Jiuli Special Materials — the Zhejiang-based listed manufacturer of industrial stainless steel and special alloy tubular products — has reported first-half 2026 revenue of RMB 3.884 billion and a net profit of RMB 393 million, giving it a net margin of 10.1%.
That margin is roughly three and a half times that of Baosteel, China’s largest steel producer, which posted a 2.8% net margin over the same period on revenue of RMB 160.731 billion and net profit of RMB 4.571 billion.
The comparison is striking precisely because of the scale gap. Jiuli’s revenue is a small fraction of Baosteel’s, yet it converts every yuan of sales into profit far more efficiently — a difference that says a great deal about where value sits in the steel supply chain.
Baosteel Sets the Benchmark
Baosteel is the established leader of China’s steel industry. Over the past three years its total revenue has consistently exceeded RMB 300 billion, and its cumulative net profit across those three years has topped RMB 25 billion. Pay per employee has held steady at roughly RMB 350,000 a year and has not fallen below RMB 300,000 regardless of how the steel market has moved.
For many Chinese steelmakers, Baosteel’s revenue and profit represent a ceiling rather than a target. Some mills have lost money for three or four consecutive years, and their cumulative revenue over that period does not match Baosteel’s in a single year.
Against that backdrop, the interesting question is not who is biggest — it is who earns the most per unit of revenue. And on that measure, Jiuli Special Materials outperforms the industry leader.
Jiuli’s Revenue, Profit and Pay: 2023–2025
Jiuli’s three-year record shows steady growth on all three measures — revenue, net profit and pay per employee.
| Year | Revenue (RMB) | Net Profit (RMB) | Pay per Employee (RMB/yr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 8.568 billion | 1.489 billion | 188,700 |
| 2024 | 10.918 billion | 1.490 billion | 242,100 |
| 2025 | 12.059 billion | 1.509 billion | 252,700 |
| H1 2026 | 3.884 billion | 393 million | - |
In 2023, Jiuli’s revenue was just under RMB 10 billion while net profit approached RMB 1.5 billion — an unusually high conversion rate for a steel business. Pay per employee that year was RMB 188,700, a mid-range figure for the industry.
In 2024, revenue rose to RMB 10.918 billion and net profit held at RMB 1.490 billion. More notable was the jump in pay per employee, from RMB 188,700 to RMB 242,100 — an increase of nearly one third in a single year, an exceptional move in a sector where wage growth is usually modest.
In 2025, revenue reached RMB 12.059 billion and net profit RMB 1.509 billion, with pay per employee rising again to RMB 252,700.
2026 First-Half Results
With ten months of 2026 behind it, Jiuli reported first-half revenue of RMB 3.884 billion and net profit of RMB 393 million. The open question is whether the company can push full-year revenue and profit above the 2025 record.
What is already clear is the margin performance. Across both the 2023–2025 period and the first half of 2026, Jiuli’s net margin has stayed consistently above Baosteel’s.
| Company (H1 2026) | Revenue (RMB) | Net Profit (RMB) | Net Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jiuli Special Materials | 3.884 billion | 393 million | 10.1% |
| Baosteel | 160.731 billion | 4.571 billion | 2.8% |
Revenue Growth
Jiuli’s revenue has climbed steadily from RMB 8.568 billion in 2023 to RMB 12.059 billion in 2025 — an increase of nearly one third in two years. That trajectory matters in a sector where many producers have spent the same period contracting.
Profit Growth
Net profit has risen alongside revenue, though at a more modest pace — from RMB 1.489 billion in 2023 to RMB 1.509 billion in 2025. The key point is not the size of the increase but its direction: profit grew while the broader steel market was weak. For a steel company to expand profitability in a downturn says something about the durability of its business model.
Pay per Employee
Pay per employee has tracked the revenue and profit trend, reaching RMB 252,700 in 2025. That places Jiuli in the upper-middle range for the Chinese steel industry. For comparison, Shougang — a company known for investing in talent — pays roughly RMB 260,000 to RMB 270,000 a year.
Three Reasons Jiuli Outperforms
Jiuli has managed to grow revenue and profit through a difficult steel cycle for three identifiable reasons.
1. Technical leadership in high-end tubular products
In stainless steel and special alloy seamless pipe — a demanding niche — Jiuli is the domestic leader. Product quality is high enough that state-owned industrial enterprises routinely choose Jiuli as their supplier. Within the tubular segment, the company functions as the benchmark, with a market share in a class of its own.
2. A genuine focus on research
Jiuli invests seriously in technology and research capability. Mills that prioritise technology tend to move their products into the high-end bracket, and once a producer is established at that level, the broader steel cycle affects it far less. Commodity steel competes on price; specialised alloy tube competes on specification, certification and reliability.
3. A stable base of high-quality customers
Because the product quality holds up, major domestic oil and energy state-owned enterprises choose Jiuli as a supplier. A customer base of that kind provides sales visibility — and with volume secured, net profit follows.
The company is also gradually reducing the share of low-end steel in its mix while increasing high-end products such as materials for nuclear power applications. That shift is itself a reason for the high net margin.
What This Means for Buyers of Stainless Steel Pipe
For international buyers, Jiuli’s numbers illustrate a structural point about the stainless steel pipe market: margin follows specialisation. Producers focused on commodity grades compete almost entirely on price and are exposed to every swing in the nickel and energy markets. Producers focused on high-specification seamless tube — nuclear, oil and gas, petrochemical, power generation — compete on qualification, traceability and consistency.
That distinction is worth keeping in mind when evaluating a supplier. The questions that matter are not only about price per tonne, but about which grades the mill actually specialises in, which approvals it holds, and whether its order book is anchored by long-term industrial customers.
KAYSUNS supplies tubos de acero inoxidable, accesorios de tuberia y nickel alloy pipes to industrial buyers worldwide, with material certificates to EN 10204 3.1 and compliance with ASTM, EN and JIS standards.
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