Baoshan Iron and Steel (Baosteel) said its H1 2020 profit margins were affected by rising iron ore prices and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, for which China was the epicentre in Q1 2020.
According to media reports, China’s leading steelmaker also indicated that steel demand in the domestic market had plummeted during the pandemic, but has begun recovering. The company expects strong output volumes in H2 2020.
Baosteel produced 22.43mn mt of steel in the first six months of the year, down by 8.3pc from 24.30 mn mt in the first half of 2019.
The company posted a net profit of CNY4bn in H1, 36.9pc lower than its CNY6.3bn in H1 2019.