BEIJING - China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) registered steady expansion in the first five months of the year, with both revenue and profits growing, official data showed on Monday.

READ MORE: Fostering of world-class firms stressed

These companies generated 32.85 trillion yuan (about $4.61 trillion) in operating revenue in the January-May period, up 3.1 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Finance.

READ MORE: Xi for improving modern corporate system with Chinese characteristics

Profits of these companies totaled 1.71 trillion yuan from January to May, with a year-on-year increase of 2.3 percent.

Their debt-to-asset ratio reached 64.9 percent at the end of May, the data showed.

READ MORE: China’s top court issues new anti-monopoly judicial interpretation

These figures, which exclude financial firms, were collected from SOEs in provincial-level regions and those administered by the central government.