BEIJING, July 30 -- China's cultural sector sustained steady growth in revenue in the first half (H1) of this year, official data showed on Tuesday.

The combined operating revenue of major companies in the sector amounted to nearly 6.5 trillion yuan (about 910.82 billion U.S. dollars) in H1, up 7.5 percent year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Profits in the industries rose 8.9 percent to 525 billion yuan, said the NBS.

All sub-sectors sustained expanding momentum in H1, with the production of cultural equipment registering the fastest growth in revenue, expanding 10.4 percent year on year.

Sectors featuring new business forms, such as digital publishing and animation, saw revenues increase by 11.2 percent to 2.7 trillion yuan, contributing to 60.5 percent of the total revenue growth of the sector.

The NBS data came from a survey of cultural companies with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan or those meeting other standards set by the NBS.