South Korean steelmaker Pohang Iron and Steel Co. (POSCO) has announced its consolidated financial results for 2020, reporting an operating profit of KRW 2.40 trillion ($2.14 billion), down by 38 percent compared to 2019, due to the slow market affected by the coronavirus. In the given year, the company’s finished steel sales decreased by 4.7 percent year on year to 34.27 million mt, due to sluggish demand. However, the sales volume rebounded as of the second half of the year amid increasing high value-added product sales.
In 2020, POSCO’s revenue decreased by 10.2 percent year on year to KRW 57.79 trillion ($51.63 billion), while its net profit amounted to KRW 1.78 trillion ($1.59 billion), decreasing by 10.1 percent compared to the previous year.
In the given period, POSCO produced 35.93 million mt of crude steel, falling by 5.4 percent year on year, due to flexible operation towards slow orders and a revamp of blast furnace No. 3 at the Gwangyang plant.
POSCO’s crude steel production guidance for 2021 is at 37.8 million mt, while its finished steel sales forecast is at 35.3 million mt. POSCO also predicts that its revenue in 2021 will total KRW 59.4 trillion.