(Yicai Global) Feb. 16 -- Earnings at China’s iron and steel producers tumbled last year because of a fall-off in demand from property developers amid the country’s real estate market slump.

Profits at key members of the China Iron and Steel Association slid 72 percent to CNY98.2 billion (USD14.3 billion) in 2022 from a year earlier, data showed. Operating revenue dipped 6.4 percent to CNY6.6 trillion (USD964 billion).

Steel demand was weak, especially from homebuilders, which typically use about 30 percent of China's total steel output, resulting in losses since last July.

The steel industry will likely bounce back this year, Wang Guoqing, director of Lange Steel Information Research Center, told Yicai Global. Government policies will be implemented to boost investment in infrastructure and manufacturing and increase the demand for steel, Wang added.

Several listed steel mills also reported losses for last year, such as Henan province-based Anyang Iron & Steel, which turned a CNY1 billion net profit in 2021 into a CNY3.3 billion net loss in 2022. Chongqing Iron & Steel, southwestern China's largest steelmaker, predicted a loss of about CNY1 billion for last year, versus a CNY2.3 billion profit the year before, it said last month.

China will continue with efforts to advance mergers and reorganizations of steel firms to fashion a more concentrated industry and reduce price fluctuations caused by competition, helping firms achieve stable profits, Wang said.

The 10 largest Chinese steel mills by output produced a total of 434 million tons of the alloy last year, equal to almost 43 percent of the country's total, up from 41 percent in 2021, according to data from the industry association.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev