Profits earned by Chinese industrial companies fell 4.6 percent in October from a year earlier, data from the statistics bureau showed on Friday, declining for the fifth consecutive month. Industrial profits – which cover large enterprises with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan ($3.13 million) from their main operations – fell 2.0 percent in the first 10 months of the year compared with the same period a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on its website. In September, profits fell 0.1 percent from a year earlier. The impact of foreign exchange and lower investment income on companies’ profits were less pronounced in October than in prior months, the statistics bureau said in a statement. Falling sales, rising costs and hits to profit in […]