China's additive manufacturing sector sees rising revenue, profits

China's major additive manufacturers reported a total operating revenue of 7.5 billion yuan (about US$1.14 billion) in the first nine months of the year, official data showed.

The figure was up 10.3% year on year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

During the period, additive manufacturing companies with annual revenue of over 20 million yuan saw their profits surge 135.5% year on year to 730 million yuan.

Additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, is used to creat a physical object by layering materials based on a digital model.