China's major steelmakers report hefty losses

BEIJING, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- China's major large- and mid-sized steel enterprises suffered losses totalling 3.18 billion yuan (503 million U.S. dollars) in the first eight months of the year, according to a report carried in Friday's Economic Information.

Citing information from an anonymous source at the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA), the report said the sales revenues of China's major steel companies fell 6.21 percent from a year earlier to 2.37 trillion yuan during the January-August period.

In August, major steelmakers reported the year's worst performance, with losses amounting to 4.2 billion yuan.

"The situation is worsening. Of the 80 companies polled by CISA, 44 posted losses in August," said the source.

The industry's struggle is also manifest in data from the National Bureau of Statistics, which showed a profit drop of 67.4 percent in the sector during the January-August period, whereas the country's overall industrial profits declined a mere 3.1 percent during the same period.

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