Chinese steelmakers saw profit growth during 2018, according to the industry association, as overcapacity in the sector shrank amid supply-side structural reform.
China Metallurgical Association (CISA) data showed that the combined profit of its member businesses grew 63.54 percent year on year to 280.2 billion yuan (about $ 41.5 billion) in the first 11 months of 2018.
Their debt ratio fell to 65.74 percent by the end of November, down 3.39 percentage points from a year earlier, with half of businesses seeing the debt ratio below 60 percent.
The rise in corporate profitability came after the country met its target of cutting steel industry capacity by 100-150 million tonnes from 2016 to 2020, ahead of schedule.
By the end of 2017, the steel surplus had already decreased by more than 115 million tonnes.
“The market environment has improved markedly and the bloated capacity has been effectively transformed,” Yu Yong, chairman of the CISA, said at the association's conference.
However, he warned that the basis for sustained profitability remains shaky as costs have increased and steel prices have begun to retreat due to factors such as declining demand and rising production.
Chinese steelmakers' profits rise as capacity cuts
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Azovpromstal® 17 January 1992 г. 08:52 |
