BEIJING — China's major battery manufacturers reported skyrocketing profits during the first nine months of this year, official data showed.

Profits of major battery companies hiked 49.4 percent year-on-year to 24.52 billion yuan ($3.5 billion) during the nine-month period, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Business revenues climbed 13.2 percent from a year earlier to 567.94 billion yuan.

Among the industry's staple products, lithium-ion battery logged an output of 10.83 billion units during the period, up 7.7 percent year-on-year, while output of primary battery and battery packs reached 29.53 billion units, a 2.6-percent increase.

Major battery companies refer to those with annual business turnover of at least 20 million yuan.