The rise of industrial profits in March reflects structural improvements in the economy, official data suggested on Thursday.

Major industrial companies registered 23.8 percent year-on-year profit growth last month, down by 7.7 percentage points from the previous two months, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

In the first quarter of this year, the growth rate of company profits increased 28.3 percent year-on-year, down 3.2 percentage points compared with the first two months.