As the steel market continues to deteriorate, private steel mills that have been known for their survivability are starting to lose ground. The "Economic Information Daily" reporter learned on the 15th of the "All-Alliance Metallurgical Chamber of Commerce Enterprise Exchange Meeting" that in the first half of the year, 88 major private steel mills realized a profit of 1.243 billion yuan after profit and loss, and the sales profit rate was 0.31%; the same period last year The average ton steel profit of the plant is 33 yuan, which is reduced to 8.7 yuan this year. Among them, there are 42 losses. The loss amounted to 6.32 billion yuan and the loss reached 47.7%. In addition, the privately-owned steel mills have always been lower than the debt ratio of large and medium-sized steel mills also began to light "red light."

“For the first time, the loss of the backbone private steel mills exceeds the loss of 86 major large and medium-sized steel mills, and the decline in the operating efficiency of private steel mills has exceeded the whole industry.” Zhao Xizi, honorary president of the All-Metal Metallurgical Association, said that 88 backbone members last year The loss of private steel mills exceeds 30%, and the loss level this year rose to 47.7%. The 86 major large and medium-sized steel plants suffered a loss of 40.7%, and their profits increased year-on-year.

A number of private steelworkers interviewed by the “Economic Information Daily” reporter said that despite the advantages of flexible operation and low cost per ton of steel, private steel mills have been better than state-owned large and medium-sized steel mills, but with the steel market The situation has continued to be sluggish, and the situation of private steel mills has also begun to deteriorate. Wu Xiaocheng, executive vice president of the Shanxi Iron and Steel Association, admitted in an interview with a reporter from the “Economic Information Daily” that in Shanxi's private steel enterprises, for example, 20 statistical companies had 14 losses, 6 were profitable, and the loss reached 70%. In terms of profits, in 2012, the profits of private steel mills in Shanxi ranked first in the country, reaching 432 million yuan. In the first half of this year, profits were negative 321 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 174%.

It is worth noting that, in addition to the decline in profits and the expansion of losses, the debt ratios that have been lower than those of large and medium-sized steel mills have also started to show a "red light." According to the latest statistics from the All-China Metallurgical Association, in the first half of 2013, the asset-liability ratio of major private steel mills reached 70.67%, which was a year-on-year increase of 3.1%, and was 1.2% higher than that of key large and medium-sized steel mills for the first time. Among them, there are 3 companies with debt ratios exceeding 100%, and 5 companies with debt ratios exceeding 90%. "Essentially, the company's capital chain is very tight. Once it breaks, it means bankruptcy. The consequences are disastrous." A business person told the "Economic Information Daily" reporter.

“Now the gap between private steel mills is further widening. Over time, a group of companies will be eliminated.” Zhao Xizi told reporters that the profits of private steel mills fell sharply, in addition to common factors such as the sharp decline in steel prices The increase in debt ratio and the increase in environmental protection costs are also important aspects of the impact. In addition, banks have tightened their monetary stance on the steel industry, making it more difficult for private steel mills, and the cost has continued to climb.

What is more in need of caution is that the rising steel output of private steel mills has further exacerbated market difficulties. According to data from the chamber of commerce, private steel mills produced 200 million tons of steel in the first half of the year, accounting for 51.5% of the country's steel output, a year-on-year increase of 9%, which is 1.6 percentage points higher than that of the entire industry. Among them, 88 private backbone steel enterprises produced 143 million tons of steel, which accounted for 71.2% of all private steel, which was an increase of 8.5% over the same period of last year, which was an increase of 1.1% over the industry.

“Each 88 backbone steel mills not only have a significant proportion of steel production, but also basically include large-scale and profitable enterprises in private steel mills. This situation now also shows that the entire industry is facing excess capacity and low operating efficiency. Situation.” Analysts interviewed by the “Economic Information Daily” reporter said that in the past few years, private steel mills have been the main force for capacity expansion. With flexible business decisions and cost control, the general profitability is better than that of state-owned enterprises. Large and medium-sized steel companies. However, the current situation is that, on the one hand, the demand for steel driven by infrastructure and real estate investment has been gradually weakening in the past few years. In the past, many private steel mills relying on long products for food also faced adjustments to their product mix and new market growth points. test. On the other hand, the country's next step in environmental protection requirements for the steel industry will continue to be overweight. Many private steel mills with insufficient early environmental protection investment are facing a huge environmental protection cost expenditure, and the pressure on the enterprises under the circumstances of the market downturn can be imagined. In addition, the debt ratio of private steel mills is now higher than that of the entire industry. From the current bank's policy signal to the steel industry, the conditions for the next step in the steel industry will be more stringent and the cost will continue to increase. The industry is still in a sluggish state. Some enterprises with high debt ratios and poor cost control will inevitably face the risk of capital chain fracture. Private companies will bear the brunt of the industry reshuffling. In the future, iron and steel enterprises will also face the process of capacity reduction and structural adjustment. It will take two to three years or even longer.