BEIJING - China's major textile companies saw their profitability improve in the first half of the year, with profit margins rising 0.2 percentage point from the same period last year to 4.8 percent, according to data from the China National Textile and Apparel Council.

In the first six months, combined profits of major textile companies, or those with annual revenues of more than 20 million yuan ($3.25 million), increased 11.8 percent year on year to 147.76 billion yuan, the council said.

Their business revenues went up 8.5 percent year on year to 3.1 trillion yuan despite challenges such as weak domestic demand and rising production costs.

Between January and June, the companies' exports amounted to $136.4 billion, the data showed.

Despite the steady business, deputy head of the council Gao Yong warned that the widening price gap between domestic and international cotton would weigh on the sector's performance in the latter half of the year.

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