Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus returned to operating profit in the first half of its fiscal year and said strong demand from China would underpin an improving performance in the second half.
Shares in Europe's third biggest steel firm jumped as much as 6 per cent in early trade after it said first-half operating profit would be above £125 million sterling compared with a loss of £57 million a year earlier.
"Demand in the United States and Asia, particularly China, has remained strong, and Europe, which has been lagging, is now beginning to show some signs of improvement," Corus said in a trading statement ahead of first-half results on September 16th.
Corus, which several years ago was an unloved stock plagued by high costs, weak steel prices and internal divisions, has made a comeback as steel prices have jumped, driven by an apparently insatiable demand from rapidly developing China.
Corus shares in London touched a high of 41-1/2 pence before settling back in morning trade to 39-3/4p, up two per cent. Its Dutch-listed shares were up 1.7 per cent at 61 cents.
Corus has cut about 13,000 jobs since its creation in 1999 from the merger of British Steel and Dutch firm Hoogovens as it battled cheap imports and sluggish economic growth.
But global economic recovery and soaring demand from China have recently driven up steel prices.