South Korean steelmaker Pohang Iron and Steel Co. (POSCO) has announced its consolidated financial results for the third quarter of the current year, reporting an operating profit of KRW 667 billion ($591.14 million), down 35.8 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year and up 297 percent quarter on quarter. The decline in profit was slower compared to the 84.3 percent decrease in the previous quarter as demand in the automotive sector improved. In the given period, the company’s finished steel sales decreased by 0.6 percent year on year and increased by 14.5 percent quarter on quarter to 8.89 million mt, due to higher order-taking activity following the recovery trend in demand, supported by sales of high-margin cold rolled products for automotive steel.
In the third quarter, POSCO’s revenue decreased by 10.7 percent year on year to KRW 14.26 trillion ($12.63 billion), while its net profit amounted to KRW 514 billion ($455.49 million), rising by 3.42 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
In the given period, POSCO produced 9.49 million mt of crude steel, falling by 0.6 percent year on year and up 21.8 percent when compared to the previous quarter, due to resumed crude steel production at blast furnace No. 3 at the Gwangyang works.
POSCO’s crude steel production guidance for 2020 remains at 35.3 million mt, while its finished steel sales forecast remains at 33.8 million mt. POSCO also predicts that its revenue in 2020 will total KRW 55.4 trillion ($49.09 billion).