BEIJING -- Companies in China's non-ferrous metal industry are likely to see their combined profits climb 20 percent year-on-year to 200 billion yuan (about $30 billion) in the first six months, according to industry estimates.

In the first half (H1) of this year, the sector is expected to continue the robust growth momentum it displayed in the first quarter when total profits of firms above a designated size surged 56.1 percent to 101.26 billion yuan, said Jia Mingxing, vice-chairman of the China Non-ferrous Metals Industry Association.

The value-added output of the non-ferrous metal industry is expected to jump around 5 percent from a year ago in the first six months, according to the association. The growth rate in the first quarter was 6.2 percent.

The association forecasts that the aggregate output of 10 major types of non-ferrous metals will tick up 2 percent year-on-year in the January-June period to top 33 million tons, expanding from the 0.9-percent growth in the first three months.

The 10 major non-ferrous metals are copper, aluminum, lead, zinc, nickel, tin, antimony, mercury, magnesium and titanium.