BEIJING - Profits of China's major industrial firms fell 2.3 percent year-on-year in the January-May period, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Thursday.

The decline narrowed 1.1 percentage points from the first four months, according to the NBS.

Combined profits of industrial firms with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan ($2.91 million) amounted to 2.38 trillion yuan in the first five months.

Specifically, profits of State-owned industrial firms dropped 9.7 percent from one year earlier to 734.23 billion yuan, while those of private ones reached 607.27 billion yuan, a 6.6-percent year-on-year increase.

Major industrial firms' operating revenue reached 41.61 trillion yuan in the period, up 5.1 percent from year-on-year, the NBS data showed.

Assets of major industrial firms totaled 113.35 trillion yuan, up 6.3 percent year-on-year.

Companies in mining posted a profit growth of 4.7 percent in the five months, while those in the manufacturing industry saw a 4.1-percent decline in profits.

Among the 41 sub-sectors, 26 saw higher profits and 15 reported lower earnings.