Carbon steel sales at China Steel Corp (CSC), Taiwan’s top integrated steel producer headquartered in Kaohsiung, South Taiwan, reversed up to a nine-month high of 801,627 tonnes in March, ending the continuous fall over the prior three months, according to the company’s monthly performance release on April 21.
Compared with February, CSC’s carbon steel sales volume for March was also 108,923 tonnes or 15.7% higher, the release showed.
The recovery was in line with market expectations as demand both at home and abroad has improved since last month, especially steel export business, Mysteel Global learned.
The steel giant’s pre-tax profit grew accordingly last month, thanks both the increase in CSC’s carbon steel sales and the higher list prices of its major steel products, the release showed. The steelmaker’s pre-tax profit reached TWD 4.8 billion ($165 million) in March, reversing up by TWD 623.2 million or 15% on month after sliding for the previous five months.
To reflect the strengthening demand in Taiwan and overseas and the rises in its production costs, CSC had raised its list prices for major steel products by TWD 500-800/t for local sales in March, as Mysteel Global reported.
For the first quarter of this year, the integrated mill’s total carbon steel sales reached 2.2 million tonnes, still lower by 271,588 tonnes or 10.9% compared with the same period last year, according to CSC’s available data.
However, the company’s total pre-tax profits posted a significant rise of 11% on year to TWD 14.5 billion over January-March, the release on its website showed.
CSC is optimistic about economic trends both in Taiwan and worldwide going forward, a confidence which enticed it to hike its list prices for major steel products further by TWD 500-1,200/t for sales in May. The increases are partly to cover its higher raw material costs and to narrow the price gap between local and overseas markets, as reported.
Written by Nancy Zheng, zhengmm@mysteel.com
This article has been published under an exchange agreement between MySteel Global and SteelMint.
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