China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) continued to expand in the first four months of this year, but at a slower pace, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Thursday.

The operating revenues of non-financial SOEs dipped 1.9 percent in April from March, but the total operating revenue of the country's SOEs in the first four months rose 24 percent year-on-year to 11.12 trillion yuan (1.71 trillion U.S. dollars), MOF said in a statement on its web.

Profits from those non-financial SOEs rose 24.2 percent from the same period last year to 712.59 billion yuan from January to April, compared to a 24.1 percent year-on-year increase in costs, which stood at 10.44 trillion yuan, according to MOF.

The net profit margin on sales for non-financial SOEs was 4.8 percent in the first four months, down 0.1 percentage point from a year ago.

Inventory level, a key indicator of a company's future growth, was up 25.3 percent from a year earlier.

In the first four months, non-financial SOEs turned in taxes of 1.01 trillion yuan, up 27.9 percent year-on-year.

The building materials, chemical, non-ferrous metals and petroleum industries enjoyed notable increases in profits in the first four months of this year, while the real estate and iron and steel sectors reported declines in profits.

Five major power-generating companies posted losses in the period as well.