BEIJING, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- China's cement sector reported steady growth in the first three quarters of this year, official data showed.
The country's cement output stood at 1.69 billion tonnes, up 6.9 percent year on year in the first nine months, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
During the period, the sector garnered a total operating revenue of 719.9 billion yuan (about 102.2 billion U.S. dollars), up 14.3 percent year on year, the MIIT said.
The sector's combined profit surged 25.3 percent year on year to reach 131.8 billion yuan, with the profit growth outpacing that of the overall industrial sector by 27.4 percentage points.
Cement price saw continuous drops during the Jan.-Aug. period of this year, with the August cement price index falling 6.3 percent from January.
The cement industry has made progress in cutting overcapacity through deepening supply-side structural reform and will promote high-quality development in the future, according to the MIIT.
