BEIJING, April 29 (Reuters) - Baoshan Iron & Steel Co, China's biggest listed steelmaker, reported an 8.6% annual fall in its first-quarter net profit on Wednesday, hit by higher costs for feedstocks related to the Iran war and sluggish home demand.
The company, known as Baosteel, said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that it earned about 2.23 billion yuan ($326.33 million) in the first quarter of 2026, down from 2.43 billion yuan over the same period in 2025.
Steel prices fell 4.4% in the first quarter, while iron ore prices jumped 3.2%, squeezing margins, according to Baosteel, which is a subsidiary of the state-owned China Baowu Steel Group, the world's largest steelmaker by output.
Iron ore prices stayed high partly because of higher freight fees and input costs stemming from the Iran war, which has caused a surge in energy prices and fueled inflation concerns.
China's steel demand continued a downward trend resulting from the protracted property market downturn, falling 4.4% during the January-to-March period.
In a separate filing, Baosteel reported its 2025 net profit jumped 40.53% to 10.3 billion yuan thanks to lower raw materials costs and robust steel exports.
The company produced 12.23 million metric tons of iron and 13.21 million tons of steel in the first quarter, respectively.
It aims to produce 48.54 million tons and 51.51 million tons of iron and steel, respectively, in 2026.
Baosteel received 1.96 million tons of overseas orders for steel products in the quarter, up from 1.55 million tons in the same period in 2025.
The company's steel exports jumped 6.8% year-on-year to 6.48 million tons.
($1 = 6.8335 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Amy Lv and Lewis JacksonEditing by Tomasz Janowski and Joe Bavier)
