BEIJING — 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 metric tons, 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 ($102.2 billion), 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.