BEIJING, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Profits of China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) continued to grow steadily in the first nine months of this year, but at a slower pace, data showed Friday.

Combined profits reached 2.58 trillion yuan (about 371 billion U.S. dollars) for the January-September period, up 19.1 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Finance.

The pace of growth was slightly slower than the 20.7-percent rise registered in the first eight months.

SOEs saw their revenue rise 10.2 percent to over 42 trillion yuan in the first three quarters while operating costs expanded 9.8 percent year on year to 40.54 trillion yuan.

By the end of September, total SOE assets had reached 175 trillion yuan, up 8.6 percent from a year earlier, while liabilities had climbed 7.9 percent to 113.82 trillion yuan.

In the first three quarters, SOEs in sectors including steel, oil, petrochemicals and non-ferrous metals posted stronger profit increases, higher than revenue increases.