On April 13, Hebei Province-based Chinese steelmaker Hebei Iron and Steel Co. Ltd announced that in 2012 its total operating revenue amounted to RMB 111.632 billion ($17.95 billion), down 16.28 percent, while its net profit totaled RMB 109 million ($17.52 million), down 92.09 percent, both on year-on-year basis. The company's earnings per share (EPS) in 2012 came to RMB 0.01 ($0.0016).
Meanwhile, for the first quarter of the current year Hebei Steel has estimated it will achieve a net profit in the range of RMB 107.87-35.96 million ($17.34-5.78 million) amid decreasing steel product prices, sluggish demand, higher prices of crude oil and other negative factors.
Furthermore, Hebei Iron and Steel Group (HBIS), the parent company of Hebei Iron and Steel Co. Ltd, has announced that in the first quarter of the current year its Hebei-based subsidiary Handan Iron and Steel Co. (Hansteel) produced 73,000 mt of steel sheet for the automotive sector, with 28,000 mt of this total produced for export to Switzerland-based trader Duferco.