BEIJING — The output of China’s building materials sector expanded steadily in the first half of this year (H1), official data showed.

Output of the building materials industry increased by 10 percent year-on-year, with the output of cement and flat glass both registering a growth of 6.8 percent, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)

The sector raked in 2 trillion yuan ($291 billion) in revenue in the first five months, up 13.4 percent from a year ago, while the profit increased 13 percent to 166.9 billion yuan.

The MIIT data also showed the overall factory price of the sector picked up.

In June, the price of cement increased by 0.6 percent year-on-year, while that of flat glass dropped 4.2 percent.

The data came as the property sector, a major consumer of cement and flat glass, saw growing investment in H1.

China’s real estate investment increased 10.9 percent year-on-year in January-June to 6.16 trillion yuan, with 73.3 percent flowing into residential housing, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.