China Steel Corp (中鋼) yesterday reported a 25 percent year-on-year surge in consolidated pre-tax profit for the first half of this year on the back of higher steel prices.
Pre-tax profit was NT$9.81 billion (US$323.1 million) from January to last month, up from NT$7.85 billion during the same period last year, the firm said in a statement.
Cumulative revenue totaled NT$167.85 billion, a 22 percent increase from the same period last year, with shipments of 5.37 million tonnes, it said.
The company said it is upbeat about the outlook for the second half of the year given sustained customer demand and a continued increase in steel prices.
A company official, who asked to remain anonymous, said that an upward trend in global steel prices might help boost product prices for shipments in the fourth quarter.
The company said it would announce its new domestic steel prices at the end of next month.
China Steel lowered its prices in May by an average of 5.28 percent for deliveries in the third quarter, to reflect fluctuations in global markets.
Prior to the cut, it had raised prices by 12.6 percent and 6.9 percent for shipments in the first and second quarters respectively due to soaring raw material costs.
In related news, the US Department of Commerce on Friday said that its anti-dumping duty probe found that Taiwanese exporters sold steel concrete reinforcing bars (rebars) to the US market at unfairly low prices.
The department has determined that exporters from Taiwan have sold rebars in the US at 3.5 percent to 32.01 percent less than fair value and will instruct the US Customs and Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of rebars from Taiwan based on these rates.
China Steel does not manufacture rebars, but the company expressed concern over future US protective measures, saying that Taiwanese steelmakers might face more challenges if US President Donald Trump support moves to reduce steel imports to protect its own industry.
Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 allows the US president to impose restrictions on imports for reasons of national security, which has caused concern in the global steel industry, the firm said.
