Taiwan's largest steelmaker China Steel Corporation (CSC) has announced its preliminary financial results for the first nine months of this year.
In September, the company's steel product sales volume totaled 623,855 mt, while in the January-September period its steel product sales volume amounted to 5.62 million mt.
In the first nine months, CSC's operating revenues amounted to NTD 256.67 billion ($7.88 billion), increasing by 6.2 percent year on year, while it recorded an operating profit at NTD 4.55 billion ($139.76 million), compared to an operating loss of NTD 4.26 billion recorded in the same period last year.
According to the company, the improvement in its financial performance in the January-September period was mainly attributable to higher sales volumes in its steel division, which boosted operating profit, as well as higher dividend income from mining investments. However, in September, CSC's operating profit declined month on month due to lower unit gross profit in its steel division.
Regarding market conditions, CSC stated that steelmaking costs remained elevated. In the US, domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) spot prices continued to rise amid tight steel supply, while EU HRC spot prices remained stable due to tariff rate quota restrictions on imports. In Asia, steelmakers in several countries raised their list prices amid supply-side contraction and cost pressures.
