China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼), the nation’s largest steelmaker, yesterday announced plans to distribute a cash dividend of NT$0.30 per common share based on last year’s earnings of NT$0.50 per share, as the COVID-19 pandemic reduced demand and cut into profits.
The Kaohsiung-based company also plans to pay a cash dividend of NT$1.4 per preferred share, up from NT$0.5 last year.
The proposals are subject to approval at the company’s annual general meeting on June 18.
The company was hit hard in the first half of last year by the global pandemic, which drove down steel demand and prices. It reported a net loss of NT$2.26 billion (US$79.84 million) in the first quarter.
However, its fortunes turned around in the second half of last year and it ended the year in positive territory.
Net profit last year was NT$885.87 million, down 90 percent from NT$8.81 billion in 2019, a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange showed.
Earnings per share slid to NT$0.05 last year from NT$0.57 in the previous year.
The steelmaker plans to use some of its reserved profit to pay for this year’s cash dividend.
With steel demand from the automotive, home appliances and machinery industries surging and raw material costs rising, China Steel has raised its domestic price quotes every month since September last year.
The company also announced the formation of a carbon reduction group as a part of its environmental, social and governance, or ESG, efforts, it said in a statement.
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