BEIJING, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Profits at China's major industrial firms surged in 2017 on the back of the country's supply-side structural reform, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday.

Industrial companies with annual revenue over 20 million yuan (about 3 million U.S. dollars) reported total profits of more than 7.5 trillion yuan in 2017, up 21 percent from 2016, the NBS said in a statement.

The growth rate was slightly slower than the 21.9 percent in January-November, but was 12.5 percentage points faster than the 2016 reading, marking the strongest growth since 2012.

In December alone, the profits rose 10.8 percent year on year, down from 14.9-percent growth in November.

NBS statistician He Ping attributed the fast profit growth to the ongoing supply-side structural reform.

"The manufacturing and business environment for enterprises have been improving, as the country has made headway in cutting industrial overcapacity and lowering corporate costs," He said. "The industrial sector is expected to further shift its focus toward high-quality development from high-speed expansion."