The 27 listed Chinese steel makers, including Bao Steel Group, saw combined net profit of 9.98 billion yuan ($1.56 billion) in the first half of this year, down 15.7 percent, according to data provider Wind Information.
The decline was primarily due to soaring international iron ore prices, greatly pushing up production costs.
Xu Xiangchun, chairman of China Steel Net, said that the domestic steel sector will suffer further economic losses in the second half of this year due to real estate and auto sector slowdowns