工业企业利润点评（2024.10）：营收改善幅度弱于利润，价格或是主要拖累

Group 1: Profit and Revenue Trends - In October, industrial enterprise profits decreased by 4.3% year-on-year, with a significant narrowing of the decline from 10.0% in September, reflecting a 17.1 percentage point improvement[1] - Industrial revenue showed a slight recovery of 0.2% year-on-year in October, indicating limited improvement due to the deepening decline in PPI[1] - The cumulative cost rate increased by 0.01 percentage points to 1.5%, with revenue costs rising by 0.5 percentage points, further dragging down profit margins by 3.4 percentage points to -16.3%[1] Group 2: Factors Influencing Profitability - The reduction in LPR by 25 basis points led to a significant decrease in enterprise expenses, with the cumulative expense ratio falling by 0.04 percentage points to 8.42%[1] - Non-operating profits, primarily from investment income, rebounded by 11.4 percentage points to +3.5%, contributing to the narrowing profit decline[1] - The mining industry saw a profit decline deepening by 2.0 percentage points to -12.7%, while manufacturing profits fell by 0.4 percentage points to -4.2%[2] Group 3: Inventory and Demand Insights - Nominal and actual inventory levels dropped significantly, with nominal finished goods inventory down 0.7 percentage points to 39% year-on-year[2] - Actual inventory also decreased by 0.6 percentage points to 7.0%, indicating a moderate pace of replenishment influenced by ongoing price declines[2] - The recovery in consumer demand is primarily driven by fiscal subsidies, but businesses remain cautious about the sustainability of this demand[2]