According to the annual report released by Chinese steelmaker Hebei Iron and Steel, in 2009 the company's operating revenue totaled RMB 87.186 billion ($12.78 billion), down 23.02 percent year on year, while net profit came to RMB 944 million ($1.384 million), down 59.77 percent year on year. As of the end of 2009, total assets of the company were worth RMB 102.733 billion ($16.06 billion), up 14.85 percent year on year.
Regarding the decreases registered in its 2009 results, Hebei Iron and Steel stated that, influenced by the global financial crisis, problematic industrial structure and the supply-demand imbalance, steel prices remained at low levels while raw materials prices remained high, thus creating a difficult operational situation.
In 2009, the steelmaker produced 23.35 million mt of pig iron, up 17.69 percent, 23.03 million mt of crude steel, up 8.14 percent, 20.7 million mt of finished products, up 6.78 percent, and 0.13 million mt of vanadium slag, down 9.55 percent - all on year-on-year basis. The company plans to produce 25.75 million mt of pig iron, 25.05 million mt of crude steel, 25.45 million mt of finished steel and 0.14 million mt of vanadium slag in 2010.
In addition, Hebei Iron and Steel has also published its results for Q1 2010. Due to the increase in product prices and sales volumes, in the first quarter the company's net profit came to RMB 405 million, up 794.86 percent year on year. In Q1, the company's operating revenue reached RMB 27.643 billion ($4.053 billion), up 37.18 percent year on year.