The earnings of State-owned enterprises (SOEs), excluding financial institutions, fell 2.9 percent to 1.11 trillion yuan ($162.63 billion) in the first nine months of the year, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.

The earnings dropped despite a 25 percent rise in their sales, which was 16.03 trillion yuan, the ministry said in a report on its website (mof.gov.cn).

The profits of SOEs, controlled directly by the central government, fell 9 percent to 780.22 billion yuan during the period.