Hsin Kuang Steel's August Sales Slides Modestly

Taipei, Sept. 8, 2008 (CENS)--Hsin Kuang Steel Co., one of Taiwan's largest manufacturers of steel plates, scored NT$690 million (US$21.69 million at US$1:NT$31.8) in sales in August, down 8.86% year-on-year.

Impacted by mounting inflation and a downturn of world economy, Hsin Kuang said its sales performance in August met earlier expectations, despite sluggish procurement sentiment in the global steel market.

With the continued growth in wholesale prices for steel products for shipments in the fourth quarter quoted by China Steel Corporation (CSC), Taiwan's largest integrated producer of steel products, Hsin Kuang believed it can sustain the prices for domestically made steel in the second half of this year.

Hisn Kuang said it posted NT$7.85 billion (US$246.85 million) in cumulative sales in the first eight months of this year, up a whopping 46% year-on-year from NT$5.37 billion (US$168.86 million).

As CSC has raised the wholesale prices for steel plates to be shipped in the fourth quarter of this year, Hsin Kuang said the CSC's move will benefit midstream manufacturers of the products domestically. At present, steel plates account for 57% of Hsin Kuang's total sales.

Hsin Kuang noted it saw after-tax earnings double to reached NT$900 million (US$28.3 million) in the first half of this year from NT$450 million (US$14.15 million) a year earlier.

The company posted NT$3.48 (US$0.11) in earnings per share in the first half of this year, compared to NT$2.04 (US$0.064) registered in the corresponding period of last year, standing firm as one of the most profitable steel firms domestically.