Major Chinese steel producer, Baoshan Iron & Steel (Baosteel) reported nearly unchanged net profit for the first half of 2024, as strong overseas orders and cost-cutting measures counterbalanced weak domestic demand. This weakness is attributed to a prolonged property crisis and slower infrastructure growth, according to Reuters.
In its filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Baosteel announced a net profit of approximately 4.55 bln yuan (USD 638.8 mln) for H1 2024, marking a slight decrease of 0.17pct compared to the same period in 2023. Last year, the company experienced a 41.6pct profit decline due to sluggish demand and high raw material costs.
Looking ahead, Baosteel cautioned that steelmakers will continue to face challenges from industry oversupply in the latter half of the year. Despite this, the company reported record-high overseas steel orders of 3.04 mln tons for the first half.
Baosteel’s production figures for January to June included 24.12 mln tons of iron and 26.31 mln tons of steel, compared to 24.27 mln tons of iron and 25.94 mln tons of steel during the same period in 2023.
1 USD / 7.12 yuan