Hebei Province-based Chinese steelmaker Jinxi Iron and Steel Co., a subsidiary of China Oriental Group Co. Ltd, has announced that it foresees reduced profitability in the second half of the current year, while it expects to record a net loss for the third quarter.
In the first half of the current year, Jinxi Steel registered a sales revenue of RMB 25.3 billion ($3.99 billion) and a net profit of RMB 790 million ($124.61 million). However, due to an expected decrease in gross profit due to the decline in sales prices of finished steel and the devaluation of raw material inventory resulting from reduced raw material prices, Jinxi Steel expects to record a net loss for the third quarter. Meanwhile, Jinxi Steel also stated that for the second half of this year it may witness a sharp year-on-year decline in net profit or even a net loss.