Chinese state-owned enterprises that are under the central government, or central SOEs, posted a net profit increase of 22.4 percent for the first three months of this year.

The combined net profits of the 121 central SOEs totaled 208.58 billion yuan (31.96 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter, said the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council.

Revenues of central SOEs stood at 4.45 trillion yuan from January to March, up 25.7 percent from the same period last year, the SASAC said in a written statement.

The SOEs had 421.71 billion yuan payable in taxes and fees for the first three months of this year, up 26.6 percent from the same period last year, according to the statement.

The SASAC did not give a reason or explanation for the profit growth.