Xinjiang Province-based Chinese steelmaker Bayi Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. (Bayi Steel) has announced that it registered an operating revenue of RMB 5.096 billion ($0.77 billion) in the first quarter this year, down 16 percent year on year, while posting a net loss of RMB 335 million ($50.6 million), shifting from a net profit of RMB 182 million recorded in the same period last year.
In the first three months, the company’s outputs of longs, flats and metal products totaled 293,300 mt, 447,100 mt and 210,400 mt, down 54.26 percent, down 31 percent and up 1.54 percent year on year, respectively. In the given period, the company’s sales of longs, flats and metal products amounted to 289,400 mt, 571,900 mt and 185,500 mt, down 55.35 percent, down 19.59 percent and up 10.26 percent, year on year, respectively.
The company said the big rises in raw material prices together with the lower increases in steel prices contributed to its net loss in the first quarter this year.