Chinese Steel Plants Profit in May

BEIJING, June 29 -- Chinese steel makers earned a profit of 1.26 billion yuan during May, according to statistics collected from 89 mid- and large-sized steel plants conducted by the China Iron and Steel Association.

    Another tabulated set of statistics on 71 mid- and large-sized steel plants reported that a 1.03 billion yuan profit was made in May. Among them, 25 plants suffered losses, accounting for 28.1 percent of the total companies, with the losses amounting to 1.81 billion yuan, down 1.28 billion yuan from April.

    From January to May, Chinese mid- and large-sized steel plants suffered a total loss of 3.88 billion yuan, starkly below the 86.50 billion yuan profit achieved during the same period of last year.

    In October 2008, China's steel industry reported its first loss of 5.8 billion yuan in six years. During the fourth quarter of last year, losses mounted to 47.6 billion yuan, leading to a 41-percent decline in 2008's annual profits.

    (Source: chinamining.org)