BEIJING - Despite a continued slowdown, China's industrial sectors may walk out of their worst period and provide a firm footing for stabilization of the economy, new data has suggested.

Industrial output grew 6.3 percent year on year in the first half of 2015, slightly down from a 6.4-percent increase in the first quarter, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Wednesday.

In an encouraging sign, the growth rate has gradually recovered from 5.6 percent in March, the lowest level since the global financial crisis in 2008.

Surpassing market anticipation, China's industrial output climbed by 6.8 percent from a year ago for a third straight month of increases in June.

The manufacturing sector showed stellar performance by rising 7.7 percent in the last month. The mining industry rose 2.7 percent, and output for electricity, heating, gas and water was up 2.1 percent.

Industrial enterprises raked in combined profits of 2.25 trillion yuan (nearly $370 billion) in the Jan-May period, down 0.8 percent from a year earlier, the NBS said.

China uses industrial output, officially called industrial value added, to measure the activity of designated large enterprises with annual turnover of at least 20 million yuan.

NBS spokesperson Sheng Laiyun said during a press conference that the industrial structure has continued to improve and high-tech sectors maintained double-digit growth.

China's economy posted a better-than-expected 7 percent growth year on year in the second quarter of 2015, unchanged from the first quarter.

The NBS also released a string of other economic indicators including retail sales and investment on Wednesday.