BEIJING — China's home appliance sector saw falling profits in the first four months of the year due to the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak, official data showed.

The industry's total profit amounted to 22.68 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) during the January-April period, down 24.7 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Revenue came in at 360.43 billion yuan, down 20.5 percent from the same period last year.

About 20.53 million sets of refrigerators were sold during the period, down 16.5 percent year-on-year, while sales of air conditioners and washing machines went down 24.8 percent and 11.1 percent respectively.

To further boost home appliance consumption, China has introduced incentives to support consumers who want to replace old home appliances and electronics with greener and smarter alternatives.