China's Hebei Iron & Steel Group remained the country's biggest steel producer in the first half of the year after raising crude steel output by 26 percent from a year earlier, the company said on Thursday.

It said in a statement posted on its website that it produced 23.68 million tons of crude steel from January through June.

The company, an amalgamation of four companies from the steel producing heartland of Hebei province in northern China, replaced Baosteel as China's biggest producer last year.

Baosteel, based in Shanghai, produced 22.58 million tons of crude steel in the first half, putting it in second place, with Wuhan Iron and Steel Group, Anben Steel Group and the country's biggest private producer, Shagang, making up the top five.

Hebei Steel Group also posted a remarkable 396 percent year-on-year surge in profits in the first half, earning 2.35 billion yuan from January through June, despite a slump in steel prices from late April.

Its earnings make it the fourth most profitable Chinese steelmaker over the period, it said.

Baosteel Group was the most profitable, followed by Shagang and the Anben Steel Group, the statement added.