BEIJING -- Data released by an industrial association on Tuesday indicates a slow-paced recovery in the nation's machinery sector amid an economic slowdown.

The sector's industrial value-added output rose 9.2 percent year on year. The growth rate also marked a 0.2 percentage point rise compared to the same period last year, according to data released by the China Machinery Industry Federation (CMIF).

In 2012, the industrial value-added output grew 8.4 percent.

Meanwhile, profitability of enterprises in the sector rose more quickly in the first half. The sector's total profits hit 600.1 billion yuan ($97.2 billion) in the first six months of 2013, up 12.58 percent year on year. The growth rate picked up by 10.64 percentage points from the same period last year, the data showed.

The federation forecast that profits of the machinery sector will rise 8 percent this year, and both production and sales are expected to grow at around 12 percent.