Zhuzhou Smelter Group sets to boost output after price drop

Zhuzhou Smelter Group Co<600961>, China's largest zinc smelter, plans to add 4% to its output this year in a bid to partly offset lower metals prices.

It expects the combined output of zinc and lead to hit 530,000 metric tons in 2008, up from 509,300 tons of the previous year. Sales of the company as of 2008 is estimated to be RMB 10.8 billion (US$1.5 billion) compared with RMB 13.7 billion achieved in 2007, it said.

The Zhuzhou, Hunan province-based company saw its net income fell 81% last year due to a plunge in metal prices in the fourth quarter resulting from oversupply, it said in its earnings statement.

The company had a stock of 18,017 tons of zinc concentrate and 16,639 tons of lead concentrate, in terms of metal content, by last year end, it said.