As announced on December 16 by major Chinese steelmaker Hebei Iron and Steel Group, in the January-October period of the current year its subsidiary company Handan Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd (Handan Steel) registered sales revenues of RMB 50 billion ($7.5 billion), up 40.18 percent year on year, while its net profit for the period came to RMB 676 million ($101.5 million), up 35.63 percent year on year. Handan Steel developed a total of 35 new products in the first 10 months of the current year.
In January-October this year, Handan Steel produced 5,902,933 mt of hot metal, 110,223 mt more than the targeted volume. In the period in question, coke consumption per every metric ton of pig iron produced was 347.6 kg, down 24.9 kg year on year, while coal consumption per metric ton of pig iron was 153.2 kg, up 18.2 kg year on year. In the given period, Handan Steel's 3,200 m3 blast furnace produced an average of 7,600 mt of pig iron per day.