BEIJING - Profits of China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) fell 1.6 percent year on year to 1.72 trillion yuan ($254 billion) during the first three quarters of the year, the Ministry of Finance said Tuesday.

The pace of decline accelerated from a 1.3-percent decrease in the first eight months.

During the January-September period, profits of SOEs under central government control dropped 5.4 percent from a year earlier, while those of locally administered SOEs rose 8.1 percent.

The profit decline in SOEs was partly due to the country's drive to reform its growth model and cut overcapacity.

SOEs in the oil, tobacco and chemical engineering sectors posted substantial profit declines compared with a year earlier, while automobile, real estate construction and electronic companies reported large profit gains.

SOEs in non-ferrous metal industries continued to suffer losses, while steel companies were profitable.

SOE revenues hit 32.7 trillion yuan in the first nine months, up 0.8 percent. The growth rate was higher than the 0.2-percent increase registered in the first eight months.