BEIJING — China's furniture sector registered stable expansion in the first quarter of this year (Q1), data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows.

The combined operating revenue of major manufacturers in the sector stood at 173.54 billion yuan ($25.56 billion), up 3.2 percent year-on-year, according to the ministry.

The total profits of these firms edged up 0.4 percent from the same period last year to 6.72 billion yuan.

Major furniture manufacturers are those companies with annual operating revenue of at least 20 million yuan.

Last year, these firms raked in 43.37 billion yuan of profits, while their operating revenue totaled 800.46 billion yuan, earlier data shows.