BEIJING (Reuters) -Baoshan Iron & Steel, China’s biggest listed steelmaker, said on Thursday its third-quarter net profit more than doubled from a year earlier, thanks to better-than-expected domestic demand and robust steel exports.
The company, known as Baosteel, said its third-quarter net profit stood at 3.08 billion yuan ($432.4 million), up 130% from 1.34 billion yuan in the corresponding period of 2024.
“Demand for steel from high-end manufacturing and new energy sectors has grown steadily in the third quarter,” said Baosteel, a subsidiary of state-owned China Baowu Steel Group, the world’s largest steelmaker by output.
China’s steel exports were surprisingly resilient in the third quarter despite growing protectionist backlash worldwide.
Baosteel, which is targeting exports of 15 million metric tons in 2026, seized export orders of 5.17 million tons in the first three quarters, an increase of 10.9% from the year before.
But the steel industry is still facing strong supply and weak demand, and steel companies are battling pressures from high costs, transformation and upgradation, Baosteel said.
Net profit from January to September rose 35.32% from the same period a year before to 7.96 billion yuan, said Baosteel.
Baosteel produced 12.77 million tons of pig iron and 13.06 million tons of steel in the September quarter, bringing the total in the first nine months of the year to 36.48 million tons and 38.79 million tons, respectively.
($1 = 7.1230 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Amy Lv and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
