annual revenues of more than 20 million yuan ($3.26 million) reached 581.04 billion yuan in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.

In the first 10 months, their profits rose 13.7 percent from the same period last year to 4.63 trillion yuan, accelerating from 13.5 percent in the first nine months.

Among the 41 industries surveyed, 35 posted year-on-year profit growth during the January-October period, 5 saw their profit decline, while the oil refining, coking and nuclear fuel processing sector turned losses into gains, the NBS said.

In a breakdown, private businesses led the growth, with their combined profits up 17.5 percent year on year in the first 10 months, while state-run enterprises saw profits up 9.1 percent during the period.