"Taking various factors for the second half of the year into consideration, our company has decided to adjust its annual net profit target from RMB 3 billion ($475 million) to RMB 1.6 billion ($253 billion)," Deng Qilin, general manager of Hubei Province-based Chinese steelmaker Wuhan Iron and Steel Co. (WISCO) stated on July 18, as reported by Wuhan Evening News.
Since the beginning of the current year, activity levels in the Chinese steel market have been on the slack side amid sluggish global economic conditions. Meanwhile, import offers of iron ore are at relatively high levels, exerting a strong negative impact on profits in the domestic steelmaking industry.
In the first half of the current year, WISCO's steel business achieved a sales revenue of RMB 98.9 billion ($15.6 billion).