Hou Jun, president of Shandong Province-based Chinese steelmaker Shandong Iron and Steel Group (Shandong Steel Group) announced on January 8 that Shandong Steel Group’s operating revenue in 2019 will likely increase year on year and exceed RMB 180.0 billion ($26.0 billion), while its gross profit for the year will likely amount to RMB 5.7 billion ($0.8 billion). For 2018, Shandong Steel Group had posted an operating revenue of RMB 155.857 billion, and so the figure for 2019 is expected to be at least 15 percent higher.
Mr. Hou also said that in 2019 Shandong Steel Group’s outputs of pig iron, crude steel and finished steel are expected to total 25.85 million mt, 27.20 million mt and 26.89 million mt, respectively. According to worldsteel, the company’s crude steel production amounted to 23.21 million mt in 2018. Accordingly, an increase of about 17 percent is foreseen for 2019, boosting the company’s revenues.