China's industrial profits down 4.2% for Jan-Feb

BEIJING -- Profits of Chinese industrial businesses hit 745.24 billion yuan ($121.5 billion) in the first two months of 2015, down 4.2 percent year-on-year, official data showed on Friday.

The figure narrowed from the 8-percent decline seen in last December, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

The bureau's calculations include companies with annual revenues exceeding 20 million yuan.

NBS statistician He Ping attributed the profit decrease to lower prices, rising costs and significant profit declines in the oil and coal industries.