Baosteel's 2009 net profit dips 26%

SHANGHAI - Baoshan Iron and Steel Co Ltd (Baosteel), a major Chinese steelmaker, on Thursday reported revenue of 148.53 billion yuan ($21.76 billion) and a net profit of 5.816 billion yuan in 2009, down 25.97 percent and 9.95 percent respectively year-on-year.

According to its annual report, in the first half of 2009, the State-owned company turned out a net profit of 669 million yuan, only 11.5 percent of its whole year profit. The market boom in the auto and home appliance sectors contributed significantly to the profit growth in the second half, said analysts.

Baosteel was the nation's largest rolled-steel sheeting provider to the auto and electrical-appliance sectors, holding 50.1 percent and 37.3 percent respectively of domestic market share in each, said Zhang Lei, an analyst with TX Investment Consulting Co Ltd .