China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼) yesterday reported that consolidated pretax profit for the first half of this year soared 107.8 percent year-on-year on the back of higher sales volume and unit profit as well as gains from construction.
It was also helped by an increase in nonoperating income, such as higher dividends and interest income from the company’s mining investments, China Steel said in a statement.
Pretax profit was NT$3.498 billion (US$106.42 million) from January to last month, up from NT$1.68 billion during the same period last year, the statement said.
Photo courtesy of China Steel Corp
Cumulative revenue totaled NT$188.33 billion in the first half of this year, up from NT$186.7 billion during the same period last year, with shipments of 3.96 million tonnes, it said.
The company said it is upbeat about the outlook for the second half of this year, given the steady global economic recovery and an anticipated improvement in end-market demand as major central banks cut interest rates.
Taiwan’s export momentum is also heating up, vehicle sales in the domestic market are steady, and demand for factories, offices and residential construction is rising, which would contribute to increased demand for steel related to the auto industry, home appliances and construction, the company said.
A government plan to invest trillions in national development, announced earlier this month by the Cabinet, is also expected to channel funds into domestic strategic industries, as well as urban renewal and social housing projects, boding well for the long-term outlook of steel demand, it added.
Meanwhile, an upward trend in global steel prices amid improving supply-demand dynamics would help boost product prices for shipments in the second half after hitting a trough last quarter, it said.
In a separate statement yesterday, China Steel said it would provide self-adhesive coated electromagnetic steel for electric vehicle (EV) motors to TEMICO Motor India Pvt Ltd, an Indian unit of TECO Electric & Machinery Co (東元電機).
The deal would help TEMICO Motor deliver powertrains to customers in the first quarter of next year, after the firm earlier this month announced that it had obtained powertrain orders from major Indian EV manufacturers.
It would also assist China Steel’s Indian unit in developing high efficiency, self-adhesive electromagnetic steel for EV motors in preparation for localization needs, the company said.
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