Beijing, China-based steelmaker General Steel Holdings, Inc. (General Steel) on May 10 issued its financial results for the first quarter of 2010, stating that the company continues to achieve robust top-line growth and greater shipment volume driven by massive, multi-year infrastructure investment in rural China.
In the first quarter of 2010, the company's net loss was $5.5 million, compared to a net loss of $7.3 million in the same period of 2009. Sales revenues of $453 million in the first quarter of 2010 saw a 40.3 percent rise from $322.8 million in the first quarter of 2009. In the first quarter of 2010, loss from operations was $6.4 million, compared to an operating income of nearly $3.8 million in the first quarter of 2009.
Commenting on the results, General Steel chairman and CEO Henry Yu said: "It was a challenging quarter as the price for raw materials increased while average selling prices remained relatively flat from January to the middle of March. By the end of March, the market began to improve as average selling prices increased at a rapid rate and we were able to pass our costs onto our customers and achieve a positive gross margin."