According to the 2008 annual report released on March 27 by Chinese steel giant
Baosteel, the company registered sales revenues of RMB 200.332 billion ($29.3 billion) for the year in question, up 4.74 percent year on year. Meanwhile,
Baosteel's net profits in 2008 reached RMB 6.459 billion ($950 million), down 49.21 percent compared with the previous year. Due to the strongly increased price for various raw materials,
Baosteel's gross profit margin in 2008 was merely 12.45 percent, a decrease of 4.46 percentage points year on year.