BEIJING — China's home appliance sector saw steady expansion in the first four months of the year, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed.

During the period, the industry's operating revenue gained 44.8 percent year-on-year to 521.71 billion yuan (about $81.7 billion), according to the ministry.

The combined profit of the industry reached 29.96 billion yuan during the period, up 33.9 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said.

In the January-April period, China's outputs of refrigerators and washing machines hit 29.45 million units and 29.17 million units, respectively, both registering an increase of over 40 percent year-on-year, the data showed.