BEIJING: Profits at China's state-owned firms in the first 10 months were down 10.6 percent from a year earlier, a milder rate of decline than the 17.6 percent drop in the first three quarters, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.

Profits at state-owned enterprises (SOEs) rose 9.2 percent in October from September, driven by revenue growth in the automotive, property and petrochemical sectors, it added.

SOE revenues rose 0.5 percent in the January-October period compared with a year earlier, the first instance of positive growth this year, the ministry said.

Enterprises controlled by the central government posted combined profits of 767.9 billion yuan in the first 10 months, down 7.4 percent from a year earlier, while those backed by local governments registered profits of 296.5 billion yuan, down 17.9 percent.

Inventories at SOEs rose 7.2 percent in the first 10 months from the same period a year earlier, compared with a 6.7 percent increase in the first nine months.

The improvement in state firms' profits echoed the broader recovery in the Chinese economy, with manufacturing surveys pointing to stronger order books and industrial growth hitting its fastest clip in 19 months in October.