China's steel industry achieved profits in Jan

Major Chinese steel companies achieved a total sales volume of 300.29 billion yuan ($47.74 billion) in January, up 16 percent year-on-year, according to data from the China Iron and Steel Association.

Eighty-six large and medium-scale producers posted overall profits of about 1.34 billion yuan in the same month.

Although the steel industry is rebounding from the losses seen last year, an insider from the association said that about one-third of Chinese steel makers are still in the red.

Twenty-six companies among the 86 are in the red, with total losses reaching about 2.08 billion yuan.

According to Wind Information Co, a provider of financial data, nine steel companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen have also published their annual reports. These companies achieved total revenue of 354 billion yuan in 2012, down 9 percent year-on-year.

The nine companies reported a total net profit of 12.1 billion yuan, up 14 percent year-on-year.

"Chinese steel companies' profits are being severely affected by the falling steel products' prices and high costs for coking coal and iron ore," said Zhu Jimin, vice-president of the association during a meeting last month.