South Korean steelmaker Pohang Iron and Steel Co. (POSCO) has announced its consolidated financial results for the third quarter this year, reporting an operating profit of KRW 3.12 trillion ($2.66 billion), up 41.8 percent compared to the previous quarter, amid the continuing steel market uptrend from both domestic and overseas markets. In the given quarter, the company’s finished steel sales increased by 0.3 percent compared to the previous quarter and increased by 1.4 percent year on year to 9.02 million mt, as domestic demand held strong.
In the given quarter, POSCO’s revenue increased by 44.7 percent year on year to KRW 20.64 trillion ($17.64 billion), while its net profit amounted to KRW 2.63 trillion ($2.24 billion), compared to a net profit of KRW 514 billion in the same quarter of the previous year.
In the third quarter this year, POSCO produced 9.70 million mt of crude steel, rising by 2.6 percent compared to the previous quarter after the maintenance work completed in the second quarter, and up by 2.2 percent year on year, on the back of efforts to meet demand.
POSCO’s crude steel production guidance for 2021 remains at 38.2 million mt, while its finished steel sales forecast is still at 35.6 million mt. POSCO also predicts that its revenue in 2021 will total KRW 74.2 trillion, compared to KRW 66.4 trillion forecast in the second quarter this year.