Hubei Province-based Chinese steelmaker Wuhan Iron and Steel Co, a subsidiary of Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corp (WISCO) has announced a net profit of RMB 238 million ($38 million) for the first quarter this year, increasing by 4.53 times compared to RMB 43.0585 million in the same period last year.
In 2012, the company had achieved a net profit of RMB 210 million ($34 million), down 80.62 percent on year-on-year basis. Meanwhile, the company's total operating revenue in the given year amounted to RMB 91.579 billion ($14.7 billion), down 9.38 percent year on year.
Furthermore, WISCO's parent company Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corp. expects to achieve sales revenues of RMB 70 billion ($11.3 billion) and a net profit of RMB 506 million ($81.5 million) in the first four months of the current year, up five percent and 168 percent year on year, according to Deng Qilin, president of the group.
Mr. Deng also stated that Chinese steel mills still face many challenges in the long term due to overcapacity and sluggish market conditions.