Hebei Province-based Chinese steelmaker Shougang Jingtang Co., a subsidiary of Beijing-based Chinese steelmaker Shougang Co. is expected to record a net loss of over RMB 1 billion ($163 million) for 2012, as reported by China Business News. Accordingly, following respective net losses of RMB 530 million ($86.6 million), RMB 3.137 billion ($512.6 million) and RMB 5.141 billion ($840 million) registered in 2009, 2010 and 2011, Shougang Jingtang's total net loss for the 2009-12 period is expected to exceed RMB 10 billion ($1.63 billion).
The company is mainly focused on the production of high grade steel plates, supplying these products to the automobile, shipbuilding, pipeline and home appliance industries. The steel producer's profits have been impacted by oversupply in the steel plate market and by weakness of prices, while high borrowing costs have also affected its profits.