July 29 -- Panzhihua New Steel & Vanadium Company Limited (000629) posted a 70.48-percent year-on-year decrease in net profit to 171 million yuan in the first half of 2010, reports China Business News, citing a company filing.

Sales revenue in the first half of 2011 rose 14.08 percent year-on-year to 23.73 billion yuan.

The company attributed the decrease in net profit to higher raw material costs during the accounting period.

Panzhihua New Steel & Vanadium underwent an asset exchange last year that left the company with steel reserve volume of 4.2 billion tons and exploitable volume of 1.81 billion tons.

The newly injected Kalala iron mine is expected to have an iron production volume of 400,000 tons in the beginning of 2012 and two million tons by the end of 2012.

Competitor Angang Steel Company (000898) forecasts a 92 percent year-on-year decrease in net profit to 220 million yuan in the first half.