BEIJING?— Profits of China's electronic information manufacturing sector declined in the first two months of 2020 as the novel coronavirus outbreak hurt the industrial chain, official data showed.

Total profits slumped 87 percent year-on-year, while operating revenue dropped 14.7 percent from a year earlier, according to a statement by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

In breakdown, profits of the communications equipment manufacturing sub-sector dived 357.3 percent from a year earlier, while that of the computer manufacturing sub-sector went down 139.7 percent.

In the first two months, mobile phone output fell 33.8 percent year-on-year, with smartphone production down 32.5 percent.

The output of laptops and tablet computers dropped 31.1 percent and 24.5 percent, respectively.

By the end of March, China's manufacturing sector has steadily advanced production resumption, with 98.6 percent of major industrial firms nationwide having restarted work, according to the MIIT.

Around 89.9 percent of employees in industrial companies with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan ($2.84 million) had returned to their posts, said Xin Guobin, vice-minister of the MIIT.