South Korean steelmaker Pohang Iron and Steel Co. (POSCO) has announced that in the first quarter of 2012 its net profit decreased by 42 percent year on year to KWR 539 billion ($473 million).
According to the financial results, POSCO's sales revenue in Q1 totaled KWR 9.46 trillion ($8.30 billion), up 3.8 percent year on year. Meanwhile, its operating profit for the given quarter amounted to KRW 422 billion ($370.6 million), down by 54 percent compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
In the first quarter of the current year, POSCO produced 9.43 million mt of crude steel, up 5.4 percent year on year and declining by 2.1 percent compared to the previous quarter due to the closure of a small blast furnace and regular maintenance. In the same quarter, the company's finished steel product sales increased 7.1 percent year on year to 8.78 million mt.