BEIJING -- China's major internet companies and related services companies saw notable profit increase in the first four months of the year, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed.

Profits of these companies surged 62.1 percent year on year to 38.4 billion yuan (about $5.4 billion) during the period, the data showed.

The combined business revenue of these companies stood at 408.3 billion yuan, up 3.3 percent year on year.

Major internet companies and related services companies are those with an annual business revenue of at least 20 million yuan.