According to comprehensive media reports, in 2022, in the face of the complex and severe international situation and the spread of domestic epidemic situation, the downstream demand of China’s seamless steel pipe and steel plate industry will weaken, the price of alloy seamless steel pipe will rise, and the cost of carbon steel pipe will rise. The overall benefit index is at a low level in recent years. “Looking forward to 2023, with the continuous optimization of epidemic prevention and control measures and the gradual release of the effect of economic stabilization policies, the demand for 42CrMo alloy seamless steel pipes is expected to recover. In addition, the merger and reorganization of the steel industry is expected to accelerate, and the industry concentration will further increase.” Qu Xiuli, vice president and secretary general of the China Iron and Steel Association, made the above judgment.
Qu Xiuli said that since 2022, the economic benefits of steel pipe enterprises have declined year on year due to the impact of production, price decline and sharp increase in energy prices, as well as the factors of high base. However, the capital occupied by inventories and finished products has decreased, the accounts receivable has increased slightly, and the debt structure is also being optimized.
According to the estimation of China Steel Association, China’s crude steel output in 2022 will reach 1.01 billion tons, a year-on-year decrease of 23 million tons, or 2.3%.
According to the industrial profit data released by the National Bureau of Statistics recently, from January to November 2022, the total profit of ferrous metal smelting and calendering industry was 22.92 billion yuan, down 94.5% year on year; Compared with the total profit of 415.29 billion yuan in the same period in 2021, the corresponding profit decreased by 392.37 billion yuan.
Qu Xiuli said that from January to November 2022, the loss of the member enterprises of the Steel Association reached 46.24%. The average profit margin on sales is only 1.66%, with some enterprises reaching more than 9% and some suffering serious losses. In addition, the average debt ratio of the member enterprises of the Steel Association is 61.55%, the low is less than 50%, and the high is more than 100%. There are significant differences in the anti-risk ability of enterprises.
Qu Xiuli believes that the differentiation between enterprises is obvious, the merger and reorganization of the steel industry is expected to accelerate, and the industry concentration is expected to further improve.
On December 21, 2022, China Baowu Iron and Steel Group and China Sinosteel Group were restructured, and Sinosteel Group was integrated into China Baowu Iron and Steel Group, and was no longer directly supervised by the SASAC. China Baowu has successively integrated many local state-owned steel enterprises such as Wuhan Iron and Steel Group, Maanshan Iron and Steel Group, Taiyuan Iron and Steel Group, Shandong Iron and Steel Group, Chongqing Iron and Steel Group, Kunming Iron and Steel Group, Baotou Iron and Steel Group, Xinyu Iron and Steel Group, etc. The crude steel output in 2021 will reach 120 million tons, an increase of 1.8 times over 2014.
In recent years, under the dual impetus of the supply-side structural reform and the reform of state-owned enterprises, the merger and reorganization of the steel industry has been continuously promoted, and the industrial concentration has also been increasing. At present, under the background of “carbon peak, carbon neutral”, traditional iron and steel enterprises are facing greater challenges. Reorganization and integration can concentrate resources, realize complementary advantages, and help enterprises further grow and strengthen.
Post time: Jan-11-2023