SteelOrbis Shanghai
According to the H1 2008 report of Jiangsu Province-based Nanjing Iron and Steel Co., Ltd, the company realized a net profit of RMB 528 million ($77 million) in the first half of 2008, up 10.28 percent year on year. Meanwhile, the steelmaker also posted a gross profit margin from prime business of 6.82 percent, down 3.43 percent compared to last year. The company's earnings per share (EPS) for the period in question was RMB 0.314 ($0.046).
The main reason for the significant decrease in the gross profit margin was cited as the sharp rise in raw material and fuel prices, which led to an increase of 51.17 percent in prime business costs.