Beijing, Nov 27 (IANS): The profits of China's major industrial firms fell 4.6 percent year on year in October, worsening from the 0.1 percent decline posted in September, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday.

Profits at industrial companies with annual revenues of more than 20 million yuan (about $3.1 million) totalled 559.52 billion yuan in October, Xinhua reported.

Dropping sales and rising costs, as well as narrowing profits in the mining and raw material sectors, contributed to the decline, said He Ping, an official with the department of industry at the NBS.

Despite the industrial profit decline, there was growth in industries favoured by China's restructuring policies.

For example, profits in high-tech manufacturing sector rose 14.2 percent in October year on year, while the equipment manufacturing sector expanded 8.6 percent and sectors related to consumption rose 4.3 percent, according to He.

Industrial profits in the first 10 months of 2015 dropped two percent year on year to around 4.87 trillion yuan, the NBS said.

The decline widened from the 1.7 percent registered in the January-September period.