China's Jiangsu Shagang Group Co. Ltd. on Oct. 24 said its net profit attributable to shareholders for the third quarter dropped 75.4% year over year to 85.4 million yuan, or 3.87 fen per share.

The steel producer also said its operating revenues fell 2.4% year over year to 3.70 billion yuan during the three months ended September.

Earnings after deducting non-recurring items were down 84.1% at 51.6 million yuan during the period.

In the first nine months, Jiangsu Shagang saw its net profit attributable to shareholders fall 62.7% year over year to 370.3 million yuan and its operating revenues decrease by 9.9% year over year to 9.93 billion yuan.

The company attributed its loss in earnings to falling steel prices, increased prices of raw materials including iron ore, and lower production due to maintenance of facilities, and also expects its full-year earnings to be hurt by the same factors. Net profit for 2019 is estimated to come in at 420 million yuan to 588 million yuan, representing a yearly drop of a range between 50% and 64.3%, the company said.

As of Oct. 23, US$1 was equivalent to 7.06 Chinese yuan.