Profits earned by steelmakers in China's Hebei province in 2012 amounted to RMB 85.06/mt ($13.6/mt), far exceeding the average profit of RMB 2.68/mt ($0.43/mt) of medium and large steelmakers in China, as announced by provincial government officials in Hebei.
In 2012, finished steel exports from Hebei Province amounted to 10.7439 million mt with a total export value of $8.08325 billion, up by 23.96 percent and 9.39 percent year on year respectively, accounting for 19.32 percent and 15.78 percent shares of the corresponding export totals for China overall. In 2012, Hebei had the highest finished steel export volume among Chinese provinces.
Meanwhile, last year the industrial value-added output of the steel industry in Hebei was RMB 241.141 billion ($38.64 billion), increasing by 12.4 percent year on year. Furthermore, the crude steel, finished steel and pig iron outputs of Hebei in 2012 ranked first among Chinese provinces.In 2012, the operating revenue of steel enterprises in Hebei Province amounted to RMB 1.1468 trillion ($183.79 billion), down 1.8 percent, while their net profits totaled RMB 15.352 billion ($2.46 billion), down by 40.61 percent, both year on year.
Officials from the Hebei Metallurgical Industry Association noted that the decreasing profits in the steel industry in Hebei were mainly caused by sluggish demand, overcapacity, strong competition and the bigger price decreases seen for finished steel as compared to the price declines for raw materials.