STATISTICS South Africa said profitability ratios, or net profit after tax on turnover, for several divisions in the manufacturing industry are up. These include the textile, clothing, leather and footwear divisions, wood, paper and printing divisions, as well as the machinery and transport divisions which are higher in the second quarter of 1999, compared to the first quarter. But SSA said that overall there’s a declining trend in the profitability ratio of the manufacturing industry, which started at the end of 1995, continuing up to March this year. It said the level of capital expenditure on new assets in June 1999 was lower than in June last year due to the finalisation of large capital projects towards the end of 1998, mainly in the basic iron and steel products division.