On August 5, Shandong Province-based Chinese steelmaker Laiwu Steel stated that in the first half of the current year its net profit reached RMB 272 million ($39.88 million), compared to a net loss of RMB 601 million ($88.77 million) in the same period last year.
In the given period, Laiwu Steel's sales revenues amounted to RMB 18.837 billion ($2.78 billion), up 53.56 percent year on year, while its earnings per share reached RMB 0.295 ($0.043), compared to a loss per share of RMB 0.625 ($0.923) in the first half of 2009.
Laiwu Steel stated that the profit it recorded in the first six months of the current year was mainly due to the economic recovery and steel price increases.
(US$1 = RMB 6.77)