Shanghai Baoshan Iron and Steel Co. (Baosteel) reported a net profit of RMB 1.628bn ($262.15M) for Q1 2013, up 33.3% from a year earlier.

The company made RMB 46.4bn ($7.47bn) in revenue, down 2% from a year earlier. The drop in revenues resulted from weak sales of steel products. The steelmaker attributed the profit rise mainly to costs reduction. Its management costs in the first quarter fell by 35.6%, or RMB 750M ($120.77M), after the firm sold stainless steel and special steel businesses and shut down some production lines last year. Earnings per share stood at RMB 0.1.

Baosteel said the first quarter was difficult for China’s steelmakers, with relatively high iron ore prices and weak demand for steel products.

Baosteel’s debt-to-asset ratio had dropped 10.71% year on year by the end of March.
Source: China Metals e-mail [email protected]