Steelorbis Shanghai
Though facing greater cost pressure due to the price increases of raw materials like iron ore and coke, Wuhan Iron and Steel Group (WISCO) managed to increase its net profits to RMB 4.911 billion ($716 million) in the first half of 2008, up 36.53 percent year on year.
WISCO's achievements in the first half of 2008 are historical bests in terms of output, turnover and profit for pig iron, crude steel and finished steel, compared with the corresponding periods in the past. During H1 2008, WISCO produced 7.0390 million mt of pig iron, 7.2069 million mt of crude steel and 6.2999 million mt of finished steel, with respectively year-on-year increases of 20.99 percent, 23.06 percent and 18.23 percent. WISCO's total turnover hit RMB 37.3 billion ($5.44 billion) for the period in question.
The significant increase in its turnover can be attributed to the increases in both sales volume and product prices. However, due to the higher prices of raw materials, along with the increased operating costs caused by the higher sales volume, WISCO's gross profit growth rate was down 4.62 percentage points year on year to 20.99 percent.