SHANGHAI: Xinjiang Bayi Iron & Steel Co Ltd has slipped into a loss of 100.4 million yuan in the first quarter of this year on weak demand for its products, price distortions and increased provisioning for falling inventory values.

"The low demand from downstream industries played a great part in the company's sales slide in the first quarter. The dropping steel price along with the relatively higher raw material costs also had an impact," the Shanghai-listed company said in a statement.

During the same period last year, Bayi Steel, the largest steel smelter in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region under actual control of Baosteel, realized a net profit of 118 million yuan, with its earning per share hitting 0.20 yuan.