In the first half of this year, the overall net profit margin of the Chinese steel sector was 0.84 percent, down from 2.19 percent in the same period last year, as indicated by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA).
The CISA stated that in the first half of 2008 the net profit margin of the steel sector in China was as high as 6.63 percent, but declined to -1.61 percent in the first half of 2009 amid the global economic crisis. The Chinese steel market witnessed some recovery with the net profit margin increasing to 3.37 percent in 2010, after which the net profit margin began to drop back down again.
The gross profit margin of the Chinese steel sector also reflected the trend of the net profit margin. In the first half of 2009, the gross profit margin of the steel sector in China declined to 4.53 percent, from 13.77 percent in the first half of 2008, but later recovered to 9.73 percent in the first half of 2010. This was followed by decreases to 7.83 percent in the first half of 2011 and to 5.1 percent in the first half of 2012.