BEIJING — Profits of China’s major industrial firms fell 8.8 percent year on year in August, sharply down from 2.9 percent decline posted in July, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Sept 28.

Profits at industrial companies with annual revenues of more than 20 million yuan (about $3.1 million) totaled 448.1 billion yuan in August.

Industrial profits of these firms in the first eight months dropped 1.9 percent year on year to around 3.77 trillion yuan, the NBS said. The decline widened from the one percent decrease registered in the Jan-July period.