Nanjing Steel reports profit for 2003

Nanjing Steel reports profit for 2003

Chinese steel producer Nanjing Steel group announced a net profit of Yuan 1.2 billion (around $145 million) for 2003, with an increase of 136% compared to 2002. Company's sales rose by 20.7% to Yuan 18.5 billion (around $2.2 billion) in 2003. Crude steel production reached 3.3 million tons, up by 3.4% while production of pig iron and finished steel amounted to 2.1 million tons and 4.2 million tons, with a 3.3% and 17.5% increase respectively. The company aims to produce 5 million tons of crude steel and 5.02 million tons of finished steel this year. Meanwhile, Nanjing's new blast furnace is scheduled to start production in June while wide plate line is expected to commence production in September.