Laiwu Steel posted a loss of 548 million yuan in the first half of this year due to the unfolding of the financial downturn, overcapacity in the steel industry and weak demand from both domestic and international markets. It produced 2.31 million tons of pig iron, 2.78 million tons of steel and 3.19 million tons of merchant billet in the first half of this year, achieved an operating revenue of 12.27 billion yuan, an attributable profit of minus 598 million yuan and earnings per share of minus 0.648 yuan.