China Iron and Steel Association: Steel industry performance in the first half of the year better than expected
In the first half of the year, the cumulative operating revenue of key steel enterprises under the China Iron and Steel Association's statistics was 2998.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 5.79%; the operating cost was 2805.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 6.83%; the total profit was 59.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 63.26%; and the average profit margin was 1.97%, an increase of 0.83 percentage points year-on-year.
This was learned from the 11th meeting of the Sixth Council (enlarged) of the China Iron and Steel Industry Association held in Caofeidian, Tangshan on the 30th.
“In the first half of the year, the steel industry actively responded to the challenges of strong supply and weak demand, strengthened industry self-discipline, adjusted production rhythms, achieved a steady decrease in crude steel production, year-on-year improvement in economic efficiency, and continuous improvement in environmental protection levels, and the overall operation of the industry was better than expected.” Zhao Minge, chairman of the China Iron and Steel Industry Association, said that self-discipline, production control, and stable operation are the core reasons for the improvement of industry profits. On the one hand, it maintained low steel inventory, a basic balance between supply and demand, steel prices relatively stable, on the other hand, it led to a decrease in raw material demand and a downward shift in the cost center.
In terms of green and low-carbon transformation, in the first half of the year, the proportion of energy conservation and environmental protection investment in key steel enterprises under the China Iron and Steel Association's statistics was 28.9%, an increase of 4.3 percentage points year-on-year; total energy consumption decreased by 1.5% year-on-year, and comparable energy consumption per ton of steel decreased by 0.6% year-on-year. As of June 30, a total of 193 steel enterprises have completed or partially completed ultra-low emission transformation and evaluation and monitoring. Among them, 144 steel enterprises have completed the entire process of ultra-low emission transformation, involving a crude steel production capacity of about 598 million tons; 49 steel enterprises have partially completed ultra-low emission transformation, involving a crude steel production capacity of about 175 million tons.
Zhao Minge said that the steel industry has entered a period of deep adjustment with the theme of fully implementing the new development concept, vigorously developing new high-quality productivity, and focusing on promoting high-quality development. The transformation tasks are arduous and arduous, and risks and hidden dangers still exist. Stable operation and development face many new challenges and tasks. The industry should strengthen its bottom-line thinking, fully prepare contingency plans, actively respond to challenges, and focus on “strengthening self-discipline, preventing involution, adjusting structure, optimizing layout, increasing efficiency, preventing risks, making up for shortcomings, and strengthening strengths” to promote the steady and healthy development of the industry.
