bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Angang Steel, the listed arm of the mainland's second-largest steelmaker, plans to  reduce its exports this year as new government policies  have made them less profitable than domestic sales.
Exports were expected to account for 15 per cent of the company's output this year, compared with 20.8 per cent last year, director and company secretary Fu Jihui said yesterday.
The Anshan, Liaoning-based steelmaker  increased production by 6.42 per cent  to 14.93 million tonnes last year,  of which 3.14 million tonnes was sold to overseas customers.
With  a production target of 16 million tonnes  this year, the firm  expects to sell about 2.4 million tonnes in overseas markets, down 24 per cent from last year.
Prices  for  exported steel products are higher than on domestic sales, but a  reduction  in tax rebates and a new tariff on overseas sales  aimed at curbing pollution and energy consumption have rendered exports less profitable.
Mr Fu said gross profit margin  on exports  dwindled to the same level as domestic sales  last year and was 3 percentage points lower in the first quarter of this year.  He did not give  the exact figures.
Gross  margin last year was 22 per cent,  down 1 percentage point from 2006 because of rising raw materials costs.  However, it rebounded to 24 per cent in the first quarter of this year.
Mr Fu declined to forecast  this year's gross  margin, but  said Angang had raised product prices by more than 10 per cent in the second quarter,  following an 11 per cent increase in the first quarter.
The average selling price of Angang's products rose 460 yuan  (HK$512) to 4,689 yuan per tonne in the first quarter of this year from the  previous quarter,  but the increase was lower than a 500 yuan per tonne  rise in raw materials costs,  Mr Fu said.
'In the second quarter,  product prices rose 10 per cent from the first quarter while raw materials costs were largely unchanged, so we believe the price rise can cover all the increases in costs,' he said.
Citigroup expects Angang's margins  to deteriorate in the second half  as a result of slowing demand and continued cost pressures.



Angang Steel to reduce exports as new levy eats into margins