BEIJING, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Chinese industrial profits in a wide sample of provinces declined 17.3 percent in the first seven months from a year earlier, a slower pace of decline than a month earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday.
Profits in the same group of 22 provinces dropped 21.2 percent in the first half of the year, the NBS said.
It added that in the first seven months of the year, profits actually rose for 14 of the 39 industries it surveyed, including the rubber and general equipment manufacturing sectors.
Another nine industries saw their losses narrow, including oil exploration, steel and non-ferrous metals.
The figures cover only companies above a certain size, and exclude many smaller companies that have been hit hardest by the economic slowdown. However, the figures offer a rough guide to profitability trends.
The 22 Chinese provinces represent 78.6 percent of industrial profits in China, including all Chinese provinces and regions apart from Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Hunan, Guangdong, Anhui, Hainan, Chongqing, Yunnan and Tibet.
In its more extensive nationwide survey, which is published four times a year, the NBS said industrial profits fell 22.9 percent in the first five months of 2009. (Reporting by Langi Chiang and Jason Subler; Editing by Ken Wills)