BEIJING -- China's internet sector saw steady growth in business revenue in the first five months of the year, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed.

The business revenue of major internet and related service enterprises came in at 585 billion yuan ($87.49 billion) in the January-May period, up 1.8 percent year-on-year, the ministry said.

The growth rate slowed down from a 2.7-percent increase registered in the first four months.

From January to May, these companies saw their total profits fall 14.8 percent year-on-year to 49.52 billion yuan, narrowing from a 25.4-percent decline logged in the first four months.

Research and development expenditure of these companies increased steadily from January to May, up 9.1 percent year-on-year.