BEIJING — China's paper-making industry registered shrinking revenue but expanding profits in the first five months of the year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

The sector saw 457.27 billion yuan (about $64.73 billion) in revenue from January to May, down by 11.5 percent from the same period in the previous year.

Meanwhile, the profits of China's paper-making industry rose by 5.6 percent year-on-year to 22.13 billion yuan.

MIIT data also showed that paper output stood at 46.36 million metric tons in the January-May period, decreasing by 6.8 percent year-on-year.

In May alone, paper output declined by 0.5 percent year-on-year to 10.77 million tons.