China Molybdenum says strong steel demand to support prices

Feb 26 (Reuters) - China Molybdenum Co Ltd

3993.HK 603993.SS , which acquired Australia's Northparkes copper mine last year, expects strong demand from steel mills to support molybdenum prices in 2014.

The company, making its first offshore foray and into the copper sector with the Northparkes deal, sees robust demand for molybdenum from specialised steel producers while output growth for the metal will be limited, it said in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange on Wednesday.

"Demand for molybdenum products should remain strong as the output of specialised steel and stainless steel will keep increasing," the statement said.

China Molybdenum, whose Northparkes copper mine purchase marked the biggest China mining deal in two years, reported net profit for 2013 at 1.2 billion yuan ($196.7 million), up 11.8 percent from a year earlier, it said in the filing.

The company hopes to widen its global presence with the acquisition and aimed to look for good assets for future growth, it said.

The announcement came after the China and Hong Kong stock markets closed on Wednesday.

Shares of China Molybdenum closed down 2.3 percent on the Hong Kong stock exchange, underperforming a 0.54 percent rise in the benchmark Hang seng Index .HSI .

Its A shares, traded on the Shanghai bourse, finished up 2.5 percent, outpacing a 0.35 percent rise in the benchmark Shanghai Composite index .

(Reporting by Meg Shen in Hong Kong, Chyen Yee Lee in Singapore. Editing by Jane Merriman)

((meg.shen@thomsonreuters.com)(852-28436901)(Reuters Messaging: meg.shen.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: CHINA MOLYBDENUM