BEIJING — China's building materials sector saw positive growth in April, recovering from the contraction in the first quarter as the country strive to contain COVID-19 epidemic and advance work resumption.

The value-added output of the sector rose 4.4 percent year-on-year in April, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Major building materials posted an increase, with the output of cement registering a year-on-year growth of 3.8 percent.

The sector's profits climbed 11.1 percent from the previous year to 42.8 billion yuan (about $6 billion) during the period.