BEIJING — Profits of Chinese State-owned enterprises (SOEs) grew steadily in the first seven months of the year, official data showed on Aug 23.

Their combined profits rose 7.3 percent year-on-year to 2.14 trillion yuan ($303 billion) in the period, the Ministry of Finance said in an online statement.

The pace edged up from the 7.2-percent increase in the first half.

During the period, SOEs in the sectors of power generation, construction and building materials registered rapid profit growth, the ministry said.

SOEs generated a revenue of 34.5 trillion yuan in the same period, up 7.7 percent year-on-year.

The debt-to-asset ratio of the SOEs stood at 64.4 percent as of the end of July, according to the ministry.