Maanshan Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. said Oct. 18 that its net profit attributable to shareholders for the third quarter rose to 2.15 billion Chinese yuan, or 27.98 fen per share, nearly doubling from 1.10 billion yuan, or 14.24 fen per share, in the year-ago period.

The company also said total revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30 increased to 23.05 billion yuan, from 17.68 billion yuan a year earlier.

During the period, the company produced 4.70 million tonnes of pig iron, 5.13 million tonnes of crude steel and 4.90 million tonnes of steel products, representing yearly increases of 9.56%, 8.69% and 11.87% respectively.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, the company saw year-over-year growth of 103.8% in its net profit, to 5.58 billion yuan. Revenue for the nine months was up 19.4% year over year to 63.12 billion yuan.

Maanshan Iron & Steel attributed its earnings growth to a rise in the gross profit of steel products.

As of Oct. 18, US$1 was equivalent to 6.94 Chinese yuan.