SHANGHAI - Baoshan Iron and Steel Co Ltd saw its net profit slump 45.7 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019 amid falling profit margins.

In a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Baosteel said its net profit totalled 2.7 billion yuan in the January-March period, compared to about 5 billion yuan in the same period in 2018.

During the three months, it generated a revenue of 65.4 billion yuan, down 3.1 percent year-on-year. It churned out 11.8 million tons of steel.

Baosteel said its gross profit margin for the main business of steel-making fell by 8 percentage points from a year earlier to 9 percent last quarter.

There were a booming demand for long products while a weak demand for flat products from the automotive industry, it said. China's composite steel price index fell 5.6 percent last quarter.