Hubei Province-based Chinese steelmaker Daye Special Steel has announced an 8.1 percent increase in net profit year on year to RMB 449 million ($71 million) in the first three quarters of the current year, on the back of higher steel prices on year-on-year basis. However, the company also indicated that its gross profit margin for the given period fell to 9.52 percent due to higher raw material prices, down from 11.14 percent in the same period last year.
Special steel prices are likely to fall in the fourth quarter of the current year, while the slowed growth in downstream industry has resulted in lower demand. It is expected that Daye Special Steel's net profit in the fourth quarter will indicate a decline as compared to the third quarter.