BEIJING — China's papermaking industry posted expanding profits during the first three quarters, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

The sector saw the profits rise by 13.3 percent year-on-year to 48.11 billion yuan (about $7.26 billion).

Meanwhile, combined revenue of the papermaking industry totaled 910.74 billion yuan from January to September, down by 5 percent from the same period last year.

MIIT data also showed that paper output stood at 91.02 million tons in the January-September period, decreasing by 1.8 percent year-on-year.

In September alone, paper output increased by 5.3 percent year-on-year to 11.51 million tons.