Net profit of Baosteel in the first quarter decreased by 46%

Baoshan Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. in the first quarter of 2019 decreased by 45.7% year-on-year amid a decline in profit margins.

When filing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Baosteel said its net profit in January-March was 2.7 billion yuan, up from 5 billion yuan in the same period in 2018.

In three months, revenue was 65.4 billion yuan, down 3.1 percent from the same period last year. 11.8 million tons of steel were smelted.

Baosteel said its gross margin from its core metals business fell 8 percentage points from a year earlier to 9 percent last quarter.

According to him, the demand for long products was growing rapidly, and the demand for flat products from the automotive industry was low.

China's composite steel price index fell 5.6 percent in the last quarter.