(Bloomberg) -- Profits at Chinese industrial firms shrank at a slower pace last month as easing Covid restrictions allowed companies to resume production and improve logistics and sales.

Industrial profits fell 6.5% in May from a year earlier, narrowing from April’s 8.5% drop, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday. In the first five months of the year, profits grew 1%, slower than the 3.5% growth recorded through the January-to-April period. 

“Sales at industrial enterprises improved, driven by the gradual resumption of production and logistics, and the recovery of industrial chain,” NBS analyst Zhu Hong said in a statement.

Factories have struggled during the latest outbreak as lockdowns roiled production. The impact of restrictions in May was less damaging than in April as many cities began to ease up on their strictest measures, though the recovery continues to be slow as officials remain vigilant about curbing outbreaks.

Earlier data showed industrial output increased 0.7% in May, reversing from a drop of 2.9% in the previous month -- improvement that provided some support for earnings.

Beijing has made frequent pledges to boost growth. Last week, President Xi Jinping reaffirmed the country’s 2022 growth target of about 5.5%, saying that the government would “strengthen macro-policy adjustment and adopt more effective measures” to strive to meet its goals. 

Economists expect hitting that target to be a significant challenge, though, with those polled by Bloomberg in a recent survey expecting full-year growth to hit just over 4% this year. 

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