Major Chinese steelmaker Hebei Province-based Hesteel has announced that it expected to register a net profit of RMB 2.3-2.7 billion ($0.33-0.4 billion) for 2019, down 25.54-36.58 percent compared to the net profit of RMB 3.626 billion it recorded in 2018.
Hesteel stated that the higher steel output in China’s steel industry in 2019 resulted in lower selling prices of steel in the given year, while import iron ore prices saw sharp rises, also contributing to the company’s lower profitability.