BEIJING -- China's chemical fiber industry registered lower revenue and profits in the first half of the year (H1), data by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) showed.

From January to June, the combined operating revenue of major chemical fiber companies - each with an annual operating revenue of more than 20 million yuan ($2.89 million) - dropped by 18.38 percent year-on-year to 349.36 billion yuan, the MIIT data showed.

The contraction expanded by 6.98 percentage points from the decline in the first quarter of the year (Q1).

Meanwhile, profits of these enterprises shrank by 41.48 percent to 7.23 billion yuan from the same period last year, with the fall narrowing by 20.44 percentage points compared with the decrease in Q1.

The output of China's chemical fiber industry was down by 0.98 percent to 28.11 million tonnes in H1, with the decline narrowing by 8.98 percentage points compared with the decrease in Q1, according to the ministry.