South Korea’s largest steel producer POSCO Holdings Inc. reported on Monday that its second-quarter earnings fell by a significant 55.6 percent year-on-year due to diminished sales.
Consolidated net income amounted to 800 billion won (US$621.4 million) in the April-June period, a decrease of 55.6 percent compared to the same period in the previous year, according to the company’s filing with the regulatory authorities.
Sales dropped 12.6 percent year-on-year to 20.1 trillion won, while operating income was 38.1 percent lower at 1.3 trillion won.
The decline in earnings was attributed to an exceptional factor. In the second quarter of last year, POSCO Holdings enjoyed a post-COVID surge in the international steel industry and a subsequent rise in steel prices.
Notably, the steelmaker’s second-quarter net profit was in line with a median estimate of 792.3 billion won from a survey of analysts conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data arm of Yonhap News Agency.
The company’s second-quarter operating profit was also 88.1 percent higher than the first quarter, when POSCO was affected by severe typhoon damage. This was the first time in a year that the company’s operating profit exceeded 1 trillion won.
In September 2020, POSCO had to shut down three blast furnaces at its steel mill and steel processing facilities in Pohang, 272 kilometers southeast of Seoul, as a powerful typhoon struck the area.
To strengthen its core steel business, POSCO Holdings has outlined a future strategy to address changes in upcoming business areas. The firm aims to produce 10.5 million tons of low-carbon steel products and 1 million tons of electrical steel for green vehicles by 2030.
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