BEIJING — China's centrally-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) saw profits and revenues dive during the first quarter, due to multiple downward factors including the novel coronavirus epidemic and slumping oil prices, the country's state asset regulator said on April 20.

Revenues fell 11.8 percent year-on-year to 6 trillion yuan ($857 billion) during the first quarter, while profits plunged 58.8 percent year-on-year to 130.4 billion yuan, Peng Huagang, spokesman for the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, told a press conference.

Over 80 percent of central SOEs reported falling revenues during the period, he said.

It was a "hard-earned result", as the central SOEs have faced unprecedented challenges such as the coronavirus epidemic and slumping oil prices, Peng said.

The profit and revenue declines will be "short-lived and can be reversed" through effective measures and hard work, he said.

POSITIVE SIGNS

Noting that the country's economic and social order is steadily returning to normal, Peng said the operations of central SOEs have shown positive signs of improvement.

During the first quarter, the output of crude oil and raw coal produced by central SOEs maintained growth. The value of new contracts signed by construction enterprises increased 3.7 percent year-on-year, with those of overseas deals surging 18 percent from a year earlier.

Investment in key industries has kept steady growth in the first quarter. Fixed-asset investment of petrochemical SOEs jumped 12.4 percent year-on-year, while that of telecommunications SOEs and electricity SOEs grew 12.3 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

Most central SOEs fared better in March as the epidemic waned, and they revved up work resumption. Their revenues reached 2.2 trillion yuan last month, recovering to the January level.

So far, 99.4 percent of central SOEs have resumed production.

Data also showed that the overall solvency of central SOEs remained stable in the first three months. The average debt-to-asset ratio of central SOEs stood at 65.6 percent by the end of March, down 0.1 percentage point year-on-year.

Central SOEs will endeavor to stabilize operations, bolster supply chains, as well as prevent bankruptcies, dramatic pay cuts and layoffs over the rest of the year, Peng said.

China currently has 97 central SOEs.