CSC April Pre-tax Profit Turns Positive; Chairman Huang Jian-zhi Optimistic About Q2

Central News Agency (CNA) reporter He Hsiu-ling, Taipei, May 22. China Steel Corporation (CSC) Chairman Huang Jian-zhi stated that the company's self-assessed pre-tax profit for April turned from loss to profit, indicating that the "dawn of a turnaround has appeared." He expects the company's operations for the full year to improve month by month. Currently, order volumes and prices from April to June remain stable, leading to a cautiously optimistic outlook for Q2 operations. However, as Q3 enters the traditional off-season, future price trends must be monitored.

At today's shareholders' meeting, Huang pointed out that CSC's revenue in April reached NT$30.89 billion, a 23-month high, with a pre-tax profit of NT$485 million. With stable orders and prices through June, the momentum is expected to continue into July, making Q2 performance promising.

Huang noted that last year was the most difficult year since privatization, impacted by US reciprocal tariffs, EU import safeguards, and global trade protectionism, which suppressed steel demand. Combined with international overcapacity and low-price dumping, the industry faced its toughest test since 1995.

Regarding this year's shareholder gift—a NT$50 7-Eleven voucher—Huang explained that after the toughest year since privatization, the company is prioritizing performance and dividends over custom-designed gifts.

Furthermore, with China's steel exports hitting a record 119 million tons last year, causing a "dumping tsunami" in Asia, and a second wave expected from Southeast Asia and India by 2030, CSC is avoiding the "red ocean" of volume-based competition. Instead, it is focusing on "blue ocean" strategies by producing high-efficiency, high-value-added specialty steel.

When asked about CSC's stock price, Huang noted that it is influenced by capital rotation into sectors like IC design, semiconductors, and AI. CSC's focus remains on R&D and increasing product value.