BEIJING - Profits of Chinese industrial businesses dipped 0.4 percent year on year to 508.6 billion yuan ($82.8 billion) in March, official data showed on Monday.

The decline narrowed sharply from a 4.2 percent slump in the Jan-Feb period, said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Dragged by the sagging performance in the first two months, China's industrial profits shrank by 2.7 percent in the first quarter to 1.25 trillion yuan.

The bureau's calculations include companies with annual revenues exceeding 20 million yuan.

NBS statistician He Ping attributed the improvement in March to lower raw material prices and operating costs, and higher investment returns in industrial businesses.