Construction material sector profits up 3.5%

China's construction materials industry saw profits hit 375 billion yuan ($60.2 billion) in 2012, an increase of 3.5 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Feb 18.

The industrial value added of China's construction materials in 2012 rose 11.5 percent from a year earlier, contrasting with the 19.5 percent growth in the previous year. But factory prices of construction materials and non-metal mineral products dropped 2.2 percent year-on-year in 2012 and overcapacity is hard to constrain, the statement said.

The construction materials industry will maintain stable growth in 2013 amid the tide of urbanization and industrialization. Industrial value added is projected to rise 12 percent year-on-year while cement output will grow 5 percent or less.