Maanshan Iron announces first-half profits

Maanshan Iron announces first-half profits

Maanshan Iron and Steel Company (Masteel), a thin strip, wire and H-beam producer based in Eastern China's Anhui province, reported an 8 percent year on year fall in net profits for the first half of the year. The decrease in profits comes despite a 30 percent rise in revenue, implying that the company's profit margin was squeezed. However, the decline is not as bad as many had predicted. The company's first-half net profits totaled RMB 2.13 billion, which accounts for 69 percent of the company's RMB 3.08 billion target for the entire year. The better than expected results led experts to revise their estimates for 2005 profits upwards by 20 percent.