BEIJING, April 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- General Steel Holdings, Inc. ("General Steel" or the "Company") (NYSE: GSI), a leading non-state-owned steel producer in China, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") a Form 12b-25 pertaining to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012. The Company today also announced certain preliminary financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.
The Company expects to file the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, along with the Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2012, June 30, 2012 and September 30, 2012, with the SEC on or before June 21, 2013.
"We are pleased with the progress made with our auditor, continuing the momentum of our recently completed 2011 audit and soon returning General Steel to a regular financial reporting schedule," said Henry Yu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Steel. "Our preliminary results for 2012, though constrained by a challenging year, still provide us with encouraging signs that we believe will enable us to regain a strong position and improve profitability."
General Steel expects to report 2012 total sales in the range of $2.6 billion to $2.9 billion and sales volume in the range of 5.2 million to 5.6 million metric tons. Gross margin is expected to be in the range of 1.0% to 1.2%, compared to negative 2.5% in the prior year. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash of approximately $370 million. These financial results are preliminary and unaudited. Final, audited results will be included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012.
John Chen, Chief Financial Officer of General Steel, added, "We are glad to see the company getting back to regular financial reporting. Overall, 2012 was a painful year for the entire industry, as China's major steel producers on average saw a 98% year-over-year decline in profitability, according to industry statistics[1]. Despite such difficult environment, we believe General Steel performed comparatively better in 2012, as we were able to return to positive gross margin for the full year. Our improved gross margin reflects our focus on cost efficiency, and we aim to continue building on that momentum."
[1] Source: Press release distributed by Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China on February 8, 2013.
About General Steel Holdings, Inc.
General Steel Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Beijing, China, produces a variety of steel products including rebar, high-speed wire and spiral-weld pipe. The Company has operations in China's Shaanxi and Guangdong provinces, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Tianjin municipality with seven million metric tons of crude steel production capacity under management. For more information, please visit www.gshi-steel.com.
To be added to the General Steel email list to receive Company news, or to request a hard copy of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, please send your request to generalsteel@asiabridgegroup.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations or beliefs about future events and financial, political and social trends and assumptions it has made based on information currently available to it. Although the Company anticipates filing the 2012 Reports on or before June 21, 2013, much of the timing and completion is dependent upon progress made by its audit partner and the collaboration between the Company and the audit partner. The Company cannot assure that any expectations, forecasts or assumptions made by management in preparing these forward-looking statements will prove accurate, or that any projections will be realized. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of inaccurate assumptions or a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties are set forth in the Company's filings under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 under "Risk Factors" and elsewhere, and include: (a) those risks and uncertainties related to general economic conditions in China, including regulatory factors that may affect such economic conditions; (b) whether the Company is able to manage its planned growth efficiently and operate profitable operations, including whether its management will be able to identify, hire, train, retain, motivate and manage required personnel or that management will be able to successfully manage and exploit existing and potential market opportunities; (c) whether the Company is able to generate sufficient revenues or obtain financing to sustain and grow its operations; (d) whether the Company is able to successfully fulfill our primary requirements for cash; and (e) other risks, including those disclosed in the Company's Form 10-K, filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact Us
General Steel Holdings, Inc.
In China:
Jenny Wang
Tel: +86-10-5775-7691
Email: jenny.wang@gshi-steel.com
In the US:
Joyce Sung
Tel: +1-347-534-1435
Email: joyce.sung@gshi-steel.com
Asia Bridge Capital Limited
Carene Toh
Tel: +1-888-957-3362
Email: generalsteel@asiabridgegroup.com
