Liaoning Province-based Chinese steelmaker Angang Steel Co. (Ansteel) has issued its financial results for the first three quarters of the current year, announcing a total net loss of RMB 3.17 billion ($501 million), compared with a net profit of RMB 239 million ($37.8 million) in the same period last year.
Ansteel stated that in the given period its average steel sales price decreased by 14 percent year on year, exerting a negative impact on its profits. Meanwhile, the net loss of the company in the third quarter was RMB 1.194 billion ($189 million), compared to a net loss of RMB 88 million ($13.9 million) in the second quarter.
Senior Ansteel officials stated that the company is eyeing the steel market in southern China which has huge steel demand potential, especially in Guangdong Province. The annual steel demand of Guangdong Province, which currently stands at 50 million mt, is expected to increase to 70 million mt by 2020, while the province's annual steel production capacity at present is only 20 million mt.